Over his decades on the air, Howard Stern has brought forward a number of different personalities who have made a lasting impression on audiences. One of the most important figures that Howard highlighted, though, was Fred Schreiber, who was also known as Fred the Elephant Boy.

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Recently, it was announced that Fred died. As tributes to Fred begin pouring in online, many are wondering what happened to the former Howard Stern regular. Keep reading for all the details.

What happened to Fred the Elephant Boy?

Posts about Fred have increased on social media after news broke that he died. Howard discussed the news on his show, describing Fred as the longest-tenured Wack Packer in the show's history.

“One of my faves,” Howard said during a remembrance on the air. “He was a 30-year-old virgin when we met him, and we helped him get laid for the first time… I thought the show was a great, great bonus for this guy’s life.”

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Fred called into The Howard Stern Show for the first time in 1988, and stood out even then. He formed a connection with Howard that lasted for decades as both men grew older.

“Elephant Boy was a good dude,” Howard recalled. “He was a good-hearted guy and whenever we asked him to do something he was so thrilled to be a part of the radio show.”

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Fred even introduced Howard when he was seeking the nomination for the Governor of New York at the Libertarian party convention. “I knew Fred was the perfect person,” Howard said, and even played clips of Fred's speech from the convention. “He was quite the speech master and he got really fu--ing excited sometimes… I mean you couldn’t ask for a better hype man.”

What was Fred's cause of death?

Fred died at just 64 years old, leading some to wonder about his cause of death.

According to reporting in Meaww, Fred died as a result of complication due to blood clots. It isn't clear whether he had been sick for some time, or whether his death came on somewhat suddenly.

Howard was far from the only person to offer a remembrance for the former Wack Packer, though.

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Tributes to Fred the Elephant Guy began pouring in online as soon as Howard's tribute was release, and there were also some more extended tributes from figures like author JG Faherty, who wrote a lengthy Facebook post that offered Howard Stern listeners more details on who Fred was.

"A lot of people don't know that he had a great sense of humor (he regularly posted goofy jokes on Twitter) and was also an avid reader, plus just a generally nice guy," JG wrote.

"When I ran a contest to be named a character in my book Ragman, Fred graciously donated a chunk of money he couldn't really afford to help the Hudson Valley Human Society," JG's post continued. "The only thing he asked was that I don't kill him in the book, he wanted a serious role. So I made him a cop assisting with the investigation of a murder scene. He was so happy!"