Patrice in 2006. [Getty Images/Eugene Gologursky]Another comedy legend has died young. Comedian and actor Patrice O'Neal has died at 41, after suffering a stroke last month. His death was confirmed on Twitter this afternoon by Opie of "The Opie and Anthony Show," where O'Neal was a frequent guest and co-host:
"Yes it's true that our pal Patrice O'Neal has passed away. The funniest and best thinker i've ever known PERIOD. #devastated"
O'Neal was probably best known for his "Opie and Anthony" work on Sirius radio, as well as for many TV guest appearances ("The Office," "Arrested Development") and his co-hosting jobs on Comedy Central's "Shorties Watchin' Shorties" and Vh1's "Web Junk 20." O'Neal's most recent gig was "The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen."
O'Neal, whose first hour-long stand-up special, "Elephant in the Room," premiered on Comedy Central in February of this year, was a very popular guy in the comedy world, as evidenced by the outpouring of praise for his work and sadness at his passing on Twitter by fellow comedians. Just a few:
"Never saw anything funnier than watching somebody meet Patrice for the first time. The most purely funny human being I've ever met."
"Patrice O'Neal. One of the funniest men who ever walked this earth. RIP."
"RIP to my friend Patrice O'Neal, a great thinker, a great comic, and a great human being. He had a truly unique perspective on this world."
You can watch "Elephant in the Room" in its entirety here, or delve even deeper by listening to O'Neal's interview on the premier comedy nerd podcast "WTF With Marc Maron" back in August of 2010. Both are NSFW. O'Neal will be very much missed.
6 comments