‘Beloved’ reality TV star’s body suddenly found on train tracks after tragic death
He was homeless when he died
So You Think You Can Dance? Winner Joshua Allen’s death has been confirmed. His body was tragically discovered on the tracks after he was hit by a train on Tuesday morning (September 30), and his family are now asking for privacy and prayers from the public.
He was just 36 years old at the time of his death, more than a decade after he became famous on the dancing competition. Allen had recently moved back to his home town of Fort Worth, Texas, after leaving Los Angeles back in 2020, but was listed as homeless.
Allen won So You Think You Can Dance? back in 2008, where he won $250K, and went on to have a successful career at the time. He also became really close with runner-up Stephen “tWitch” boss, who passed away by suicide in 2022 at age 40.
When he won the competition, he’d had zero dancing qualifications, but ended up appearing on Step Up 3D in 2010, Dance Your A* Off*, and landing roles in the remake of Footloose, NBC’s Community, and FX’s American Horror Story.
Allen told Entertainment Weekly of his preparation for the show: ‘I took a few modern dance classes, ballet classes, because I felt that to be a better dancer I would have to take different classes, and expand my horizons in the art of dance.”
However, life wasn’t always easy for him. He served time for domestic violence in 2016 and had to go through the loss of really close friends, including Stephen Boss and Malcolm Jamal-Warner, who he shared heartfelt tributes to on social media.
Allen died at a hospital near his home town, a family member told TMZ on Wednesday. His friend, Emmanuel Hurd, said he was “a very honest, real person” and added: “He didn’t always do things the way that everybody thought he should, but that’s why he was a winner.”
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