Richard John Colangelo Jeni

A hilarious twenty-minute comedy routine.

Circa 2002.

Watch it in its entirety online HERE.

Filmography:
Bird (1988) as Morello
The Mask (1994) as Charlie Schumaker
Burn Hollywood Burn (1998) as Jerry Glover

Specials:
Richard Jeni: Boy from New York City (1990)
Richard Jeni: Platypus Man (1992)
Richard Jeni: Crazy from The Heat (1992)
Richard Jeni: A Good Catholic Boy (1997)
Richard Jeni: A Big Steaming Pile of Me (2005)

Richard Jeni was a popular stand-up comedian who traded on his humble Italian-American background to produce a thriving national touring act and a host of award-winning shows, mostly on cable TV.

He was born in the rough area of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in 1957. Always something of a misfit, he reluctantly ran errands for local young toughs but his quick mind and grasp of language won him a national essay competition and he gained a political science degree at Hunter College.

He went into public relations but was unable to take office work seriously and ended up, at 24, as a taxi driver.

He found his métier when a girlfriend nudged him into a showcase for aspiring comics at a small Brooklyn club. He was not an immediate success, but landed a weekly slot and persevered, honing his act until he started to achieve acclaim.

He first came to national prominence in 1990 with Richard Jeni: The Boy from New York City, for the cable station Showtime, which was nominated for three awards. Two years later he starred in Richard Jeni: Crazy from the Heat, which attracted high ratings. He also became a regular guest on the popular The Tonight Show.

Jeni was then given a place in the HBO comedy hour slot with the award-winning Richard Jeni: Platypus Man, which he developed into a sitcom for the UPN network in 1995. He was also a guest on TV's Everybody Hates Chris and Married: With Children. His last cable comedy special was A Big Steaming Pile of Me in the 2005-06 season.

He developed a busy concert schedule and hosted several cable shows. He also had several minor film roles, the high-light being his acting debut in the Jim Carrey hit The Mask in 1994.

Two years ago he helped to write the script for the Oscars ceremony, hosted by his friend, Chris Rock.

Richard Jeni, comedian, was born on October 31, 1957. He died of gunshot wounds on March 10, 2007, at the age of 49.

This is the poem published on his memorial card. It was distributed by his family at his mass and funeral in Bensonhurst - Brooklyn, New York:

I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one,
I'd like to leave an after glow of smiles when day is done.
I'd like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways,
of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days.
I'd like the tears of those who grieve,
to dry before the sun of happy memories that I leave behind when day is done.