NEW DELHI: US-based Indian-origin comedian Neel Nanda breathed his last just a few days after celebrating his 32nd birthday. However, the cause and date of his death have not been revealed under requests from his family and girlfriend.
His death was declared by his manager for over a decade, Greg Weiss.
He illustrated that the deceased comedian extraordinaire was not just a good comedian but also a good human being. “My client of over 11 years has passed. Neel was not (only a) great comic (but) a good friend and a fantastic human being,” Weiss said.
The news of his death had followed his headliner show at a comedy club in Toronto. Earlier, the comedian had promoted it as his “birthday weekend” show at Toronto’s Jokers Theatre and Comedy Club.
“On behalf of our entire Jokers team, please accept our deepest sympathies as we mourn the loss of a brilliantly funny soul. We send love and condolences to Neel Nanda’s family, friends, and fans. May he rest in peace,” the Toronto-based club said in an Instagram post.
Love also poured in from other comedy clubs and comics as well.
Port Comedy Club took to Instagram to exhibit their sorrow at Nanda’s demise. “It is with a very heavy heart we say goodbye to comedy great, Neel Nanda. Absolutely shocked by the news. Such a positive force for comedy and a huge loss to our community. Thank you for gracing our stage and piano, a great headliner, gone too soon,” read their post.
Comedian Matt Rife also took to microblogging site X to illustrate his relationship with Nanda as “one of the nicest, hardest working comedians I’ve ever called a friend.” He added, “I hope you can be at peace brother.”
RIP Neel Nanda 😔 you were one of the nicest, hardest working comedians I’ve ever called a friend and i hope you can be at peace brother ❤️🩹
— Matt Rife (@mattrife) December 23, 2023
Hailing from Georgia, the comedian was born to Indian immigrants, and had taken to comedy as a child through reruns of Comedy Central.
The comedian had also featured earlier in a five-minute segment on Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show, making that his claim to fame.