Greg Giraldo dead
September 29, 2010 7:23 PM   Subscribe

"The internets a creepy thing, especially if you have kids. It says something very creepy about the fact that I use the same machine to masturbate with as I use to teach my kid the alphabet." Comedian Greg Giraldo died of a drug overdose.
posted by fungible (63 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
From one of the stories about his death:

In addition to his four nights at the club, the recovering alcoholic had been booked to appear Saturday afternoon at the New York Recovery Rally, billed as an event to "celebrate recovery from addiction."

For some reason this makes me so much sadder. I suppose I should just be equally sad no matter what, but still.

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posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:26 PM on September 29, 2010


It says something very creepy about the fact that I use the same machine to masturbate with as I use to teach my kid the alphabet.

This objection could also be applied to one's hands or brain.
posted by orange swan at 7:28 PM on September 29, 2010 [13 favorites]


Again, Damn.

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But...Maybe someone can do this...
posted by R. Mutt at 7:30 PM on September 29, 2010


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posted by Big_B at 7:31 PM on September 29, 2010


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As an aside, I hadn't realized that he graduated from Harvard Law and worked for Skadden for a short time.
posted by amro at 7:35 PM on September 29, 2010


Richard Jeni, Robert Schimmel, Greg Giraldo. Good Lord Almighty.
posted by Mapes at 7:36 PM on September 29, 2010 [2 favorites]


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Sources have ruled out suicide and say the overdose was accidental, FWIW.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 7:37 PM on September 29, 2010


Huh, he had a degree from Harvard Law.
posted by electroboy at 7:48 PM on September 29, 2010


No...

You went to Harvard Law School then dropped out. Tell me about the decision to quit.

It was scary. I had a lot of student debt and I didn't know where the career was going. I started doing comedy for the hell of it and I thought, "I'll pursue that somehow until I figure out what I'm actually going to do for a living to pay my loans." I didn't think comedy was a viable career option.

But before I quit, I was dying. I mean, I couldn't do it. It wasn't like I was a functioning professional and I just made the choice to throw it all away to pursue this crazy dream. I was incapable of being a lawyer. It wasn't an option. I was going to stop being a lawyer whether I wanted to or not.

posted by R. Mutt at 7:52 PM on September 29, 2010 [4 favorites]


.Maybe someone can do this...

or maybe I wish search functions would find deleted posts?

He died. If you knew who he was, it just sucks. What more is there to say.
posted by fungible at 7:53 PM on September 29, 2010


Mapes:Richard Jeni, Robert Schimmel, Greg Giraldo. Good Lord Almighty.

You can take great comfort in the fact that Gallagher, Carlos Mencia, and Carrot Top will all live to be 200.
posted by dr_dank at 7:53 PM on September 29, 2010 [6 favorites]


Better than a Harvard Law Degree. IMHO
posted by R. Mutt at 7:53 PM on September 29, 2010 [1 favorite]


I almost feel like a roast would be appropriate, but I can't bring myself to go there.

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posted by dephlogisticated at 7:55 PM on September 29, 2010


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posted by Lukenlogs at 7:56 PM on September 29, 2010


Wow, is it just me, or does the post text seem like the two sentences form a hilariously huge non sequitir?
posted by tehloki at 7:56 PM on September 29, 2010 [1 favorite]


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posted by keli at 7:58 PM on September 29, 2010


I knew him, a little. I used to work for Tough Crowd, and, well, there's a reason he was one of the most frequent guests there. NY stand-up is a very insular world, and Colin knew everybody in it. Nobody would ever accuse Colin Quinn of being a great comedian, but he's one of the most genuinely nice and selfless guys out there, which is how he kept getting so much work.

Watching the show must have seemed like, well, watching a bunch of angry jerks shout over one another, but the only way the show was able to work at all was because the regular guests were all actually great people, who liked riffing with one another, and who worked well with others.

Greg was perhaps the nicest of these. I never knew him well, but well enough to miss him.

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posted by Navelgazer at 7:59 PM on September 29, 2010 [13 favorites]


You went to Harvard Law School then dropped out.

Not sure what you're quoting from, R. Mutt, but Esquire thinks he didn't drop out.
posted by amro at 7:59 PM on September 29, 2010 [1 favorite]


Wow.

He performed at my college the year after he allegedly cleaned up as part of some Comedy Central Tour with Mike Birbiglia sponsored by Nintendo. This was. . .2005? 2006? Anyway, he was drunk and (it appeared) simultaneously high on cocaine, ie a complete trainwreck. I wasn't exactly a fan of his, but I was hoping this was just a momentary relapse, a one-off thing on his otherwise spotless road to sobriety.

And now to die of a prescription drug overdose?

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posted by Ndwright at 8:00 PM on September 29, 2010


I almost feel like a roast would be appropriate, but I can't bring myself to go there.

Don't worry, Gilbert Gottfriend already did.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:04 PM on September 29, 2010 [6 favorites]


Not sure what you're quoting from, R. Mutt, but Esquire thinks he didn't drop out.

Greg Giraldo on Failure
posted by R. Mutt at 8:10 PM on September 29, 2010


You went to Harvard Law School then dropped out.

I was going to stop being a lawyer whether I wanted to or not.


I wonder if it's poorly worded and they meant that he dropped out of the law biz? I mean, it's inconsequential, I'm just curious.
posted by amro at 8:14 PM on September 29, 2010


"Convince neighbors opposite that you have your very own PC by staring into the corner of your bedroom whilst tapping on an oblong piece of wood, pausing occasionally to masturbate furiously."

-from Viz magazine's Top Tips section, circa mid to late 1990s
posted by uncanny hengeman at 8:17 PM on September 29, 2010 [5 favorites]


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posted by DZack at 8:33 PM on September 29, 2010


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posted by photoslob at 8:35 PM on September 29, 2010


I almost feel like a roast would be appropriate, but I can't bring myself to go there.

At the roast of Hasselhoff:

"Your liver is so shriveled, black, and dead, if you put your ear to your side, you can hear it go "Whatchu talkin' about Willis"."

I'm thinking a roast is more than appropriate.
posted by clearly at 8:40 PM on September 29, 2010 [5 favorites]


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posted by clearly at 8:41 PM on September 29, 2010


Damn, I really liked Giraldo. This fucking sucks.

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posted by Sphinx at 8:45 PM on September 29, 2010


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posted by KingEdRa at 8:51 PM on September 29, 2010


I loved his biting humor at roasts.

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posted by haveanicesummer at 8:59 PM on September 29, 2010


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posted by IvoShandor at 9:07 PM on September 29, 2010


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posted by brundlefly at 9:21 PM on September 29, 2010


I loved Tough Crowd, which is where I first heard of him. I was a teen at the time, but always enjoyed his stuff.

Thanks for the laughs, Greg.
posted by cmgonzalez at 9:30 PM on September 29, 2010


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posted by miss-lapin at 9:30 PM on September 29, 2010 [1 favorite]


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posted by Deathalicious at 9:32 PM on September 29, 2010


You can take great comfort in the fact that Gallagher, Carlos Mencia, and Carrot Top will all live to be 200.

Here's how it will happen:

Carrot Top will have a magic, life-extending prop in his trunk, something that he'll whip out in the surgery room to keep him alive to 200.

Mencia will steal Carrot Top's life-saving prop and will also live to 200.

Gallagher will be so angry that both of them will have long, successful careers that his rage will keep his black heart pumping to 200.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:42 PM on September 29, 2010 [10 favorites]


I remember enjoying seeing him on Tough Crowd. Always seemed to have a cheerful cynicism about the world.

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posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:43 PM on September 29, 2010


Depressing. I'm a fan...and I would link some of my favourite Greg Giraldo moments if the Comedy Network didn't make that so difficult. Think I'll watch Greg and Patton Oswalt debating on Lewis Black's The Root of All Evil. (Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney)
posted by Lorin at 9:45 PM on September 29, 2010


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posted by horsemuth at 10:00 PM on September 29, 2010


Tough Crowd was one of my favorite shows on Comedy Central. I saw Greg perform this past Spring in Nashville and he was absolutely hilarious. He took pictures with everyone after his set and was really nice about it. It's such a shame, I'll miss him and his comedy so much.
posted by SarahElizaP at 10:02 PM on September 29, 2010


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posted by geekyguy at 10:06 PM on September 29, 2010


Aww, learning about him and Robert Schimmel dying in the same thread. Giraldo was usually much funnier than anyone else at those stupid roasts.

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posted by not_on_display at 10:08 PM on September 29, 2010


This sucks. His comedy was so sharp and consistently hilarious.

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posted by unwordy at 10:18 PM on September 29, 2010


I use the same machine to masturbate with

"Ah," my favorite teabagger from Delaware would say, "masturbation did him in."
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:52 PM on September 29, 2010


This is a total bummer. Giraldo was funny as all get out on the Roasts and seemed like a consummate performer and a nice dude. I had really only recently taken note of his work, but I enjoyed it.

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posted by HostBryan at 10:52 PM on September 29, 2010




Spinning "Underwear Goes Inside the Pants" this morning in memoriam.
posted by jbickers at 3:25 AM on September 30, 2010


My wife and I were huge Tough Crowd fans (and I would accuse Colin of being a great comedian), that's where I was first introduced to him.

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posted by Mick at 5:09 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]


So damn sad. He wasn't just my favorite comedian, but he was thoughtful and considerate in a strange way while at the same time he was incredibly forceful and biting. A true great.




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posted by glaucon at 5:30 AM on September 30, 2010


Greg Giraldo was a comic with serious chops, he was good at constructing jokes, delivering jokes, and knowing how to push peoples buttons. But the thing that I always liked most about him doesn't really always come across in his act; in interviews he's clearly a smart, thoughtful, and insightful man whose really put in a lot of work trying to understand himself and the world around him.

He'll definitely be missed.
posted by I Foody at 5:33 AM on September 30, 2010


very sad.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 5:35 AM on September 30, 2010


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posted by mneekadon at 5:55 AM on September 30, 2010


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posted by SeanMac at 6:00 AM on September 30, 2010


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posted by joedan at 9:21 AM on September 30, 2010


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posted by Twicketface at 9:51 AM on September 30, 2010


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posted by indiebass at 10:45 AM on September 30, 2010


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posted by nonliteral at 10:46 AM on September 30, 2010


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posted by schyler523 at 11:40 AM on September 30, 2010


At Bob Sagat's roast, Jim Norton said "Life sucks, Pryor's dead, Carlin's dead, Saget's healthy as a mule." He can add Giraldo to that last. R.I.P. Greg.
posted by vito90 at 1:34 PM on September 30, 2010


Navelgazer: That put a smile on my face. Incredibly awesome that you used to work on that show. I loved it quite a bit. Watched it every single night that it was on. I legitimately wish there could be a DVD or series of DVDs featuring the run of the show, but I know it would never happen. It was i the perfect spot after The Daily Show and never ever failed to crack me up. One of my favorite Giraldo moments from that show was in one of the final bits they always ran. He was supposed to size up some people and make some comments about them. He told some old lady that she looked like someone who would say "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle..." Whenever he was on, I'd laugh til I cried. *Especially* when he did those roasts... Whew-ee! He was always someone I hoped to meet one day. Oh well :( May he rest in peace!
posted by mrzer0 at 2:15 PM on September 30, 2010


Lorin: "I would link some of my favourite Greg Giraldo moments if the Comedy Network didn't make that so difficult"

The Daily Show's Moment of Zen - Our Moment of Greg Giraldo

A Tribute to Our Dear Friend Greg Giraldo

The Best of Greg Giraldo

All links above to Comedy Central site; last one has tons of embedded video.

And there's a great deal more.
posted by yiftach at 11:04 PM on September 30, 2010 [2 favorites]


I just started watching some of these, and this one about parenting, especially the last bit about breast feeding, had me (a father of two, including one boy) crying with laughter and recognition.

I was familiar with him from the Roasts and Root of All Evil and a couple of stand-up routines, and already thought his death was a tragedy. All this excellent material makes it only more so.

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posted by yiftach at 11:13 PM on September 30, 2010


Shit

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posted by Cosine at 11:26 AM on October 2, 2010


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