Ralphie May obit

Comedian Ralphie May Dead At 45

The comedian was best known for his appearance on "Last Comic Standing."

 He was not on the list.

Comedian Ralphie May died Friday at age 45, TMZ was first to report. HuffPost confirmed the death with May’s publicist.

Best known for finishing second on “Last Comic Standing” in 2003, the comedian had a successful stand-up career that included several specials on Comedy Central and Netflix.

His publicist, Stacey Pokluda, told HuffPost that May had been battling pneumonia and cancelled a handful of performance dates over the last month in an effort to recover. He died after a cardiac arrest.

“Earlier this morning at a private residence in Las Vegas, his body was discovered,” Pokluda said in a statement. “Two days ago he won the Casino Comedian of the Year at the Global Gaming Expo and had performances throughout the remainder of 2017 as part of his residency at Harrah’s Las Vegas.”

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee ― but raised in Arkansas ― May’s first break came at age 17, when he won a contest to open for comedian Sam Kinison, his idol. Kinison encouraged May to move to Houston and work on his comedy there. May took the suggestion, eventually graduating from a performing arts high school in the area.

He then moved to Los Angeles, honing his craft until his big break, on the first season of the NBC comedy reality show.

In 2005, May married fellow comedian Lahna Turner, but the couple filed for divorced in 2015. They share two children.

Many of May’s comic contemporaries have expressed their grief on Twitter:

Filmography

Year     Title     Role     Notes

2002    For Da Love of Money           Otis     

2003    Just Correct     Himself           

Whoopi           Sammy            Episode: "The Fat and the Frivolous"

2005    Big Black Comedy: Vol. 2      Himself           

Big Black Comedy: Vol. 4      Himself           

2006    Girth of a Nation         Himself           

2007    Prime Cut        Himself           

Bangin' With Ralphie May     Himself           

2008    The Best of Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen     Himself           

Austin-Tatious Himself           

2012    Too Big to Ignore        Himself           

2013    Imperfectly Yours       Himself           

Squidbillies      P-NUT Episode: "Thou Shale Not Drill"

2015    Unruly Himself           

2016    Inside Amy Schumer   Ralphie           

2016    Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle           Himself            2 episodes - eliminated

2017    Penn & Teller: Fool Us           Himself           

2018    Ralphie May Presents Himself           

2019    What's Eating Ralphie May?  Himself           

Discography

2005 Just Correct

2006 Girth of a Nation

2007 Prime Cut

2008 Austin-Tatious

2012 Too Big to Ignore

2013 Imperfectly Yours

2015 Unruly