Lucian Piane, Drag Race Rusical composer, dies at 46

Highlights

• Lucian Piane, a composer, music producer and guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race, died on Monday, October 12, aged 46
• TMZ, citing law enforcement sources, reports he was hit by a car in Glendale, California, early that morning and pronounced dead at the scene
• A formal cause of death had not been released at the time of writing
• Piane composed Drag Race's Rusicals, worked on RuPaul albums and went viral in 2009 with the "Bale Out" remix

What has been reported

TMZ, which broke the news, reports that Piane was hit by a car in Glendale early on Monday. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's records list his date of death as October 12, and the place of death as the street. Citing law enforcement sources, TMZ says he had no ID on him, only a citation, and was identified afterwards. The Glendale Fire Department told the outlet that crews worked on him and, after some time, pronounced him dead at the scene.

According to reports, a formal cause of death has not been released and the circumstances are still being reported. TMZ also reports that Glendale police took him into custody on Saturday on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance and again on Sunday over an alleged assault on an officer or emergency worker. He was cited both times, and had a court date on the day he died. Fans had recently voiced concern over videos he posted to Instagram that appeared to show him spending time on the street.

The composer behind the Rusicals

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 4, 1980, and also known online as RevoLucian, Piane graduated from New York University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Music in composition. He worked closely with the composer Marc Shaiman on projects including Team America: World Police, Rumor Has It..., the 2007 film of Hairspray, the Broadway show Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me and the 76th Academy Awards. He received an RIAA Platinum Album Award for his production work on the Hairspray soundtrack, which was also nominated for a Grammy.

His long association with RuPaul began in 2009 with the album Champion, followed by Glamazon in 2011 and Born Naked in 2014. On RuPaul's Drag Race he became a regular presence as a guest judge and as the composer of the show's Rusicals, the original musical challenges. His credits include "Shade: The Rusical" in season six and "Divine Inspiration" in season seven, and he also contributed to RuPaul's 2015 album Realness.

'Bale Out'

Piane's biggest brush with internet fame came in February 2009. He turned Christian Bale's expletive-filled tirade at a crew member on the set of Terminator Salvation into a techno remix called "Bale Out" and posted it to YouTube and MySpace. It drew more than 200,000 views in a day and 700,000 within two. Bale was a fan. "They did a bloody good job!" he said. The remix was later nominated for a Webby Award.

His film work included the score for the 2009 horror film Sorority Row and the film Pretty Ugly People, along with an HBO documentary.

A turbulent later career

His time around the show was marked by controversy. In autumn 2016, a run of posts on Twitter drew widespread criticism, including conspiracy theories about the Clintons and Obamas, claims about LGBTQ public figures and a swipe at RuPaul. In February 2017 he lashed out online at RuPaul and the show again. In September 2021, he was arrested over alleged intoxication and felony vandalism of a bank.

Tributes

Fans described the news as devastating and said 46 was far too young. The reports reviewed carried no statement from RuPaul or World of Wonder at the time of writing.