• Obituaries of Notable People in the Comedy Category



  • Boris Yefimov, 108 (1900 - 2008)

    Boris  Yefimov

    MOSCOW - Celebrated political cartoonist Boris Yefimov, who drew brutally satirical images of the Soviet Union's foes in the service of Josef Stalin, died Wednesday. He was 108. Yefimov's death was given wide coverage on Russian state television. No cause was given. His cartoons spanned virtually the entire history of the communist state, from shortly after the 1917 revolution to the...

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  • Bernie Mac, 50 (1957 - 2008)

    Bernie  Mac

    Chicago -- Bernie Mac blended style, authority and a touch of self-aware bluster to make audiences laugh as well as connect with him. For Mac, who died Saturday at age 50, it was a winning mix, delivering him from a poor childhood to stardom as a standup comedian, in films including the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" and his acclaimed sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show." Though his comedy...

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  • George Carlin, 71 (1937 - 2008)

    George Carlin

    George Carlin, the dean of counterculture comedians whose biting insights on life and language were immortalized in his "Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV" routine, died of heart failure Sunday. He was 71. Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his...

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  • Dody Goodman, 93 (1914 - 2008)

    Dody Goodman

    Dody Goodman, the delightfully daffy comedian known for her television appearances on Jack Paar's late-night talk show and as the mother on the soap-opera parody "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," has died. She was 93. Goodman died Sunday at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey, said Joan Adams, a close family friend. The actress had been ill for some time and had lived in the...

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  • Richard Pryor, 65 (1940 - 2005)

    Richard Pryor

    Richard Pryor startled audiences with his foul-mouthed routines, but his universal and frequently personal insights propelled him into one of Hollywood's biggest stars. The pioneering comedian, whose audacious style influenced generations of standup artists, died Saturday of a heart attack at age 65, said his business manager, Karen Finch. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis,...

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