Sorry to hear of the passing of comedian Rick Ducommun, one of the funnier stand-ups I recall seeing during the eighties. He was a Canadian gent who I recall doing some of the funniest sets I ever saw on the stage of Budd Friedman's Improv up on Melrose. A lot of folks would know him best as an actor in quite a few movies including Spaceballs, Die Hard, Groundhog Day, The Hunt for Red October and a particularly standout role opposite Tom Hanks in The 'Burbs. He headlined at least one HBO standup special which I wish they'd rerun so I could get a copy.
Nice guy, too. I actually brought him in once to do the voice of a stand-up comedian mouse in an episode of Garfield and Friends. We talked a bit about our mutual weight problems and I was pleased to see that he soon got himself down to a more human size. He died "due to complications from a protracted illness," reports a friend of his, another very funny guy named Rick…Rick Overton. I hadn't seen Ducommun anywhere for quite a while and I guess that illness was the reason.
Here's a short set he did at the 1989 (I think) Comic Relief show. The topics are not for the easily offended but I think the guy was nothing but funny…
