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Comedian Richard Jeni had History of Mental Illness
A coroner’s report indicated that comedian Richard Jeni had a history of mental illness that may have led to his decision to take his own life in March.
Jeni had been involuntarily hospitalized last year for what his family revealed was “severe clinical depression coupled with bouts of psychotic paranoia.”
The 49-year-old comedian first gained fame with his Showtime special “Richard Jeni: Boy from New York City” in 1990. He went on to star in several of his own comedy specials and shared the big screen with Jim Carrey in 1994’s “The Mask.” In 1995 brought his “Platypus Man” to television and it lasted one season on the UPN network.
In 2004 Jeni was named as the 57th greatest stand-up comedian on Comedy Central’s special “100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.”
On March 10, 2007 Jeni shot himself in the head at this Hollywood home.
