Some have said that tragedy is an important element to comedy but, for some of stand-up’s most acclaimed stars, tragedy saw the end of their career. Far too many of our favorite comedians passed away when they still had so much to offer on the stage and, yet, their jokes continue to make us laugh to this day. These are some of the funniest people we miss the most.
Bill Hicks
At his final stand-up show, Bill Hicks reflected on his career as a comedian whose goal to “illuminate the collective unconscious and help humanity” with his material left him “virtually anonymous” for years. However, since losing his battle with pancreatic cancer at just 32 years old in 1994, his philosophical wit and clever political commentary have made him one of the most influential comics of his time, if not all time.
Patrice O’Neal
His hilarious commentary on the likes of gender politics and race culture made one-time The Office star Patrice O’Neal one of the most respected names in stand-up. In 2011, the same year he released his first and only stand-up special, Elephant in the Room (one of the best stand-up comedy specials on Paramount+), he suffered a fatal stroke, caused by Type 2 diabetes he had suffered from since his 20s, when he was 41.
Mitch Hedberg
Known for his retro fashion sense, boisterous tone of voice, and a memorable appearance on That ’70s Show, most of Mitch Hedberg’s best jokes were masterful one-liners, such as, “Rice is great if you’re really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something.” He was only 37 when he passed away from an overdose of multiple substances in 2005.
Richard Pryor
With all of his achievements, including his acclaimed collaborations with Gene Wilder, his landmark SNL hosting gig, and his many iconic and controversial moments on stage (such as accidentally lighting himself on fire), you could make an argument that Richard Pryor was the best comedian to ever live. He died of a heart attack in 2005 at 65 but his stand-up and acting career had already slowed down by then due to his long-time struggles with MS.
Gilda Radner
As one of the founding Not Ready For Primetime Players, Gilda Radner made a huge impact on SNL in so little time with her high-energy approach and an impeccably unique sense of character. Rarely has the comedy world seen a performer quite like the one-time wife of Gene Wilder since she passed away at 42 in 1989 after a battle with ovarian cancer.
Bernie Mac
Earning his title as one of the “Kings of Comedy” – also the name of the tour he shared with Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley, and Steve Harvey – with his blunt approach to risqué topics in an autobiographical style, Bernie Mac became a staple of the Ocean’s Eleven movies and starred in his own eponymous hit sitcom on Fox. Despite living with sarcoidosis for years, the disease was not connected to the comedian’s death at 50 in 2008, which was caused by cardiac arrest.
Andy Kaufman
As a one-of-a-kind, eccentric comedian who challenged the very idea of what comedy could be with his bizarre performance art, Andy Kaufman became one of stand-up’s most revered legends. Unfortunately, the subject of the acclaimed, Jim Carrey-led biopic, Man on the Moon, never made it to 40, succumbing to lung cancer when he was just 35 in 1984.
Phil Hartman
With his diverse arsenal of memorable characters and impeccable showmanship, you could easily argue that Phil Hartman is the greatest Saturday Night Live cast member of all time, which makes his horrific, untimely death at 49 especially heartbreaking. He was still starring on his post-SNL sitcom, NewsRadio, when his then-wife, Brynn, murdered him in his sleep in 1998.
Sam Kinison
Sam Kinison was blessed with a razor-sharp wit and a lung capacity that allowed him to raspily scream his punchlines at a deafening pitch. The Pentecostal preacher-turned-comedian had only just reached the peak of his career at 38 years old when he was killed in a car accident in 1992.
Robin Williams
Academy Award winner Robin Williams was the gift of bringing joy to audiences of all ages with his unbelievable, one-of-a-kind energy and rapid-fire improvisational skills. Unfortunately, behind his zestful demeanor as a comedian, he hid a pain that worsened as he got older and, when he was just 63, he took his own life in 2014.
Norm Macdonald
With a deliriously deadpan delivery and a signature eccentric wordplay, Norm Macdonald crafted some hilarious quotes throughout his career when performing stand-up, as “Weekend Update” host on SNL, etc. Most of the Canadian comedian’s fans and adoring peers were unaware of his battle with leukemia until he succumbed to it in 2021 when he was 61 years old.
Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce was a comedian decades ahead of his time, boasting a bold, free-wheeling approach to commenting on various risqué topics that would actually get him arrested for obscenity in 1964. Just two years later, he passed away at the age of 40, due to acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose, and was later portrayed by Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman in the 1974 biopic, Lenny.
Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling was one of the most creative comedic minds of his time, as reflected by his unique stand-up bits and acclaimed, meta TV creations It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and The Larry Sanders Show. He was only 66 when, in 2016, the comedian passed away due to a pulmonary embolism.
Bob Saget
There are two kinds of Bob Saget fans: those who grew up with him as the star of Full House and the host of America’s Funniest Home Videos and those who admired his shamelessly raunchy stand-up style. Both sides of fandom were joined together in mourning when an incident of blunt head trauma claimed the life of the 65-year-old comedian.
Gilbert Gottfried
If you did not know him for his stand-up, you undeniably knew Gilbert Gottfried for his unmistakable voice, which he lent to the screen as Iago in 1992’s animated Disney movie classic, Aladdin, or as the Aflac duck. The comedian was just 67 when he passed away in 2022 due to ventricular tachycardia, which was worsened by his longtime, private battle with type II myotonic dystrophy.
Flip Wilson
For four years, Flip Wilson hosted his own popular variety, on which he performed as his many now-iconic characters, such as the flirtatious Geraldine. In 1998, the two-time Emmy-winning comedian was just 64 when he passed away from liver cancer.
Richard Jeni
Quick-witted Italian-American Richard Jeni found success as a stand-up comedian and went on to star in one of the best Jim Carrey movies, The Mask, and his own sitcom, Platypus Man. Unfortunately, he also had a history of schizophrenia and severe depression which supposedly led to taking his own life in 2007 when he was just 49.
Greg Giraldo
Greg Giraldo’s penchant for insult jokes made him a staple of Comedy Central’s most hilarious celebrity roasts for years, with the Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff marking his final appearance as a roaster in 2010. That same year, after falling comatose from a prescription medication overdose, his family chose to remove him from life support and he passed away soon after at 44 years old.
Brody Stevens
Brody Stevens was known for starring in many movies with his friend, Zach Galifianakis (namely The Hangover and Due Date), and for his self-effacing stand-up style. His struggles with bipolar disorder and depression were documented in Comedy Central’s 2014 series, Brody Stevens: Enjoy It!, five years before he took his own life at the age of 48.
Ralphie May
Ralphie May’s stand-up career began when he won a contest to open for his idol, Sam Kinison, at 17 and when he later finished second in the first season of Last Comic Standing in 2003, his popularity skyrocketed. The comedian, who had wrestled with obesity for most of his life, was 45 when he passed away from cardiac arrest, following weeks of suffering from pneumonia, in 2017.
Freddie Prinze
His clever observational comedy style led to Freddie Prinze becoming the star of the classic blue-collar TV show, Chico and the Man, which also starred Jack Albertson. The Puerto Rican comedian was only 22 when he shot himself in 1977 and is survived by his son, actor Freddie Prinze Jr.
Charlie Murphy
In addition to his stand-up and acting careers, Charlie Murphy’s claim to fame was being Eddie Murphy’s older brother and telling stories of his bizarre experiences with Prince and Rick James on a classic Chappelle’s Show episode. The comedian was only 57 when he passed away in 2017 from leukemia.
The Amazing Johnathan
Better known as The Amazing Johnathan, John Edward Szeles became a hot ticket in Las Vegas for his hilarious combination of stand-up with magic tricks. Hulu’s The Amazing Johnathan Documentary from 2019 chronicled his struggles with cardiomyopathy, which later caused him to pass away from heart failure in 2022 when he was 63.
Dustin Diamond
After making a name for himself playing Screech in the Saved by the Bell cast, Dustin Diamond went on to continue working as a stand-up comedian. Sadly, his career was cut short in February 2021 when, just a month after he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, he passed away at 44.
John Pinette
Outside of his stand-up career (which largely consisted of material that commented on his eating habits), John Pinette was best known for his major guest appearance in the final episode of Seinfeld in 1998. It was in 2014 when a pulmonary embolism ended the comedian’s life when he was just 50 years old.
Robin Harris
Robin Harris became popular for a bit from his episode of HBO’s One Night Stand which was later adapted into the underrated animated ’90s movie, Bebe’s Kids. Unfortunately, he never got to see the 1992 feature because he passed at just 36 years old from a cardiac arrhythmia two years earlier.
Sean Rouse
Fans of raunchy stand-up comedy must have been fans of Sean Rouse, who had a brief acting career with a small role as an MIB agent in 2002’s Men in Black II. He was only 43 when, in 2018, he suffered a stroke, which was followed by a heart attack and, unfortunately, he did not recover.
Tim Wilson
Known for his schtick of performing his own humorous country music tunes on stage, Tim Wilson was also a staple of the popular, nationally syndicated radio program, The Bob and Tom Show. He was only 52 when the comedian, husband, and father of two suffered a fatal heart attack in 2014.
Dennis Wolfberg
Dennis Wolfberg worked as a teacher in New York City before pursuing a full-time career as a stand-up comedian, which led to an acting career that included a recurring stint on Quantum Leap. He came very close to having a TV series of his own before he died from melanoma in 1994 when he was 48.
Kevin Barnett
Kevin Barnett was a talented, young comedian known for his appearances in movies like Chris Rock’s Top Five and Mike Birbiglia’s Sleepwalk with Me and Don’t Think Twice, as well as co-creating the short-lived Fox sitcom Rel with star Lil Rel Howery and Rabinowitz. He was just 32 years old when he suddenly passed away from pancreatitis in 2019.
Jay Leggett
Jay Leggett gained popularity in the 1990s after he joined the In Living Color cast, on which he portrayed characters like The Depressed Irish Singer on the hit sketch comedy TV show. In 2013, the 50-year-old comedian suffered a fatal heart attack after spending a day participating in his other passion, hunting.
Mike DeStefano
Mike DeStefano became relatively known in the comedy world for his candid discussions about his substance addictions in much of his stand-up material. The 44-year-old comedian had just gotten done filming a video for Funny or Die when he suffered a heart attack that ended his life in 2011.
