Goodbye, Richard!

Richard Jeni was one of the funniest comedians I've ever seen in person. I saw him years and years ago at the old Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach, a venue so small that it was like everyone was crammed into a large closet. He was FUNNY and a triple threat -- sharp delivery, a class act and man, he could write. He wrote these long, brilliant pieces that were just hilarious from start to finish. A good example is "Jaws 4", which you can read by CLICKING HERE.

Just imagine Richard slapping himself in the face every time the script says *SLAP*!

On Saturday, Richard shot himself (LA Times requires free registration) in the head. It's a shame; both a personal tragedy for his friends and family and a total waste of talent. And it's not like the world could afford to lose that talent. I mean, even Dennis Miller still gets work. Now, the universe is seriously out of balance.

The only thing that mitigates the loss just a little bit is that Richard has left an excellent body of work behind. "A Great Steaming Pile of Me" was his 2005 HBO Special. You can find that and a lot of his other work (though, inexplicably, not his Cable-Ace award winning special, "Platypus Man") on Amazon.com and NetFlix. If you're not familiar with his work, do yourself a favor and check it out.

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