Richard Jeni

Richard John Colangelo (April 14, 1957 - March 10, 2007), better known by his stage name Richard Jeni, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Born and raised in an Italian-American Catholic family in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, he graduated with honors from Hunter College before doing public relations work and then pursuing stand-up comedy as a career in 1982. Jeni first received recognition through a series of Showtime stand-up specials and frequent appearances on The Tonight Show, making more appearances than any other stand-up comedian on the program. His specials included Richard Jeni: Platypus Man (1993) and Richard Jeni: A Big Steaming Pile of Me (2005), and he starred in the 1995 UPN sitcom Platypus Man and appeared in the Jim Carrey film The Mask. In 2004 he was ranked number 57 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. Jeni died on March 10, 2007 at the age of 49 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound; his family stated the death was a suicide following a diagnosis of severe clinical depression.