Andy ritchie comedian cancer jokes

Andy Ritchie, a stand-up comedian and improviser known for his big heart and impressively unique presence both onstage and off, died from complications related to his brain tumor on Thanksgiving. Ritchie was 39.

Born March 27, 1976, in Canada but raised in Minneapolis, where he started performing onstage at Academy of Holy Angels, Ritchie attended NYU’s Intensive film program before returning to the Twin Cities.

That’s where he performed with the ComedySportz franchise there in the 1990s, worked on Mitch Hedberg’s 1999 movie Los Enchilados! as a unit production manager and began making his presence felt as a stand-up in his own right. Ritchie made the Montreal New Faces cut at Just For Laughs in 2009, and quickly followed that up with a slot on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham showcase.

Ritchie’s influence later extended to both Austin and Los Angeles.

In the former, Ritchie won the Funniest Person in Austin contest in 2011 and met his fiancee, com SXSW offering free download of the late Andy Ritchie’s comedy ... TYD