Don Vito Margera death
Vincent "Don Vito" Margera (left) died Sunday. The "Viva la Bam" star is pictured next to his nephew, Bam Margera, at the MTV Video Music Awards presentation in Miami Aug. 28, 2005. Getty

Vincent Margera died early Sunday. The reality-television star, who was better known to “Jackass” fans as Don Vito, was 59 years old and had been struggling with kidney and liver failure for many years.

Margera was the uncle of Bam Margera, skateboarder and reality-TV star. Together, they appeared in several MTV series, including “Jackass” and “Viva la Bam.” Bam Margera’s mother, April Margera, confirmed the news of Vincent Margera’s death to TMZ.

The former MTV star had been in bad shape for quite some time. In October, he collapsed at his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and was rushed to the hospital, according to another report by TMZ. He went into a coma, and doctors told family members to “prepare for the worst.” He woke up just a few days later, surprising his physicians and his relatives. Despite his awakening, his organs were still failing, which ultimately led to his death.

Bam Margera has yet to publicly react to the news, but his older brother, Jess Margera, posted a small tribute on Instagram. “I’m going to miss you buddy,” he captioned a photograph of himself with his uncle.

Vincent Margera hadn’t been seen on television as his character in several years. In 2007, he was convicted on two counts of sexual assault on a child. The Denver Post reported he was sentenced to 10 years of probation, during which time he was not allowed to portray the character Don Vito, appear on television, attend autograph sessions or write books.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first death with which the “Jackass” cast has had to deal, despite the show having a relatively young cast. Former cast member Ryan Dunn died at age 34 in a car accident in June 2011.