Peter Steele (born Petrus T. Ratajczyk; January 4th, 1962 - April 14th, 2010) Staten Island, New York, was the lead singer and bassist for the gothic-doom band Type O Negative. He was a resident of Brooklyn, New York. Steele's bass voice sets much of the mood for Type O Negative's brooding melodies. Before joining Type O Negative, Steele played for heavy metal group Fallout, and the thrash metal band Carnivore. Steele is almost as famous for his build as he is for his music. He stands approximately 6'6" tall, and leaves it to no one's imagination that he works out quite strenuously. He was often called Lurch by friends, as he also had an exceptionally deep voice (this would explain the severe tuning down apparent in many Type O Negative songs). In 1995, Steele posed nude for Playgirl magazine. Steele was known equally well for both his humour and serious depression. In the Type O Negative home video, "After Dark", he lets viewers in on the fact that he takes Prozac for his condition. The songs "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity" and "Xero Tolerance" were both written about a girlfriend he loved very deeply who had cheated on him. According to the bands website biography, Steele attempted suicide because of the incident, though it is not known how. There were unconfirmed rumours of Steele's death after his band's website posted an image of a tombstone bearing Steele's name and the dates 1962-2005. According to an article dated May 14th, 2005, Steele is not dead. The article, at blabbermouth.net, states that the gag is related to the release of the band's next album, their first for SPV Records. The website discontinued the tombstone picture in October 2005. In May 2006, professional poker player Phil Hellmuth announced that he would appear on an upcoming season of VH1's The Surreal Life, alongside Steele, Playboy Playmate Tina Jordan, and professional wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage.