Comedian & “Last Comic Standing” judge Greg Giraldo dead at 44

“People laugh at all kinds of things that aren’t funny, I think. There’ve been a lot of famous, famous, famous comedians who sell out giant arenas right now I don’t think are funny in the slightest and yet plenty of people seem to be going to watch them, so what do I know what’s funny? I don’t think anyone really knows. I think you can make people laugh with gibberish and obvious easy bulls***, but for the most part, all you can do is what you think is funny. You write what you think would make you laugh, and then hopefully people laugh at that. And then if they don’t, eventually you tweak a bit ‘til they do, or you realize that, you know, you’re wrong this time. Being professionally funny is a very hit-or-miss kinda thing. You gotta spit out a lot of bulls*** to come up with the real gems.”

– Greg Giraldo in an April 2007 interview with the Cornell Sun

Greg Giraldo was damn funny. He wasn’t politically subversive, per se, but he was definitely provocative in all the right ways and didn’t throw any B.S. your way.

I remember watching “Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn” when it was on Comedy Central years ago, and I immediately became fixated on Giraldo. He worked blue, but it was always clever and always came out of nowhere. When discussing news and politics he was quicker than any other panelist, to the point where at times it seemed more unfair than intriguing. This led me to his stand-up material, which was gold and came from a guy who was probably too smart for the mainstream.

Last weekend, Giraldo accidentally overdosed on prescription medication after a party in his hotel room. He was found after he failed to report for a gig and was rushed to a hospital.

After four days, with his family by his side, he passed away. Giraldo was 44 years old.

Giraldo was raised in Queens by his parents, who were immigrants of Colombia and Spain respectively. A highly intelligent, charismatic, and quick-witted individual, Greg excelled in his education and eventually received a law degree from Harvard.

After graduating from Harvard, Giraldo practiced law for a New York firm but quit after only a year to pursue comedy. He rarely if ever acknowledged or spoke of his past as a lawyer.

Giraldo broke through on appearances on various “Comedy Central” programs in the early and mid 2000s and quickly gained a reputation as a comic who was incredibly quick and biting. As a panelist on shows like “Tough Crowd” he was unstoppable; he even garnered a negative reputation as a result of intimidated comedians who had appeared on the show and couldn’t keep up with him.

Giraldo also gained a reputation of a different sort as a heavy, troubled drinker. In 2005, he appeared on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and announced he’d quit drinking. Unfortunately, his demons weren’t shaken so easily and appear to have taken a different form.

He leaves behind three children.

Prescription drug addiction is a very real and serious problem, and is thought to be the biggest drug problem in America. Getting an addict to recognize and address their problems is an uphill battle. They have to be ready and willing to accept help, which can be frustrating for friends and loved ones. Prescription drugs make it even tricker;  because these drugs are legal, it can often be difficult to diagnose and/or accept that someone has a dependency on them.

For more information on prescription drug abuse, please visit

If you are concerned about a loved one’s use of prescription drugs and want to know how you can approach the situation, please visit the Council for a Drug-Free America’s Intervention website.