Richard Jeni...... looks like he took his own life

RIP

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/11/comedian.dead.ap/index.html

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California (AP) -- Richard Jeni, a standup comedian who played to sold-out crowds, was a regular on the "Tonight Show" and appeared in movies, died of a gunshot wound in an apparent suicide, police said Sunday.

Police found the 45-year-old comedian alive but gravely injured in a West Hollywood home when they responded to a call Saturday morning from Jeni's girlfriend, Los Angeles Police Officer Norma Eisenman said.

Eisenman said the caller told police: "My boyfriend shot himself in the face."

Jeni died at a nearby hospital.

Eisenman said suicide had not been officially confirmed and the investigation was continuing.

Jeni regularly toured the country with a standup act and had starred in several HBO comedy specials, most recently "A Big Steaming Pile of Me" during the 2005-06 season.

Another HBO special, "Platypus Man," won a Cable ACE award for best standup comedy special, and formed the basis for his UPN sitcom of the same name, which ran for one season.

Jeni's movie credits included "The Mask," in which he played Jim Carrey's best friend, "The Aristocrats," "National Lampoon's Dad's Week Off," and "An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn."

He had guest appearances on the TV shows "Everybody Hates Chris," "Married: With Children," and updated versions of the game shows "Hollywood Squares" and "Match Game."

The Brooklyn-born comic first received national attention in 1990 with the Showtime special "Richard Jeni: Boy From New York City." Two years later, his "Crazy From the Heat" special attracted the highest ratings in Showtime's history.

Jeni became a frequent guest on "The Tonight Show" during Johnny Carson's reign and continued to appear after Jay Leno took over as host.

He also wrote comic material for the 2005 Academy Awards, which was hosted by his friend Chris Rock.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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That sucks, he was one of my favorite comedians....

 

That does suck but this doesn't sound right "My boyfriend shot himself in the face."

 

Why?

I'm not that familiar with him but I'm pretty sure I saw him at the Improv. A lot of comedians suffer that's why they do comedy. It's too bad he didn't get some help or at least make things work out.

 

reminds me of the Phil Hartman death.

 

WeHo is handled by LASD, not LAPD - was Cedars Sinai the hospital? Does "CSI WeHo" kick investigations like this to LAPD or was the location simply bordering Boystown?

Check for Powder burns...

 

It is strange but he probably put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger and she was most likely hysterical when she made the call.

 

One of my best friends going up was a comedian at the age of 14. He appeared on TV’s PM Magazine, & toured the west coast comedy clubs on summer break with his father. He even opened for Andrew “Dice” Clay & befriended him before his major popularity during the late 80’s. I noticed it was a lot of stress for him & he later turned to drugs & alcohol abuse. His family had an intervention with him & we thought everything was well & good. It wasn’t until the early 90’s he was attending UTA & had a writing job with the local newspaper, he had taken a break from comedy by this time & did a great job of staying clean & sober. At the time he was involved with girl he met at school that had a part time job as a topless dancer. For no reason she killed herself, I never got to meet her so I never knew what she was really like. This hit him extremely hard, later he did a story on suicide that was written in a very intense style. For some of us it was a cry for help & we (his friends) didn’t think about what he was trying to say.

He also became a shut in & didn’t want to talk to anyone. A couple weeks later he bought a gun from a pawnshop some in south Arlington, the next day he was found in field across from his apartment with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. I never did understand why he would do something so horrible like that. We often spoke about writing new comedy material like when we were younger, he didn't want to at the time & said it's a very hard business on you, I'll never forget that. He really had so much going for him at the time. God bless you Brian, you made the world laugh & think while being on this planet for such a brief moment.

Brian Schultz
1969/1993

(Sorry for writing this, I just felt it was time I said something about him.)

 

What you wrote was very profound and sincere.

It's sad to see people who end their lives by their own hands.

 

Damn, one of the best...this sucks!

 

Not a thing to apologize about - I lost a good friend last year to his own decision. Like no other, he knew how to say things funny, but... dark side, yes, finding the end-all, be-all moment to end it all, absolutely. It was a question of when, and he chose it.

He did it his way in a manner meant to mess with his shall we say, demanding future-ex-wife's head, who remained aloof (read: without a care in the world) towards him and his during and after services, where she let it be known her only concern was getting the room in "her" house cleaned up so she could (yawn) redecorate. She got a piece of quite a few of my friend's minds, not just, how shall I put it... his.

Our circle of friends has called each other by our names backwards (a naming convention he started) since the late 70's, so, that's how I'll let you remember him by.

Though you should have shot her, you were never going to be happy, so I hope you're happy as you...

Rest In Peace, Llih Mada