LAST LAUGH

Comedian Dies Days Before His Own Birthday Comedy Roast

Ray DeJon’s last video uploaded to Instagram before his death had encouraged fans to buy tickets for the show marking his 64th birthday.

A New York comedian has died just days short of appearing at a roast to mark his 64th birthday. Ray DeJon—who opened Brooklyn’s first Black-owned comedy venue, the Laffaholics Comedy Club, back in the early 2000s—passed away Monday. In the last video uploaded to his Instagram account, he encouraged fans to come on down to his scheduled Wednesday appearance at the roast, which was due to be held at the city’s 275ParkBK venue. The comments section has since been flooded with well-wishers for DeJon’s family. “Part of my upbringing. Went to a lot of his shows. Great guy,” one person wrote. “So sad to hear this. Rest easy champ,” another added. Though DeJon’s cause of death has not been made public, the comedian had been candid in the past about his experience as a stroke survivor, which had at one time left him paralyzed on the left side of his body. He also spoke about his battle to overcome substance addiction, working on the issue with at-risk young adults in his spare time.