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Late yesterday, it was confirmed that comedian Greg Giraldo died at age 44 of an “accidental overdose.” And this morning it is being reported that Tony Curtis has also died (at age 85 of being age 85). Part of me feels like there’s something vaguely unpleasant and dishonorable about lumping two obituaries in together on one pop culture blog post, as if that doesn’t do justice to the life that has been lost, and part of me feels like it’s unpleasant and dishonorable for blogs to report on death in the first place* because of how they are FUCKING BLOGS, so maybe we were lost from the start, and that part of me just doesn’t want to spend all morning writing about people who died because eek, and that part of me wins. From the New York Times:
Greg Giraldo, a comedian famous for his stinging insult humor, disgruntled rants and frequent appearances on Comedy Central’s highly watched roast series, died on Wednesday at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. He was 44.
From the New York Times:
Tony Curtis, a classically handsome movie star who earned an Oscar nomination as an escaped convict in Stanley Kramer’s 1958 movie “The Defiant Ones,” but whose public preferred him in comic roles in films like “Some Like It Hot” (1959) and “The Great Race” (1965), died Wednesday of a cardiac arrest in his Las Vegas area home. He was 85.
R.I.P. Greg Giraldo. You will be missed. You’re in heaven now, roasting the angels. And R.I.P. Tony Curtis. You will be missed. You’re in heaven now, dressing like an angel to fool them.
*Not to mention the slight unease that celebrity obituaries create in general, because however much “comfort” one might take in one’s ruminations on the meaning of life and the fact that no matter how yours plays out on this Earth, we are all heading towards the same inevitable conclusion, and feeling hopeful that our shared experience somehow makes us all human, celebrity obituaries stand as a powerful reminder that even though more than 140,000 people (140,000 PEOPLE!) die every single day on this planet, only a handful of them are “important” enough to get a blurb on Salon.com, so go fuck yourself you nobody. Basically. Now if you’lll excuse me, I have to go tag this post with the “Top Stories” tag.
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Reunited
Aw, I didn’t even think about that. That’s awesome.
RIP, Tony. He’s pretending to play the saxophone for Jesus and Ghandi and everyone now.
Greg when you go to use the bathroom you will see the door says Gentlemen, pay no heed walk right in, there isn’t a door marked scoundrels.
Thanks for posting that amazing epic rant, Gabe. RIP, indeed.
This week videogum is authorialasidegum.
That is not cool, Bing.
Bing, I didn’t know I could hate you any more…and then you go and say something like that.
The death of every person is sad, in part because of its ultimate plainness, but on the bright side is this: how many great comedians and actors were born yesterday?
Here here, Mans. And also: “R.I.P. Greg Giraldo. You will be missed. You’re in heaven now, roasting the angels. And R.I.P. Tony Curtis. You will be missed. You’re in heaven now, dressing like an angel to fool them.” A round of pulitzers for this monster, please.
Mans, as a strange little society that has built up around the rambloggings of a bitter, bitter man, us Monsters are typically a very caustic bunch. I am genuinely and non-sarcastically pleased when you say something like this; you are truly the best of our sad little bunch.
I’ll second that.
Bah, you’re right. Kind of took the wind out of my sails, since I was on my way to a joke about the nativity of the next Justin Bieber. Damn your sincerity, Mans. Also, I appreciate it.
RIP Schwartz
Nice interview here (“nice” meaning very heavy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKjEGZrbuec
Writing obituaries on a blog can’t be worse than people who actually knew him writing “R.I.P. Greg Giraldo” on Twitter.
I mean, if my friend died, I wouldn’t write “R.I.P. Jennifer Smith” or whatever as my Facebook status.
But there are hundreds of thousands of people that would.
louis CK had kind words, and patton oswalt put himself out there in a very patton oswalt way.
CK:
“Greg giraldo was a good guy. The kind of you’re always glad to see. Also a funny comic and person. He died today. Goodbye friend.”
PO:
“really universe? greg giraldo? fuck off…Just went way out of my way not to drive past Laugh Factory. If I see Giraldo’s name on that marquee, gonna lose it…If there’s a heaven then Einstein, Asimov, Voltaire and Anne Frank are getting the shit roasted out of ‘em tonight”
fitting and honest.
Yeah, I liked those. “R.I.P.” just seems a little cold and insincere.
It always seems to, yet people still use it. RIP reminds me of graves in peoples yards on halloween, not the loss of a human life.
i agree with that…yet it will only become more and more common as people more frequently resport to 140-characters-or-less to express themselves..
also, didnt think about this until now, but suggesting Anne Frank is “getting the shit roasted out of [her]” might not be the best image to put in someone’s head.
It’s a bummer to see a comedian as original and intelligent as Greg Giraldo pass. Greg, we barely knew ye’.
the worst is when people write goodbye messages on dead people’s facebook walls. if there is a heaven, i’m pretty sure they don’t have internet. and if they do, i bet they’re still on dial up.
Also RIP Oscar-nominated actor Joe Mantell (“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”).
He also gave my favorite performance in “The Birds” as the drunk salesman at the bar.
Uh-oh, is this going to be the Autumn of Death 2010?
Yes, in that people died in Autumn 2009, 2008, 2007 all the way back to TIME.
Also, Gilbert Godfrey tweeted “If they cremate Greg Giraldo, will that be the Greg Giraldo roast?”
So, he should chop his own head off, is what I’m saying.
Mint Gilbert.
to be fair, pretty sure Greg Giraldo would’ve made the same or a similar joke too. Gilbert’s just honoring a friend.
Prescription drugs are the worst… they have killed my friends, my enemies, my celebrities, and my comics. Don’t do them guys!
Tony Curtis will always be in my heart, wearing a sea captain’s uniform and dangly diamond earrings.
He’s pretty.
Everything’s comin’ up Rivera!
You hold your seances on google?
I didn’t know who Greg Giraldo was until I watched the Bob Saget roast last week on instant Netflix. Greg and Norm MacDonald were the only reason to watch it. How tragic. It seems that only the funny die young (take care of yourself, Norm!).
Robert Schimmel and now Greg Giraldo. If anything happens to Louis CK, I’m becoming an atheist.
Jesus, I didn’t know Schimmel died.
I would like to express my sadness over the passing of talented Broadway and film director Arthur Penn.
Cinema gold.
Faye Dunaway looked so badass in this movie. I wish I could pull off a scarf and a beret like that.
I had no idea. Man. This is a lot of talented people I like dying. Bonnie and Clyde is amazing.
It’d be weirder not to address Giraldo’s death. We all love comedy here, and the guy was a truly hilarious comedian. I listened to his stand up all last night… I just can’t believe this could happen…
his Comedy Central Presents is probably my favorite – even over comedian i would normally enjoy more – because somehow it was still “him” where others kind of went with their more broad material.
the bit about not being “ethnic enough” to host a show on animal planet and then doing a very-mexican weatherman gets me every time…..”great day to cross a river…”
I’m unsettled that Greg Giraldo died like, fifteen minutes away from me.
Did anyone else see the “moment of Greg” on the Daily Show last night? Very touching, I thought.
Wow. I hadn’t actually felt any real emotion over this, but that definitely got me. Incidentally, that’s my favorite bit of his.
Let me also say: Really, Viacom? The guy died and you won’t let his fans watch a 4-minute clip of him telling jokes? Viacom hates us and laughter.