As I was driving back from the supermarket yesterday I heard that comedian Richard Jeni had died. Since he was barely older than I am, that was surprising. Even more shocking was the manner of his death–from shooting himself in the face in an apparent suicide.
I really hope there’s some other explanation for his death that comes to light, though I can’t imagine what that might be. I have enjoyed his work (you might remember him from the Tonight Show or as Jim Carrey’s sidekick in The Mask or more recently an episode of Everybody Hates Chris). But it seems particularly sad to me when those who make us laugh and forget our troubles can’t seem to manage their own.
I’ve concluded that for comedians all that humor comes from a very dark, ugly place. Literally ‘tears of a clown.’ So sad.