Henry Laun, better known as Nacho on the long-running series Wahlburgers, passed away in a Massachusetts hospital on Tuesday. He had reportedly been on life support for a few weeks and was never able to fully recover. He was just fifty-four years old.
Laun was best known for his longtime association with the Wahlberg family, particularly Mark Wahlberg. The two started hanging out when they were teenagers and developed a lifelong bond. The reality show Wahlburgers launched in 2014 and ran for 95 episodes and 10 seasons and featured Nacho in numerous prominent story lines, often related to eating.
Laun’s health problems reportedly started back in May. According to TMZ, he was found unresponsive in his car at a gas station while on a road trip from Boston to Cape Cod. The exact circumstances of what happened are still unclear, but he was taken to a local hospital and put on life support. His family reportedly had some optimism in recent days and it seemed he was starting to make a recovery. Unfortunately, he took a turn for the worse earlier this week and ultimately passed on Tuesday.
Nacho Laun’s death is sadly just the latest in a series of passings close to his family and the show. His mother Emilce passed away last April, and Alma Wahlberg, the matriarch of the Wahlberg clan and herself a frequent presence on Wahlburgers, passed away earlier this year. Now Laun has joined them, and those closest to him are mourning his passing. His attorney, James Neymar, reached out to People to honor his friend. Here’s a portion of his statement…
He was kind of a natural on the show. He was a very likable character and wherever we went, he was constantly recognized. ... Wherever we went, maybe it's because we were in Boston, someone would say 'Hey are you Nacho? Is that Nacho?' He never experienced anything like it. It was almost like a phenomenon.
Laun had a reputation on the show and amongst his friends as being up for anything. Mark Wahlberg has told stories before about his various exploits including eating a lobster shell and the entire bone that was inside his steak. He also once ate 4 cheeseburgers in 9 minutes on an episode of Wahlburgers and somehow didn’t even seem winded or even put out at all. He probably didn’t even skip his next meal.
Our thoughts go out to Henry ‘Nacho’ Laun’s entire family and those who loved him during this difficult time. 54 is way too young to go, but by all accounts, he lived a joyful and enthusiastic life. Thankfully we all go to glimpse just a tiny bit of that on Wahlburgers.
