Prolific record breaker Ron Sarchian has died following a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, Guinness World Records is saddened to learn.
The American actor and former Hollywood stuntman tragically passed away on 6 February. He was 59.
He started breaking Guinness World Records titles in 2004 and was so good at it he became known as “World Record Ron”.
Ron proudly stated in his Instagram bio that he’d broken records 53 times.
And at the time of his death he had 30 active record titles, including the most pencils snapped in one minute (110), the most wooden rulers snapped with a karate chop in one minute (144) and the most eggs crushed with a punch in one minute (334).
But Ron was already very used to the spotlight by the time he discovered his knack for record breaking.
He began working as a stunt performer in 1992, standing in for famous faces in dangerous scenes in movies like Dante’s Peak and Bedazzled and TV shows including Glee and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Ron also racked up various acting credits from 1995 onwards, appearing in the likes of General Hospital, Port Charles and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Ron was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2022.
In August of that year, he underwent a 12-hour Whipple procedure, an operation to treat tumours.
Ron had been given a 20% chance of survival following his diagnosis but had fought bravely, and continued breaking records until the very end.
In October, last year, he proudly told his Instagram followers: “I am happy and very proud to say that I have successfully broken 22 Guinness World Records [titles] while going through chemotherapy treatments. It has not been easy but it keeps me motivated and driven.”
Vince Deadrick Jr, who broke the record for most sugar glass bottles broken on the head in 30 seconds (team of two) with Ron, paid tribute on Instagram.
He wrote alongside a video of Ron: “Yesterday, February 6th, my very good friend Ron Sarchian lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. My heart is broken today. I will miss him so much. Was able to spend some quality time with him over these last several months. He fought this with everything he had. Ron was one of a kind.
“I went through all my texts with him last night and wanted to share this awesome video he sent to me and friends from Christmas Day 2022. The video is almost two minutes so I had to break it up due to the one minute limit on insta.”
In the video, Ron is a little emotional as he tells his friends he’s just completed a cycle that was a goal of his following his cancer diagnosis.
He said through tears: “I made it and I’m still here, and I just want to let everybody know, don’t let anything stop you, nothing.
“You can do whatever you put your mind to.”
Ron had excitedly posted about his joint record with Vince last month, sharing a picture of the certificate and writing about how happy he was to take on the attempt with his friend.
Rest in peace, Ron.
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