Philadelphia comedian Chris Cotton has died at the age of 32, Comedy Central announced Wednesday. His cause of death was not immediately made public.
“We’re devastated by the loss of Chris Cotton – a hilarious comedian, a beloved member of the Comedy Central family and a joy to be around,” the network said in a statement. “He will be missed.”
A Philadelphia native, the stand-up hosted some of the network’s digital programming, including Comedy Central’s red carpet coverage of its own roast of Bruce Willis last year, and appeared on Comedy Central’s talk show “Every Damn Day.”
His other on-screen credits include the web comedy series “Carpool Rules” and Shilpa Mankikar’s short film “Diwal’Oween,” as well as an appearance on “Gotham Comedy Live.” In August, Cotton self-published the memoir “What My Dad Did: My Theory of Joke Writing.”
Cotton had been married to his high school sweetheart, EricaLynn, since 2011 and the couple were expecting a baby at the time of his death, Billy Penn reported Wednesday.
Later Wednesday, Cotton’s friends and peers in the comedy world paid tribute to him on social media, with many sharing a link to a GoFundMe set up to help out his family. See a sampling of those tributes, including links to the fundraiser, below:
We’re devastated by the loss of Chris Cotton – a hilarious comedian, a beloved member of the Comedy Central family and a joy to be around. He will be missed. pic.twitter.com/b7DU4AeGsE
— comedycentral (@ComedyCentral) December 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/hannibalburess/status/1204931635449356288
What a total shit year. Philly lost a great comic and a truly great person. My heart goes out to the family of Chris Cotton and all those close to him. Chris was also about to be a dad. Here’s a link to he and his wife’s Amazon registry:https://t.co/Pf4xk5klfE#ripchriscotton pic.twitter.com/pLszIzePB0
— Michelle Biloon (she/her) (@biloon) December 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/Overfab/status/1204811952574390272
Chris Cotton was a beautiful person with so much love to give. Everyone loved him instantly. He regularly made me laugh so hard that I cried. I am honored that I got to work with him and know him. Love you, Chris. Rest In Peace. https://t.co/kxLq8iE5Oa
— nate dern (@natedern) December 12, 2019
I loved Chris Cotton. His enthusiasm, generosity and kindness is unforgettable. And he was hilarious. His first child is due in February. Please consider helping his family this Holiday season. https://t.co/VJxfcRT5zn
— (((Gary Gulman)))Harris/Walz2024 (@GaryGulman) December 12, 2019