Yesterday afternoon, while I was shopping at Lowes, I received a text from a friend informing me that comedian Patrice O'Neal had passed away. WHAT? But he was so young! I was in shock! My friend told me that he'd heard it on the "Opie and Anthony" radio show on Sirius XM Satellite radio. Not that I didn't believe my friend, but I needed confirmation, so I quickly text a friend who handles the publicity at Carolines on Broadway, and I also hit up my friend and "That Metal Show" co-host, comedian Don Jamieson. Don replied with a single word, "Yes," which told me that he might've been broken up about it or he just didn't want to talk about it, but that was confirmation enough for me. My friend from Carolines on Broadway never answered, which was weird because all of my meetings with Patrice took place at the premiere comedy club.
For those who don't know Patrice, he was brilliant comedian who brought many fans to tears with laughter as he would joke about his weight and race. He's even appeared in movies like "Scary Movie 4" and "Furry Vengeance", and TV shows like "The Office" and "Arrested Development". His last TV appearance was as a roaster on the Charlie Sheen Roast. Well, Patrice, who was suffering from diabetes, had a stroke back in October, and a little bit more than a month later, the funnyman died.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Patrice suffered from diabetes for much of his adult life. He lived in Jersey City, NJ and was a longtime fixture on the New York and Los Angeles comedy scenes. Patrice is survived by his wife, Vondecarlo, stepdaughter, Aymilyon, and his sister, Ziner.
Normally, I could care less about a celebrity death, but like I said earlier, I actually got to hang out with Patrice a few times down at Carolines On Broadway, and he really was a gentle giant, and a hilarious one at that. I remember, my friend, Greg from Carolines, and I were headed to a WWE event at Madison Square Garden and Patrice was sitting at the bar at Carolines and we talked for a little while before we headed to the event. I told Patrice that I was interested in writing for the WWE, and he told me that he was a writer for them on two different occasions. He told me that I wouldn't like it because the McMahon family was a little too controlling and that he didn't have the freedom to write whatever he wanted. Another time, I remembered hanging out at Carolines for drinks, and it was a night Patrice was actually hosting, so after he did a 15-minute routine, he came out by the bar to hang out with us, and a white couple, from like Iowa or something, came out and asked for their money back because they were offended by Patrice's racist remarks. Patrice actually said to them, "What did you guys expect to hear when you came to a comedy club, and the club was filled with black people? Jokes about black people?" At that point, the couple just left while we just sat their and laughed!
Patrice was a very funny guy, and I am happy to have, at least, known him for a little while. I only wished that I had the chance to see him again before he passed away. His moments on the "Opie and Anthony Show" were priceless and like Opie tweeted on his Twitter account, "Patrice was the funniest and best thinker I've ever known PERIOD!" And with that we say, good-bye, Patrice O'Neal, Rest In Peace.
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