A few days ago, a comedian named Richard Jeni committed suicide. I’ll be honest, I can’t place his name or face, even though I’ve seen The Mask, a movie in which he appeared, a couple of times. He apparently never made much of an impression on me.

My ignorance aside, however, I wanted to link to the statement his family issued today because it struck me as such a classy way of addressing such a painful and potentially embarassing subject:

Rumors have been circulating as to the cause of his death and have included speculation of Richard being depressed over the state of his career or a physical ailment. …The truth is: earlier this year Richard Jeni was diagnosed with severe clinical depression coupled with bouts of psychotic paranoia. One only needs to have a family member or friend with a mental illness to understand that there is nothing rational, predictable, or fair about these diseases. Mental illness is as serious as any physical affliction and can be just as devastating.

 

He was not down or blue, he was ill. If you knew Richard, you could understand, this was as much a shock to those close to him, as it is to his fans and colleagues. Perhaps Richard’s passing will encourage people to have sympathy, compassion and understanding for those who are afflicted with mental illness. As we are all trying to make sense of this, take time to remember the joy and laughter Richard brought to the countless people he touched during his much too short life.

In just a few eloquent words, whoever wrote this satisfied the morbid curiosity we always feel when something like this happens while still giving Richard some degree of privacy and dignity. Also, kudos for the call to turn this one family’s personal tragedy into something with a social purpose and conscience. Very nicely done, and my condolences about Richard.

Also, my thanks to Evanier for bringing this to my attention.