NOTEWORTHY DEATHS

Ralphie May, stand-up comic with Arkansas ties, dies at 45

Ralphie May
Ralphie May

Ralphie May, a comedian known for his extensive touring and comedy specials on Netflix and other outlets, died Friday in Las Vegas, where he had been in residence at Harrah's casino. He was 45.

His publicist, Stacey Pokluda, said the cause was cardiac arrest. She said he had been treated for pneumonia and had canceled some shows over the past month.

May was born Ralph Duren May on Feb. 17, 1971, in Chattanooga, Tenn., and grew up in Clarksville, Ark.

He was a 17-year-old student in Arkansas when he won a contest to open for comedian Sam Kinison. The experience led May to move to Houston to try comedy full time.

He worked on the stand-up circuit for years, and in 2002 made his feature film debut in the comedy For da Love of Money.

May reached a new level of exposure in 2003 as a contestant on Season 1 of Last Comic Standing, the NBC competition series. He finished second to Dat Phan. After that came comedy specials like Girth of a Nation on Comedy Central, and Unruly and Imperfectly Yours on Netflix.

May married the comedian Lahna Turner in 2006. They were in the midst of a divorce. The couple had two children.

May had drawn good crowds all over the country for years on the stand-up circuit, but he told The Charlotte Observer in 2014 about another aspiration involving his home state.

"I'd like to be a U.S. senator from Tennessee," he said. "I'm not crooked, and I want to help people."

Metro on 10/07/2017

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