Howard Schultz, Creator of Dating Naked and Extreme Makeover, Dies at 61

Howard Schultz, the creator of reality series Dating Naked and Extreme Makeover, died unexpectedly on Monday while vacationing with his family in Hawaii, Deadline reports. He was 61.

Schultz got his start working for ABC's Chicago affiliate. He won first local Emmy working on a live morning talk show and his second for a local late-night show. He then moved to Los Angeles and developed the NBC hit Real People before joining Fox in 1991, where he developed and executive-produced the syndication hit Studs, which helped pioneer the relationship shows genre on the small screen.

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Schultz formed Lighthearted Entertainment in 1992, which produced reality hits such as Next, The Moment of Truth, Happy Hour, Bedroom Buddies, Jones & Jury, The Smarter Sex and The Big Date. His company had most recently developed MTV's Are You The One and two hits for VH1, Dating Naked and Bye Felicia.

Schultz had most recently sold a reality competition series to VH1 tentatively called Twinning, featuring 12 sets of twin going through various challenges. The show is expected to premiere in the summer.

"VH1 is heartbroken to hear of Howard's passing. Howard was a wonderful man, a true partner and a visionary producer. We will miss him," the network said in a statement.

Schultz is survived by his wife, Tana, two sons and a stepson.