Comedian Neel Nanda died aged 32: Dane Cook and Matt Rife pay tribute
Stand-up comedian Neel Nanda has passed away. He was 32.
“I [am] deeply shocked and saddened by this. He was a great comedian, but a better person,” says Nanda’s manager. Greg Weisstold Deadline in a statement on Sunday, December 24. “He had the world before him.”
Nanda was best known for his comedy performances Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Comedy Central Adam Devine’s house party. According to Weiss, Nanda had a full schedule of performances through January and February 2024.
Nanda’s cause of death has not been publicly shared. We weekly has requested comment.
Following Nanda’s death, several of his comedy colleagues paid tribute to his memory.
“RIP Neel Nanda. You were one of the kindest and hardest working comedians I have ever called a friend. Matt Rife wrote viaX (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, December 23. “And I hope you can have peace, brother.”
For his part, Dane Cook also shared a poignant tribute along with the issue from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. “I didn’t know Neel Nanda personally, but reading various tributes is both heartbreaking and eye-opening. “I agree with many who say there is help,” he says wrote on Saturday. “Please remember that you are never alone. People want to help you. There is a way through your pain. Prayers for Neel’s family, friends and fans. Call 988 for help and love.”
Nanda was a long-time comedy fan before attending performances himself. He told VCReporter in September 2018 that he copied his favorite jokes from Comedy Central into a notebook to retell to his high school friends.
“I didn’t realize I was stealing jokes until I was in high school,” he joked to the outlet. “When I was in high school, I started writing my own jokes, using the structure of some jokes I had stolen before. I filled a notebook with jokes and didn’t realize until college that I could go to an open mic and tell them. I had a friend read the notebook and say to me, “You know you can just run this one, right?” I didn’t know it, but after a quick Google search I went to Laughing Skull’s open mic.
Nanda made his debut on Jimmy Kimmel‘s eponymous late-night show in 2017, where he performed a five-minute version of his comedy routine.
“I would say my proudest achievement in comedy so far is performing Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘, said Nanda VCReporter. “I’ve always wanted to do a set late at night, and Jimmy Kimmel was my first choice. So the fact that it came together kind of surprised me. I have performed on other networks like Comedy Central, Hulu, Viceland, etc., but Jimmy Kimmel was the first place I performed where my parents were fans of the host.
Nanda later hosted the weekly show ‘Unnecessary Evil’ at the Westside Comedy Theater in Los Angeles.