Comedian Dave Gray Dies
Gray's Philanthropic Projects Include Comics Come Home, 9/11 Madison Telethon
Posted: 5:17 p.m. CST January 18, 2002
MADISON, Wis. -- Comedian Dave Gray passed away Friday morning in Madison. He was 33.
Gray died of complications of a grand mal seizure. He was an epileptic.
Gray had moved from Madison to Chicago last year to pursue his comedy career with hopes of eventually landing a job on Saturday Night Live.
He was recently in Madison for Comics Come Home, an annual benefit for the Chris Farley Foundation.
Gray also hosted a Madison American Red Cross fundraiser in October to benefit the Sept. 11 victims and New York City firefighters. Gray raised over $5,000 during the 27-hour telethon that ran on a local cable access channel. Gray took calls from hundreds of people -- from Madison residents to community leaders -- responding to the terrorist attacks.
"The calls we got were amazing," Gray told Channel 3000 after the telethon. "From the mayor, to people out there who were just feeling sad. We talked about our feelings and we raised money -- we're helping and that feels good."
Gray, pictured with Katy Sai at Madison Magazine's Best of Madison awards last year, earned local celebrity status through a gig as a former talkshow host on TVW. He also won several comedy awards, such as Madison Magazine's Best Comedian, and he was voted the funniest person in Wisconsin 5 years in a row.
Gray regularly performed with nationally known comedians, including Bobcat Goldthwait and Weird Al Yankovich. He also occassionally appeared on Comedy Central.
Funeral Services
A three-hour visitation and memorial celebration is planned for 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Drive. An additional two-visitation will be held at 10 a.m. with a memorial mass at noon on Wednesday at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church on Everglade Drive.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting memorials to be made to the David Blaine Gray Memorial Scholarship Fund for graduating seniors at Madison Memorial High School who are interested in pursing a career in the performing arts.
Capitol Bank
710 N. High Point Road
Madison, Wis. 53717.
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Gray, pictured with Katy Sai at Madison Magazine's Best of Madison awards last year, earned local celebrity status through a gig as a former talkshow host on TVW. He also won several comedy awards, such as Madison Magazine's Best Comedian, and he was voted the funniest person in Wisconsin 5 years in a row.
Gray regularly performed with nationally known comedians, including Bobcat Goldthwait and Weird Al Yankovich. He also occassionally appeared on Comedy Central.
Funeral Services
A three-hour visitation and memorial celebration is planned for 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Drive. An additional two-visitation will be held at 10 a.m. with a memorial mass at noon on Wednesday at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church on Everglade Drive.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting memorials to be made to the David Blaine Gray Memorial Scholarship Fund for graduating seniors at Madison Memorial High School who are interested in pursing a career in the performing arts.
Capitol Bank710 N. High Point Road
Madison, Wis. 53717.
Previous Stories:
- January 18, 2002: Madison Comedian Raises Over $5K From Local Telethon
- October 3, 2001: Dave Gray Hosts Red Cross Fund-Raiser Tonight
Copyright 2002 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
