By Matt Roberts
Stand-up comic Patrice O’Neal has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke last week, according to friend and fellow comedian Jim Norton, who broke the news on the Opie and Anthony radio show Wednesday morning.
Norton, a co-host on the show, made the initial announcement, with the other comedians eventually chiming in: “We’re all here to let people know that one of our really, really good friends fell ill, fell sick…Patrice O’Neal had a stroke.”
He went to explain that there was little information on O’Neal’s condition to report at this time. “We don’t know how he is. “It’s too soon to tell. Anybody who knows about strokes, it takes a while sometimes; we just don’t know how he is going to be.”
O’Neal, recently seen on Comedy Central’s Roast of Charlie Sheen suffered a stroke last Wednesday. The incident was kept under wraps until this morning at the family’s request. However, as word began to spread among the comedy community, Norton decided it was time to make the official announcement, adding he doesn’t know if O’Neal is going to fully recover.
Although Norton and company stressed that fans should not try and reach out, send gifts or flowers or otherwise contact the 41-year-old comedian or his family directly, they did offer an email address where fans can send supportive emails and well wishes to the O’Neal’s wife and family.
That same sentiment was repeated on the Opie and Anthony Facebook page, which read:
Our close friend Patrice O’Neal suffered a stroke last week,” the statement reads. “Please respect his family and their request for privacy. An email has been set up for fans to send him well wishes, and his family will make sure he gets them. You can write to LoveForPatrice@gmail.com. When we have an update on his condition, we will let you all know.
Norton made it clear that they were not to speak of their friend in the past tense, adding, “This is not a memorial.”
