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Ralphie May, a well-known stand-up comedian who gained fame after appearing on the first season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, has accomplished a lot in his career. Let’s have a look at it!

Who Was Ralphie May?

Ralph Duren May aka Ralphie May was a famous actor and stand-up comedian from the United States. He is well-known for his extensive touring and sketch shows on a variety of platforms. 

He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on February 17, 1972. Ralphie was the youngest of his four siblings. He grew up in Clarksville, Arkansas.

When Ralphie turned 17 years old, he participated in a contest and also won it to open for Sam Kinison, whom he regarded as a hero and idol. He learned a lot from Kinison and practiced sketches by watching him.

May’s comic performance should be developed further in Houston, according to Kinison. May completed her certification from the Performing and Visual Arts High School.

Career Beginnings

May wanted to achieve more by improving his humor day by day, for which he practiced day and night. He became passionate about propelling in his career as a comedian.

Then, some of the show directors were impressed with his skill and he was picked to compete in the opening season of Last Comic Standing in 2003, which was the biggest break for him. 

He took second place in the contest, which was won by Dat Phan. but he did not stop there, in fact, May went on to perform on shows like The Wayne Brady Show as well as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno after that.

In 2005, he was the sole white stand-up comedian on Mo’Nique, Rodman, and Vince Morris’s The Big Black Comedy Show, and on the show, he was praised by his fellow comedians.

He then went on to release his startup comedy CD named Just Correct in the year 2005. Then, he starred in four Comedy Central specials, including Girth of a Nation (2006), Prime Cut (2007), Austin-tatious (2008), and Too Big To Ignore (2012).

Because of his fame and popularity in the comedy sketches, Ralphie May also appeared on two Netflix Specials, which were Imperfectly Yours (2013) and Unruly (2015).

Personal Life

Instead of spending his life alone, Ralphie May found true love while he was performing at an open mic event, in Houston’s Laff Stop. But now the place has been closed.

May started dating his fellow comedian, Lahna Turner before deciding to spend the rest of his life with her. They spent their time together for several years.

Lahna Turner

Lahna was born on July 15th in the United States, where she completed her high school education and began her comedic career in the mid to late 2000s. 

In addition to her own comic specials, the comedian has been in a number of series and documentaries.

Ralphie May and Lahna Turner became the power couple of the industry. On July 3, 2005, they officially tied the knot in an intimate wedding. 

After two years of their marriage, the couple welcomed their first daughter, April June into this world on September 5, 2007. When she turned 3 years old, her baby brother, August James May was born on June 24, 2009.

His Life Took a Dramatic Turn

No matter how entertaining the comedian’s life appears to be, the truth may be painful at times. After being together for ten years, the pair announced their divorce on their own podcast, Perfect 10. 

They filed for divorce in October 2015, requesting shared custody of their children, but their divorce was never completed, and it was not finalized due to May’s health problems.

During their separation, they lived in separate places for two years, until May’s health began to deteriorate.

Serious Health Concerns

May has suffered from obesity his entire life and appeared on VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club in 2004, where he underwent gastric bypass surgery that resulted in a weight loss of 350 pounds (160 kg). 

Who knew that his health problems and obstacle would be so tough for him? Later, May also dropped 40 pounds after contracting viral pneumonia on a trip in October 2011.

He experienced an almost deadly pulmonary embolism in November 2011 while suffering acute pneumonia aboard a cruise ship, when a blood clot in his leg got stuck in an artery.

Death

On October 6, 2017, Ralphie May died as a result of a sudden heart attack. May was suffering from chronic pneumonia for the last several weeks of his life.

All of the shows and performances were canceled throughout the preceding month, according to his publicist Stacey Pokluda, who confirmed his demise. He had already indicated symptoms of illness and his condition was not okay. 

May was only 45 years old when he died. Everything was later revealed that May was supposed to have a meet-and-greet following his last performance at Harrah’s in Las Vegas at midnight.

He met with a car accident at the age of 16 that broke 42 of his bones. Following his recovery, he opted to go to Los Angeles, California, to work in the entertainment business.

Both music legend Tom Petty and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner also died of heart arrest in the previous two weeks before May died.

His Memoir

When Ralphie May was alive, he had agreed to a deal with St. Martin’s Press to publish a satirical memoir called Making It Big, in which he wrote about his career and life.

May’s journey as a stand-up comic is recounted in the book, it also includes the intimate details of his terrible upbringing raised in poverty in Clarksville town, where his grandmother raised him and his siblings.

This Might Get a Little Heavy, his book, was released shortly in December 2017 after his death. This came out of the blue. 

Ralphie May will be recognized as one of the most outstanding comic artists of his generation. His wife and children will carry on his legacy.

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