Greg Giraldo was a likable motor-mouthed comic who was probably best known for giving and receiving outrageous and raunchy insults on cable TV's Comedy Central roasts. He had his own series on Comedy Central, two specials for the channel, and issued CDs for the Comedy Central label as well.
But behind the scenes, there was always talk of substance abuse. First, it was heavy drinking. But now, the talk is about the prescription medication that took his life. On September 25th, quite ironically, Greg appeared at the 3rd Annual New York Recovery Rally in Randall's Island Park, a celebration for people getting their lives together after addiction. That night he was back in New Jersey where he was appearing at a club inappropriately titled "Stress Factory." Reportedly there was a "wild party" going on in his hotel room at the East Brunswick Hilton. He was taken from there unconscious, and lingered in a local hospital before dying today, September 29th. He was 44.
Born in Queens, his father Colombian and his mother Spanish, Giraldo (December 10, 1965-September 29, 2011) graduated from Harvard Law School but turned to a comedy career, becoming accepted by Colin Quinn, Lewis Black and other edgy wiseguys. He appeared on "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn," "Lewis Black's Root of all Evil," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," and was a judge on last season's "Last Comic Standing."
A few years ago some of his monologue material was mated to crappy music for "Underwear Goes Inside the Pants," credited to "Lazyboy." A variation on the technique pioneered decades ago by Murray Roman, it doesn't exactly work too well...most people would either like to hear the music alone, or Greg alone...but as this is a music blog, it's the choice of a tribute for him.
It's usually said, for lack of anything better, "he will be missed." Greg certainly will. Along with Lisa Lampanelli and Jeff Ross, Greg's appearances on the Comedy Central Roasts were always on target and never disappointing. He was coming into his prime as both a stand-up comic and showed some potential as a comic actor for films or a sitcom. He leaves behind three kids, many friends, and a lot of great comedy we can all still enjoy. Above, the trademark Greg Giraldo "what me worry" expression. Below, your download.
Greg Giraldo, monologue with music: Underwear Goes Inside the Pants.
4 comments:
Greg Giraldo was so funny on those Comedy Central roasts. I can't even tell you how incredibly sad this news is to me.
I've heard Giraldo comment that he had nothing to do with this "crappy music" and didn't get a penny for it.
Thanks, Katty...I don't doubt it. It's possible Greg's contract for doing that monologue on some TV show or other, included an "all rights" clause...and the copyright owners then licensed it out to anyone who wanted to pay for it.
Artists do often get cheated royally out of royalties. But that happens in most any field, where you might work as an unpaid intern, or make concessions in order to get through the door.
If the editing and the music was better, this thing could've at least been something he didn't mind so much! A Pollyanna might've said, "But Greg, this is bringing you a whole bunch of rap and techno fans who'd otherwise never know your work..."
I dug it
Post a Comment