I remember the first time I saw Greg Giraldo’s standup act on Comedy Central. My husband and I used to watch that channel pretty much constantly about seven years ago. (We’ve since moved overseas and miss US TV.) Giraldo impressed us more than any other comic at the time and we were both instant fans. He just had a gift for making his standup flow and being so natural on stage. And the things he would come up were so creative, hysterical and true. Greg went on to wider success fueled by his good nature and quick, sharp wit. He was a fixture on Comedy Central on shows like Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, and the roast series.

Greg has passed away at the age of 44 after an accidental prescription drug overdose. He is survived by his three children. Here’s his obituary in the NY Times, which doesn’t do him justice in my opinion. Just watch some of his standup acts below. He was so talented.

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.

Mr. Giraldo had been hospitalized since Saturday night after he was found unconscious in a hotel room in New Brunswick, where he was scheduled to perform at a club. Mr. Giraldo had suffered a drug overdose, The Home News Tribune of East Brunswick, N.J., reported, citing New Brunswick police. The precise cause of death on Wednesday was unclear. A hospital spokesman said the family declined to release that information.

A former lawyer who gave up a job at a law firm to pursue comedy, Mr. Giraldo became a wildly successful stand-up comic touring the country as a headliner at many clubs and dispensing his own brand of sharp and often brutal humor. As Mr. Giraldo’s following grew so did his presence on radio and television. He performed more than a dozen times on “The Late Show With David Letterman” and “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” and become a radio regular on “The Howard Stern Show.”

Mr. Giraldo was particularly known for his clever and exasperated rants, which he used to great effect on Comedy Central shows like “Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn” and Lewis Black’s “Root of All Evil.” But it was his regular appearances on that network’s roast series — one of Comedy Central’s most successful shows — that drew particular attention. Mr. Giraldo was a mainstay on that series, taking the stage in more than a half-dozen shows to mercilessly ridicule pop-culture figures like Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, Chevy Chase — “I could only dream,” he told Mr. Chase, of making “three good movies” and 40 horrible ones — and, in 2009, a fellow comedian, Larry the Cable Guy.

“Some people say Larry’s only successful because he’s pandering to the lowest common denominator,” Mr. Giraldo said. “Don’t listen to these people, Larry. They’re just bitter and jealous and right.”

Mr. Giraldo’s fame grew quickly, and by 2010 he was making prime-time appearances on network television. Earlier this year he was a judge on the NBC reality show “Last Comic Standing” and a panelist on “The Marriage Ref,” the Jerry Seinfeld brainchild that also airs on NBC.

But Mr. Giraldo’s humor had a dark side, which he sometimes referenced in his stand-up act. He had been a heavy drinker, but in interviews in recent years he spoke of being sober — with occasional slip-ups.

Mr. Giraldo was born in New York in 1965. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia and a law degree from Harvard. He was divorced with three children.

[From The NY Times]

One thing I learned when reading this guy’s Wikipedia page is that he graduated from Harvard Law school and was actually a practicing lawyer for a year before switching into comedy. That’s incredible and something I never would have guessed. RIP Greg, you made so many people so happy.

A memorial for Greg Giraldo will be held Friday at 10:30 in Levittown, NY at Governor’s Comedy Club. Giraldo was slated to perform at that time.

Here are some videos of Greg’s standup and roast appearances. It was so much fun to watch these and he will be sorely missed.

Photo credit: WENN.com