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Ralphie May Dead: Stand-Up Comedian Dies at 45

Ralphie May died on Friday, October 6, after suffering cardiac arrest, Us Weekly confirms. He was 45.

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Ralphie May
Ralphie May hosts the 26th Annual Pollstar Awards at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on February 21, 2015. Jason Squires/Getty Images

“Ralphie had been battling pneumonia and had canceled a handful of dates over the last month in an effort to recover,” his manager Judi Marmel says in a statement to Us. “Earlier this morning at a private residence in Las Vegas his body was discovered, cause of death is cardiac arrest.”

The comic won the Casino Comedian of the Year award at the Global Gaming Expo just two days before his death.

Ralphie May
Ralphie May performs at KROQ Presents Kevin & Bean’s April Foolishness at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on April 4, 2015. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

May’s career kicked off in 2003 when he finished in second place behind Dat Phan on season 1 of Last Comic Standing. He went on to make appearances on The Wayne Brady Show and The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.

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The star had four Comedy Central stand-up specials through the years: Girth of a Nation (2006), Prime Cut (2007), Austin-tatious (2008) and Too Big to Ignore (2012). He also starred in two of his own Netflix specials: Imperfectly Yours (2013) and Unruly (2015).

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May married fellow comedian Lahna Turner in July 2005. She filed for divorce in October 2015, and a bitter custody battle over their two children, 10-year-old daughter April June and 8-year-old son August James, ensued.

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