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14, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York, Jeni graduated with honors from Hunter College with a B.A. in Comparative Politics. In the 1980s, he adopted the stage name Richard Jeni and began performing his act in small bars and comedy clubs in New York City. Recollections of his Catholic boyhood, commentary about political and social issues and sarcastic observations of his romantic difficulties appealed to audiences and soon he was playing to sold-out crowds all over the country. Jeni caught the nation's attention with his first comedy special, Richard Jeni: The Boy From New York City (1990), which aired on the Showtime cable network. Two years later, he had his first HBO special, Richard Jeni: Platypus Man (1992). During the 1990s, Richard Jeni could often be seen on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson and continued appearing on the program after Jay Leno took over. He hosted Caroline's Comedy Hour for the A&E cable network for two years, from 1992 to 1994. He went on to play a supporting role in the 1994 box office hit The Mask as Jim Carrey's best friend. Jeni tried to find sitcom fame with a short-lived series called "Platypus Man." Even thought the series failed, Jeni continued to make successful comedy specials, such as Richard Jeni: A Good Catholic Boy (1997) and an episode of Comedy Central Presents in 2002.



In recent years, Jeni was incredibly busy He had an HBO comedy special in 2005 called Richard Jeni: A Big Steaming Pile of Me. He also wrote material for the Academy Awards for the show's host and his friend Chris Rock that same year. In 2006, Jeni appeared in an episode of Everybody Hates Chris, a sitcom created by Rock. Shortly after his death, his family released a statement saying that he had been diagnosed with "severe clinical depression coupled with bouts of psychotic paranoia" earlier this year. The statement also said that "Richard Jeni did take his own life."