Comedy Central: "Give It Up for Greg Giraldo" to Air March 18

Comedy Central has announced "Give It Up for Greg Giraldo," a tribute that will feature "never-before-aired, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the late comedian himself." Also featured will be interviews with several guests, including Jon Stewart, Conan O’Brien, Dave Attell, Sarah Silverman, Colin Quinn and more. The special airs March 18 at 11:30PM ET/PT.

Giraldo, who died last September of a drug overdose, was an important part of Comedy Central's voice, doing stand-up specials, appearing on panel programs, killing at roasts, and providing much of the most reliably intelligent and funny comedy on the network. His death was deeply felt in the comedy community.

Giraldo's absence was noted more than once at the very recently filmed Roast of Donald Trump. Before the event, his writing partner and friend Jesse Joyce reportedly had a joke so "evil" that he believed only Giraldo could have made it work.

Podcast of the Week: Marc Maron on Giraldo and Schimmel

"He was really baffled at at the fact that he could not stay off fucking drugs and alcohol. And he tried. And this was a miscalculation."
-Marc Maron

Photo Credit: Bobby Bank
Posted by The Stress Factory

If you're only going to listen to or read one more remembrance of Greg Giraldo, make it Maron's tribute on his podcast. The half-hour he spends remembering Robert Schimmel and Giraldo is a pure example of his characteristic honesty and vulnerability. Maron knows fear and pain and doubt really well. But more importantly, he knows that he doesn't know it all. Calling Giraldo's overdose a "miscalculation" is about as precise a term as I can imagine. It doesn't matter what the truth is about which drugs he was using and which choices he was aware of; whatever the numbers, at some point Giraldo started adding them up wrong.

Tributes to Greg Giraldo have been going up on all sorts of sites. And they're worth reading. Some of them are simple statements of sadness and remembrance, and some of them are more detailed thoughts on the significance of Giraldo and his death.

Comedy Central:

Greg was our go-to comedian for a reason: he was always game, always generous, and always brilliantly funny.

Ted Alexandro (@ The Comic's Comic):

It was a week or so after September 11th and Greg walked into Gotham Comedy Club. I was thrilled because I was curious to see if he would address the attacks and how he would handle it. I hadn't really seen anyone do it yet. Greg proceeded to launch head on into the topic with a daring and magical set that was both astoundingly funny and cathartic. I laughed so hard that I cried. I cried because maestro Giraldo had taught us all a lesson once again. Nothing stops life. Nothing is off limits. It is all fodder, it is all available to us to create something beautiful. There was something so reassuring in his cocksure presence on stage. It was like 'Okay motherfuckers, here we go!'

Dave Anthony:

I'm not sure why Greg's death has knocked me down the way it has. … Could just be because he was one of the nicest stand up comedians I've met. I am a man obsessed with justice and things being right. This is just so wrong I can't wrap my head around it.

Dylan Gadino (Punchline Magazine):

I hope he knew that I was inspired by his performances. On his albums and during his live shows, no matter how frustrated or angry he seemed while dissecting society’s foibles, there was a quiet, constant and underlying fragility that endeared him not only to me but also to all of his true fans.

Sean McCarthy (The Comics Comic):

One of the first things I wrote publicly about Greg Giraldo in 2006 was this: "Greg Giraldo should be a lot more famous than he is. Of all of the stand-up comedians working the circuit and talking topical, few know how to tell it like it is like Giraldo can." I still feel the same way about him today.

Vinnie Brand:

For those of you that got to know him, you knew him instantly as a fine man and if you were fortunate, a good friend.

Michael Ian Black:

I was struck by his immense intelligence and good spirit. … The lesson I take away from it is one I hope I’ve been learning over the years: have gratitude for what you have and forgive yourself for what might have been.

Michael Ian Black's comments are, in part, his response to an interview Giraldo did with Psychology Today on the topic of failure.

Video Bit of the Week: Greg Giraldo Tough Crowd

If you're going to argue about the legalities of a case that you know very little about, you're probably not going to fare too well against a Harvard educated lawyer. Greg Giraldo's frustration with the stupid claims and inane premises of the discussion bring him just to the edge of standing up and yelling "You're all out of order! This whole show is out of order!"



Not only was Giraldo well-educated, he was a hardworking comedian who believed in writing and crafting material. He didn't imagine his unpolished take on issues was enough to merit a spot on the panel. He worked to show the platform respect. And when a bigger name tries to shit on you because you refuse to coast, you have every right to put that ego in its place. Point Giraldo.

Greg Giraldo Dead at 44

(Updated below: confirmed)

About an hour ago Jim Norton posted on Twitter that Greg Giraldo has died.

Here's the picture he posted with the tweet.

TMZ has offered confirmation of the claim, and several other comedians have posted either reactions or statements of the same sentiment. No one wants to be unnecessarily skeptical, and it's hard to direct emotions towards such a cold and unfeeling task as skepticism. All reports and outlets (including the Washington Post) are currently pointing to TMZ and twitter as the sources of the news. It would be nice to find that the sources are unreliable. But, sadly, it's looking like the news is accurate.

[Update]
Giraldo's own website has been simplified to include a link to his Facebook page, directing visitors there to leave "Notes of condolence."

Dylan Gadino at Punchline Magazine has received confirmation from Giraldo's management, The Collective, that the reports are accurate.

Greg Giraldo Hospitalized in New Jersey

(Updated below)

The Comic's Comic, Sean L. McCarthy, has reported that Greg Giraldo is in a Critical Care Unit in New Jersey.

The internet rumors about Giraldo started Saturday evening soon after he missed his show at the Stress Factory in New Brunswick, NJ. Around 9PM, a fan, Sarah Costello, posted on twitter:

Drove all the way to New Brunswick, suffered thru the worst opener ever only to find out greg giraldo got rushed to the ER & isn't coming.

According to Ava Gacser, who was at the show, Vinnie Brand—owner of the Stress Factory—"came on stage [and] … announced that Greg had been taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital"

Around that time, fans online from everywhere were wondering and asking about the comedian's condition, filling in the details with claims that he had OD'd, died, committed suicide, and even that he had been murdered in his hotel room by a drug dealer.

The full story has not yet been made public, neither the cause of his hospitalization, nor the specifics of his condition. McCarthy, who considers himself "both a fan and a friend of Giraldo," is sure to be on top of the story. Stay tuned.

[UPDATE — 3:45PM]
TMZ is reporting that "sources close to" Giraldo are saying he did not attempt suicide, but he did overdose on prescription medication. They also report he is in stable condition.

[…6:25PM]
The New York Post reports that someone at The Collective, Giraldo's management company, has confirmed that it was an overdose, also asserting it was accidental.

Giraldo has been open about his struggles with substance abuse, and on Saturday he had joined several other performers to take part in the New York Recovery Rally, as part of national Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

Video Bit of the Week

Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn lasted about one season, from 2003 to 2004. I've been looking for news of a DVD release or Netflix streaming, or even a short appearance on Hulu. A few months ago, Jay832009 uploaded several clips to YouTube. Bless you Jay.

Then sneakerpimpin2381 saw them, and decided to convert and upload some scratchy old VHS recordings. I'm not complaining. Finding these videos made my day.

Ignore the audio quality. Get past the lack of direction in the conversations. Forgive the holes in the comics' logic and just enjoy watching some very different styles of swinging at the same log.

This clip includes both Patrice O'Neal and Marc Maron. A show like this was made for O'Neal. It's the perfect place for him to ridicule and intimidate. Maron was hit and miss on the show. He wasn't in the Tough Crowd inner circle*, and the inner circle feasted sloppily on outsiders. This was a good night for him. He and O'Neal were mostly in charge.

---

*Patrice O'Neal, Jim Norton, Nick DiPaolo, Keith Robinson, Greg Giraldo… roughly