Comedian Ralphie May dead

Comedian Ralphie May has died after suffering a cardiac arrest here. He was 45.

May died on Friday, variety.com reported, quoting his manager and publicist.

"We are heartbroken to announce the untimely death of our friend, Ralphie May," publicist Stacey Pokluda said in a statement.

"Ralphie had been battling pneumonia and had cancelled a handful of dates over the last month in an effort to recover. Earlier this morning at a private residence in Las Vegas his body was discovered," Pokluda added.

May rose to fame after he finished in second place in the first season of "Last Comic Standing" in 2003. His career took off after that.

He was born in Tennessee and raised in Arkansas, and later made appearances on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and "The Wayne Brady Show".

May had shows here scheduled for Saturday. He was set to hit tour stops in Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio later this month.

--IANS

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