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Richard Jeni

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Richard Jeni
Birth nameRichard John Colangelo
Born(1957-04-14)April 14, 1957[1]
Brooklyn,New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 10, 2007(2007-03-10)(aged 49)
Los Angeles,California, U.S.
MediumImprov, stand-up
Years active1982–2007
GenresComedy
Notable works and rolesCharlie Schumaker inThe Mask
Himself inPlatypus Man

Richard John Colangelo(April 14, 1957[1]– March 10, 2007), better known by his stage nameRichard Jeni,was an American stand-up comedian and actor.

Early life

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Jeni was born and raised in an Italian-American,Catholicfamily inBensonhurst, Brooklyn.[2]He graduated with honors fromHunter College,earning a bachelor's degree incomparative politics.After graduating, Jeni went on to do public relations work, but was let go from five different firms in two years before doing an open-mic night in Brooklyn and deciding to pursue standup comedy as a career in 1982.[3]

Career

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Jeni first received recognition through a series ofShowtimestand-up specials and frequent appearances onThe Tonight Show.After making hisTonight Showdebut in 1988 withJohnny Carson,Jeni returned often and later made appearances onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno,with more appearances than any other stand-up comedian.[4]In 1989, he won Comedy USA's Best Nightclub Comedian, as voted by comedy club owners and comedians, and his first Showtime specialRichard Jeni: The Boy From New York Citywon aCableACE Award.[5]

Top executives atHBOpicked up his first appearance onThe HBO Comedy Hourin 1992, titledRichard Jeni: Platypus Man.The show was well received, and Jeni returned for two more shows, going on to receive another CableACE Award for one of his HBO specials. Jeni starred on the 1995UPNsitcomPlatypus Manand appeared in theJim CarreyfilmThe Mask.Jeni composed the theme song ( "I'm A Platypus Man" ) for his TV series. He appeared inThe Aristocrats,Dad's Week Off,An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn,andChasing Robert.[6]He starred in commercial campaigns forCertsandArby's,and he won aClio Awardfor his work as a writer/performer in an advertising campaign for theAmerican Dairy Association.

In 2004, Jeni was ranked #57 onComedy Central's list of the100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.[7]

Death

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On March 10, 2007, Jeni was found by his girlfriend, Amy Murphy, a weather anchor and reporter forKTTVin Los Angeles, with a.38-caliberColt Detective Specialbetween his feet and an apparent self-inflicted handgun wound to the head[8]on the bathroom floor in hisWest Hollywood, Californiahome. Jeni and Murphy had been conversing in bed, discussing breakfast and their plans for the day, when Murphy left to cook breakfast downstairs. After a few minutes, she heard the sound of a gunshot, ran upstairs, discovered Jeni's condition, and called 9-1-1.[8]

Police and paramedics arrived and transported Jeni toCedars-Sinai Medical CenterinLos Angeles,where he died. His family later stated with certainty that the death was a suicide and that Jeni had recently been diagnosed with "severeclinical depressioncoupled with fits ofpsychoticparanoia."[9]According to the coroner's report released in June 2007, Jeni had a history ofschizophreniaand had been takingantidepressantsand a sleeping aid. The report further indicated that his girlfriend heard him talking to himself about a week earlier, saying "just squeeze the trigger."[10]

Jeni's death was marked by many tributes, including thousands of messages on his website andYouTubeas well as on the radio.[11]On March 12, 2007, Jeni's death was mentioned onThe Tonight ShowbyJay Leno,with accompanying footage of Jeni's last appearance on the show.[4]On March 16,Bill Maher,who had performed with Jeni as a young comic, dedicated the fifth episode of the fifth season of hisHBOshow,Real Time with Bill Maher,to Jeni and discussed his death onLarry King Live.[12]

Filmography

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Television series

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HBO specials

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  • Richard Jeni: Platypus Man(1993)
  • Richard Jeni: A Good Catholic Boy(1997)
  • Richard Jeni: A Big Steaming Pile of Me(2005)

Showtime specials

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  • Richard Jeni: Boy from New York City(1989)
  • Richard Jeni: Crazy from The Heat(1991)[13]

Other works

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  • OfficeMaxcommercial (voice) (1995–1999)
  • Certscommercial
  • Coca-Colacommercial for concession stands at the movie theater (1997)

References

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  1. ^abDOB according to Jeni's Websiteand Social Security Death Index.
  2. ^"Richard Jeni".Barber & Associates.2007. Archived fromthe originalon October 16, 2006.RetrievedMarch 11,2007.
  3. ^"Jeni Stumbles Into Comedy And Winds Up On Showtime".Sun Sentinel.Deerfield Beach, Florida. April 18, 1989.RetrievedJuly 2,2023.
  4. ^abBoucher, Geoff (March 26, 2007)."Jeni is topping the bill, one last time".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJuly 24,2018.
  5. ^Lannert, John (December 27, 1991)."Comic Richard Jeni To Hail New Year In West Palm".Sun Sentinel.Deerfield Beach, Florida.RetrievedJuly 24,2018.
  6. ^"Chasing Robert".Archived fromthe originalon July 5, 2007.
  7. ^Lawson, Joseph F. (October 19, 2021)."Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time".IMDb.RetrievedJuly 2,2023.
  8. ^abRyan, Jack (June 27, 2007)."A Comedian's Sad Demise – Coroner: Before suicide, Richard Jeni was involuntarily hospitalized".The Smoking Gun.RetrievedJune 27,2007.
  9. ^"Family Says Jeni Committed Suicide".The Washington Post.Associated Press.March 13, 2007.RetrievedMarch 13,2007.
  10. ^"Coroner's Report: Jeni Was Mentally Ill".The Washington Post.Associated Press. June 29, 2007.RetrievedAugust 16,2009.
  11. ^Brand, Madeleine; Chadwick, Alex (March 13, 2007)."Comedian Richard Jeni Dies".Day to Day.
  12. ^"Larry King Live Interview with Bill Maher".CNNTranscripts.March 12, 2007.
  13. ^"Richard Jeni: Crazy from the Heat (TV Special 1991)".IMDb.
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