Richard Jeni Dead From Apparent Suicide

I was shocked and sad to see this news article about Richard Jeni, who was only 45. I've been a fan of stand-up comedy since I was a kid, and Jeni had some really great sets, strong material with sharp timing. He did land several specials for himself, but was one of those not terribly famous comics I'd recommend to people, and who people might not know by name but would say, "oh yeah, that guy." I remember catching a re-run of one of his specials late at night on a broadcast network, and marveling at how sharp he was. It's a shame and a waste.

I was a fan of Mitch Hedburg too, who had a unique, likable goofball style with some really witty material, and died in 2005 at the age of 37. Then there's Phil Hartman, Chris Farley, John Belushi... sigh.