Patrice O'Neal RIP by piratenews

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Patrice O'Neal RIP

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Patrice O’Neal, Boisterous Comedian, Dies at 41

Patrice O’Neal, a stand-up comedian who boisterously took on controversial topics like race, AIDS and his own struggle with diabetes, died on Tuesday. He was 41 and lived in New Jersey.

He died in a hospital in the New York City area from complications of a stroke he suffered on Oct. 19, his agent, Matt Frost, said.

“See, I’ve got to lose weight now to stay alive, and that’s not enough motivation for me,” Mr. O’Neal said in one of his television specials on Comedy Central.

At 6-foot-4 and about 300 pounds, Mr. O’Neal commanded the stage with not only his bulk but also his penchant for flashy clothing and chains, and his confrontational style. He was loud and unpredictable, frequently veering away from prepared material with a curse-laden segue.

Mr. O’Neal’s reputation for brash honesty led many to call him a comic’s comic. He could alienate audiences and celebrities alike, both of whom he mocked relentlessly.

He was quick to dismiss his detractors. “Liars don’t like me,” he told Punchline magazine, which covers the comedy world. “They don’t want to be given anything straight.”

He did not spare himself: his size and his diabetes were often incorporated into his act.

Mr. O’Neal had a career most comedians would envy. He had stand-up specials on HBO as well as Comedy Central and appeared on television comedies like Mitchell Hurwitz’s lauded “Arrested Development,” NBC’s version of “The Office” and Dave Chappelle’s hit Comedy Central sketch series, “Chappelle’s Show.” He also performed regularly on the “Opie & Anthony” satellite radio show.

Mr. O’Neal appeared in a handful of movies, including the Spike Lee drama “The 25th Hour” (2002), released a stand-up album and DVD, “Elephant in the Room” (2011), and was co-host of the short-lived Comedy Central show “Shorties Watchin’ Shorties,” which featured the voices of comedians like Dane Cook, Denis Leary and Greg Giraldo riffing as animated babies.

His last widely viewed performance was at the Comedy Central roast of the actor Charlie Sheen in September. “I respect Charlie Sheen, I do,” Mr. O’Neal said, then added, “Not his body of work.”

During his set he likened Mike Tyson to Muhammad Ali, not because they were boxers but because both became acceptable to white people. And he advised Steve-O, a recovering drug addict and a star of MTV’s “Jackass,” to relapse.

Patrice Lumumba Malcolm O’Neal (he was named after the Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, and his last name has often been spelled Oneal) was born on Dec. 7, 1969, in Boston. He began performing at open mikes there, and by the late 1990s he was working clubs in Los Angeles and New York.

He landed a guest appearance on the MTV comedy “Apt. 2F” in 1997 and worked briefly as a writer for World Wrestling Entertainment before he had his first stand-up special on Comedy Central and was seen on the short-lived sketch series “The Colin Quinn Show.”

Mr. O’Neal is survived by his wife, Vondecarlo; a stepdaughter, Aymilyon; a sister, Zinder; and his mother, Georgia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/arts/patrice-oneal-boisterous-comedi
an-dies-at-41.html

www.patriceoneal.com