R.I.P. Robert Schimmel

[ifilus]

Standup comic Robert Schimmel, a frequent guest on Howard Stern's radio show, has died after suffering serious injuries in a car accident. He was 60.

Schimmel's spokesman, Howard Bragman, says Schimmel died Friday evening in a Phoenix hospital.

Schimmel was a passenger Thursday in a car driven by his 19-year-old daughter Aliyah. Bragman says Aliyah Schimmel swerved to avoid another car and the vehicle she was driving rolled to the side of the freeway. Bragman says she is hospitalized in stable condition.

Robert Schimmel lived in Scottsdale. The 60-year-old comedian has been a frequent guest on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and on Howard Stern's radio show. His 2008 memoir, "Cancer on $5 a Day," chronicles his battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.


http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=11559455

 

[PCLoadLetter]

That really sucks.

A co-worker was diagnosed with cancer a little more than a year ago. His book about cancer was a big inspiration to her. Around the time her chemo was wrapping up he played the Improv in town, and a bunch of us chipped in to send her and her husband to the show. She met him after the show and told him how much the book meant to her. She said he couldn't have been a nicer guy.

Terrible news. RIP.

 

[Webster]

Wow. Saw him at comedy clubs a few times. A filthy guy, but his smarts and compassion came out in his work. RIP.

 

[schiezainc]

Wow. I wonder how Stern is going to take this. He seemed like he was genuinely concerned for the guy the last time he was in studio.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

Wow. I wonder how Stern is going to take this. He seemed like he was genuinely concerned for the guy the last time he was in studio.

Pretty sure Schimmel admitted he was dying and needed a new liver the last time he was on Stern's show. Apparently the drugs from the chemo induced cirrhosis.

Buddy of mine, who I saw Schimmel with in Pittsburgh in 2004, texted me and told me he died today. I thought for sure it would be liver failure. When I read it was a car accident, part of me really wanted to laugh...because his death reminds me of one of his jokes. Guy had a heart attack in the late 90s, then has a bout with non-hodgkins lymphoma, which then causes cirrhosis of the liver....so its only fitting that he die in a car crash.

No one had a quicker wit than Schimmel. He was on Stern two years ago and some asshole called in and said, "Hey Bob, hurry up and die so I can be there to comfort your hot daughter." Schimmel immediately shot back, "why do I need to be dead for you to do that?"

RIP to a truly ****ed up and funny man.

 

[old_tony]

Man, he fought through all those health problems and then gets killed in a car wreck. I guess you can only avoid the Grim Reaper so many times.

Sadly, we'll never get to hear his take on things again. Between material and delivery, he was one of the best.

 

[mpcincal]

I didn't follow him closely, but I always hate when a talented person dies like that.

And all my best to his daughter. I can't help but think she could be sick with guilt over this, warranted or not.

 

[YankeeFan]

Man, he fought through all those health problems and then gets killed in a car wreck. I guess you can only avoid the Grim Reaper so many times.

Sadly, we'll never get to hear his take on things again. Between material and delivery, he was one of the best.

Yeah, if you had told me that Schimmel had died, car accident wouldn't even be in my top 10 guesses as to how he died.

 

[kokane_muthashed]

RIP.

I heard him on Marc Maron's podcast once where he told the story of how/why he's marriage ended. I gained a ton of respect for him after that because if it had been me, someone would have wound up dead.

 

[Small Town Guy]

That ABC story makes it sound like the accident was two days ago. It was actually a week ago Thursday, August 26. He'd obviously been in serious condition since.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I think I remember him saying on Stern that he needed a kidney transplant. He's been through a lot.

RIP to a really funny guy.

 

[doubledown68]

Heard him a time or two on XM... always a must-listen.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Heard him a time or two on XM... always a must-listen.

I had one of his CDs back in the day. Really funny stuff.

 

[old_tony]

I think I remember him saying on Stern that he needed a kidney transplant. He's been through a lot.

RIP to a really funny guy.

Liver transplant. I know from following his Facebook page that he had a friend who agreed to be a living donor ( I guess they can cut out part of the liver and tranplant it) but the matching tests had just turned out negative the night before the car accident.

He posted this ...

living donor didn't work out. on phone with with mayo and cigna for an hour. now it's up to god.

... at 1 in the morning (Phoenix time) on Aug. 26.

Keeping his sense of humor, he then posted this ...

they're going to have to knock out my immune system so i don't reject the donor organ. there goes that fantasy with two hookers at the chicken ranch.

...a few minutes after that. The accident took place about 16 hours later.


I don't know if it was a manager or if he himself was able to post, but two days after the accident this was posted:

The rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated. Stay tuned!

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

http://www.howardstern.com/rundown.hs?d=1264654800

 

[Birdscribe]

Heard him a time or two on XM... always a must-listen.

I had one of his CDs back in the day. Really funny stuff.

One of the funniest human beings on the planet and one of the most talented people to ever drop an F-bomb. Period.

There are few comedians I've listened to in a car where I've had to pull over the car because I'm gasping for air and afraid I'm going to drive into something or someone. Schimmel is on that list. Damn, was he a funny guy.

I had the pleasure of seeing Schimmel live twice: once on the second date with the eventual Mrs. Birdscribe, where we had front-row seats at a comedy club in Newport Beach. Fortunately, Schimmel abused the folks next to us; he was notorious for locking in and abusing those in the front row.

The second time was six years ago at the Ontario Improv. This was after Schimmel had treatment for prostate cancer, which was a part of his routine at that point. Only a comedian in Schimmel's class and talent level could make prostate cancer funny.

Afterward, he went to the lobby and sold signed copies of his "Res-Erection" CD. I bought one and chatted with him briefly. He could not have been nicer.

RIP to one of the talented originals, someone who provoked tears of laughter too many times to count.

 

[Det. Jimmy McNulty]

Robert Schimmel was an inspiration of mine. When I sober up in the morning, I'll post a proper obit.

 

[imjustagirl]

Schimmel was a favorite of Bad Guy Zero, which is how I heard of him. I didn't find him as funny as BGZ did, but still sad anytime anyone dies before their time.

 

[RedHotChiliPrepper]

If anyone's in the car today, RawDog comedy on XM (channel 150) is playing almost exclusively his stuff.

Loved Schimmel. The thing I like about him is that a lot of his stories were about real life. He lived a rough life in terms of a lot of the **** he had to deal with, and he found a way to laugh about it.

 

[Det. Jimmy McNulty]

Loved Schimmel. The thing I like about him is that a lot of his stories were about real life. He lived a rough life in terms of a lot of the **** he had to deal with, and he found a way to laugh about it.

Yep. My favorite Schimmel joke is. "My daughter came up to me the other day and said 'Dad, my boyfriend and I have been talking about having sex and what it would be like to go all the way. I told her, 'Honey, why don't you bring him over and then I'll **** him first. Then he won't have to wonder what it's like to go all the way.'"