Greg Giraldo: 1965-2010

Comedian, writer, TV personality, and former lawyer Greg Giraldo died today, he was 44. Giraldo died at Robert Wood Johnson hospital in New Brunswick, NJ with his family present. This past weekend, Giraldo was found by a friend after missing a scheduled show at The Stress Factory. He was then rushed to the hospital where he was in critical condition ever since. The reported cause being an accidental overdose on prescription pills.

Around 3:30pm today Twitter exploded with many people sending out condolences to Giraldo. The story was soon relayed by gossip siteTMZ.com and unfortunately after much speculation, Greg’s management company, The Collective issued a statement confirming his passing:

The Collective mourns the passing of our great friend and colleague Greg Giraldo. As you may know, Greg was the father of three young children and genius comedic talent who was revered, admired and loved by our comedy community.

A statement from the family hasn’t been made yet but TMZ reports there are plans for public tributes.

Giraldo was a comic’s comic, the type of comedian who had intelligence, style, and delivery down so well that it appeared nearly effortless. He’s probably best known for skewering celebrities on the Comedy Central Roasts and as a judge on the most recent season of Last Comic Standing but his career also includes numerous TV appearances, stand-up specials, and comedy albums. There were comedians that may have reached a higher level of success than Greg, but there are very few we can think of that were more respected by peers and critics or better on the stage.

Over the years, Giraldo’s had his battles with demons. He never claimed to be a perfect man when it came to substance abuse and was often open about his struggles, even implementing those trials and tribulations into his act. In the next few weeks we’ll hear a variety of stories about Greg, and what we gather (we never had the pleasure of actually meeting him) so far is that there aren’t many people with bad things to say about him. And a quick read over Twitter, the immediate responses from fellow comedians are nothing but outpours of great love and respect.

Jim Norton: “Greg Giraldo passed away today. This is the last photo of us together, taken June 28 at Noam’s wedding. RIP buddy.”

Louis CK: “Greg Giraldo was a good guy. The kind of you’re always glad to see. Also a funny comic and person. He died today. Goodbye friend.”

Natasha Leggero: “I got to know Greg Giraldo this year and he was one of the most intelligent, naturally hilarious people I’ve ever met.”

Tom Papa: “I lost one of my best friends today.”

Andy Kindler: “Rest In Peace, my sweet friend, Greg Giraldo. So brilliant. My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family. Love all the people.”

Patton Oswalt: “Really, Universe? Greg Giraldo? Fuck off.” “Just went way out of my way not to drive past Laugh Factory. If I see Giraldo’s name on that marquee, gonna lose it.” “If there’s a heaven then Einstein, Asimov, Voltaire and Anne Frank are getting the shit roasted out of ’em tonight”

Greg Fitzsimmons: “RIP GREG GIRALDO. ONE OF THE TRULY GREAT COMICS AND GREAT FRIENDS”

Marc Maron: “Goodbye, Greggy. RIP. So sad. Really sad. Giraldo was a great guy, a great comic, a loving dad. It’s just awful. My heart hurts.”

Bob Saget: “Greg Giraldo. Love and peace. So fucking funny.”

Bo Burnham: “RIP Greg Giraldo. An incredibly funny and kind person. This blows.”

Lisa Lampanelli: “There are no words 2 express what a shame it is 2 lose Greg Giraldo. His smart humor was unparalleled & he will be missed for yrs to come.”

Mike Birbiglia: “RIP Greg Giraldo. One of the fucking best. He did truly smart comedy that represented the underdog & told the truth. A sad, sad day.”

Aziz Ansari: “Very sad to hear the news about Greg Giraldo. One of the most respected comics I can think of. The world has lost a hysterical man. RIP.”

Rob Riggle: “RIP Greg Giraldo…. I’m so bummed out right now. You brought the funny man..”

Daniel Tosh: “Sorry to hear about the passing of Greg Giraldo. thank you for everything.”

Sara Silverman: “RIP Greg Giraldo. Belly-laugh hilarious, prolific, good & kind. A thousand oys can’t express”

David Hasselhoff: “Really sad to learn about Greg Giraldo. He was a funny guy and was great on the roast. RIP, Greg…”

Comedy Central set up a tribute to Giraldo where fans an go and leave messages to Greg. And his website is directing people to leave notes of condolences on Greg’s Facebook page.

Here’s one of our favorite clips between Greg and Denis Leary from Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn. It was unearthed by Sean at The Comic’s Comic, and been ages since I’ve seen it.

Rest In Peace Greg, you are already missed.