R.I.P. Greg Giraldo

If you haven’t heard, Greg Giraldo, a 44 year old stand up comedian, died yesterday after a suspected overdose of prescription meds.

As a comedian and humorist, I am often asked, “who is your favorite comedian?” The first answer that always came to my mind was, “Greg Giraldo.”

I often tell speakers that if they want to be funny, they should listen to stand up comedians who’s styles are similar to their’s. Not only did I think Giraldo was hilarious, but his style, pace, topics, and joke construction were very much aligned with what I aspired to do as a humorist. When working on new bits for my keynotes I would listen to his CDs to see how he got in and out of bits and how he strung rants together.

In addition, I loved his background. He attended Columbia undergrad and Harvard Law and then worked for a year in New York before turning his back on the legal profession to pursue a career in comedy. I admire people who can turn their back way from “a sure thing” to follow their dreams.

The Huffington Post has a video slide show of all of Greg Giraldo’s Comedy Central Roast appearances. When you have some time (and are away from work!) I would suggest watching them all. To me, he was always the funniest roaster on those shows:

RIP Greg Giraldo: King Of The Roast (VIDEOS)

His comedy isn’t for everyone, but it was right up my alley. If you, like me, love a great blend of intelligent comedy and raunchy, blue material, then definitely check him out.

Here’s a great quote from Giraldo I came across this morning:

“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

RIP Greg. You will be missed.

About

By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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