(audience laughing) - You're huge in Europe,
you're even knighted by the queen of England.
She dubbed you Cirrhosis of Liver.
(audience laughs)
You're such a drunk,
when alcohol does its taxes it lists you as a dependent.
(audience laughs)
- [Dave] While best known as the guy
from the Comedy Central roasts,
Greg Giraldo found a cult audience who responded
to his unique perspective and rare intelligence.
- I think that Greg, obviously,
is considered a comic's comic.
- He had respect from everyone, he earned it.
- Wow.
- Greg's blessing and Greg's curse was he was brilliant.
- ing Harvard Law School grad.
- [Dave] A two time Ivy league graduate,
he left a career in law to pursue comedy.
- Not only was he very funny,
but like the track record of his life was that of success.
- Is it okay to say that I'm a little worried about you.
(audience laughs)
- [Dave] But he struggled with his addictions
and his own inner demons.
- Do you know much of a... ing loser
that makes me feel like, sir?
- He would be depressed about his lack of success,
even though his success was pretty good, I thought.
He would be about to be in a fist fight
with someone I'm like, "What the... are you doing?"
- He called me around noon and he said,
"I think I have a drinking problem."
- He was brilliant, very smart.
You can't outsmart addiction, you can't outsmart it.
- So comedy world lost a good man and a great comic.
- He, was in many ways, the Kurt Cobain of comedy.
- Part of you is like shocked when that phone call happens.
And the other part of you is like,
"Oh, okay, I guess it was today is the day," you know?
- If people could only ing work on their shit,
they would not be so troubled and dead.
- [Dave] Adored by his peers,
plagued by self-loathing.
- Thank you.
- [Dave] What went on inside the mind of Greg Giraldo?
- Thanks, I better not suck. (audience applauds)
- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen,
you're about to be entertained.
- [Woman] Getting the laugh is the greatest addiction.
- [Man] They want more of it, they want more of it.
- [Man] She was getting death threats.
- It (beeps) with your head. - He's out of his skull.
- That's what took her down. - This is a crazy story.
- Put your hands together for Greg Giraldo,
give him a big hand.
- [Dave] Greg Giraldo grew up in Queens
in the mid sixties.
- Everyone assumes that I'm Italian, but I'm not.
My parents are from South America.
And when people hear that, they always react the same way.
Like, "Wow, man, you don't seem Hispanic."
(audience laughs)
Like they're giving me the biggest compliment
they could think of.
- [Dave] The Giraldo family shared one key priority.
- Education's not just with our dad,
but with our entire family, it's been a huge focus.
- His parents helped him get into Regis High School,
One of the most prestigious high schools in the country.
- You know, scholarship,
it's where Fauci went to high school,
it's where Colin Jost went to high school.
It puts you on a track for a level
of success that many can't understand.
- [Dave] Naturally gifted, Giraldo excelled at school.
- He's the prodigal son.
He is the first born in his family.
He goes to Columbia.
- His counselors recommended that he apply for law school.
And, without studying, he took the LSAT
and scored in the 99th percentile of all test takers.
- [Dave] And so Greg Giraldo went to law school,
and not just any law school.
- He graduated from Harvard Law.
He attended around the same time that future president
Barack Obama was at Harvard Law School as well.
- [Dave] After securing two Ivy League degrees.
Giraldo took a job at one
of the most prestigious law firms in America.
- Hi, I'm Steve Klein, I was Greg's best friend.
Greg and I met at Skadden Arps, the law firm.
He dropped by to introduce himself,
and instead of saying, "Hey, I'm Greg,"
he came and pretended like he
was an ambassador for the firm.
You know, sold the firm,
and how exciting it is to be here and so forth.
And it was, clearly, he was being ironic.
- He did not want to be a lawyer.
It wasn't this calling he had as a young child.
- I remember once, Greg strolls in around two,
and I'm like, "Dude, what are you doing?
You know, they've been looking for you."
And he told this story, he had been out with his friend,
they were drinking, and it sounded like a good idea
to go to the open audition for "Tony and Tina's Wedding,"
which was this very schlocky show.
- One of the directors said,
"You know, you're really funny,"
and that sort of sparked his interest.
- [Dave] Bored stiff by the corporate world,
Giraldo started hanging out in New York's thriving,
early 90s open mic scene.
- Hi, I'm Tom Papa, I am a comedian.
I met Greg Giraldo on June 12th, 1993
at the New York Comedy Club.
- [Interviewer] That's pretty precise.
- It is precise 'cause that
was the first day I ever did stand-up comedy.
And the only other comedian on the show
at like five in the afternoon,
in the summer was Greg Giraldo.
Sweating, very nervous, we just started talking,
we became pals immediately.
- I met Greg at this kind of paid open mic,
you had to pay to go on.
And so the only people
that really pursued stand-up in the very early 90s
were people that were mentally ill
or people with poor judgment.
He was in a suit and I was in a suit
because we both had day jobs.
- This stuff wasn't very sophisticated,
but he was just so awesome at it that he killed.
When the night ended,
everybody rushed up to him and were all over him saying,
"You can do this."
And it, it was pretty clear he was gonna be able to do it.
- [Dave] Giraldo seized on that early success.
- He hated working as a lawyer.
He had a good result from his first few times
as an open mic comedian and he thought, "I'm gonna do this."
- Jim Gaffigan.
(woman laughs)
You know, one of the worst comics I've
You know, frankly,
it's people like him that have ruined comedy, I think.
- It was pretty bold for Greg,
switching from being a high powered lawyer
to something that wasn't viable.
An interesting thing to understand about Greg
is that he was somebody who wanted everything.
Not only was he very funny,
but like the track record of his life was that of success.
- Are we really,
as happy as a country, are people really laughing out loud
as often as they say that, (audience laughs)
'cause that would be one ing psychotic nation.
If we're like, "Oh, hey, just having lunch." (laughs)
- Thing that Greg had was this energy, this mental energy.
In a time when people
were being a little more open on stage,
he was quickly identified as special.
- I was out on the street the other night,
this homeless guy asked me for money
and I was about to give it to him.
And then I thought,
"He's just gonna use it on drugs or alcohol."
And then I thought, "That's what I'm gonna use it on."
- Greg was instantly respected.
He was an original thinker, he was a thinker.
- The scientists have pretty much proven that if there
had been a one quadrillion percentage difference
in either direction in temperature or velocity,
that the universe would've never formed after the big bang.
It would've collapsed back in on itself
or expanded infinitely outwards.
Which proves beyond a doubt
that I once read an article I didn't understand.
- Man was that guy educated,
I mean he knew all sorts
of facts beyond his critical thinking skills.
- Hillary Clinton is probably gonna
get indicted on Whitewater charges.
And because Clinton's still president,
he gets to decide whether to pardon her or not.
He gets to decide whether to pardon in his own wife.
- I would be curious to see,
like have some sociologists do a study on
what the most common profession among stand-up comedians
was prior to them being a comedian.
And I bet it's lawyer.
- You know, if you get to decide whether your wife goes
to prison or not, who picks the movies then,
you know what I mean?
- It's the same part of the brain, I think.
You have to argue an indefensible point,
You know what I mean?
You have to try to say something in like a shocking
and funny way, and then you have to make your case for it.
- He's gotta be sitting around the White House,
in his underwear, eating Big Macs, you know,
"Hey Hillary, you wanna run your down to the 7-11?
I got a date in about three minutes."
- He had great premises, a great observer of life.
- [Dave] Giraldo found his voice early
and before long he was auditioning
for the world's most prestigious comedy festival.
- [Announcer] Just For Laughs,
where millions gather every year,
making Montreal the kingdom of comedy.
- Greg auditions for the Montreal Comedy Festival,
it could be life changing.
And when I say life changing,
I'm saying you do a seven minute set,
a television network will give you $500,000
to develop a show.
That show will be on air in six months, eight months,
your life could change dramatically.
- I'm Rick Dorfman, longtime comedy manager
and was Greg's manager for, I don't know how many years.
An agency, CAA, which is one of the biggest,
they called me and said,
"We want to sign Greg and we want Greg
to be our choice for New Faces."
- [Dave] Giraldo trekked north
to appear in the New Faces Showcase
at the Montreal Comedy Festival, and he killed.
- My phone blew up.
There wasn't a network or studio
that didn't want to meet with him.
- The night he did his set,
he got offered a development deal
and he called me and he was like,
"I got it, I got it, I got the gold ring."
- Oh, well, let's see, my parents raised a Latino.
- [Dave] Giraldo's hit set
at the 1995 Montreal Comedy Festival netted him
his own network sitcom.
- I could put a rider on your contract.
Hell I can put a lowrider on your contract.
(audience laughs)
- The premise of "Common Law"
is Greg Giraldo plays a Latin attorney
in a largely Caucasian law firm.
- [Dave] In the 90s,
the trend was to develop shows around a comic's material.
- What are they doing in that back room?
- You know, Seinfeld, and Mad About You, Drew Carey,
those types of shows were blowing up.
So there was a lot of talk about diversity
and finding Latin comedic talent to center shows around.
Greg really fit that bill in every sense of the word.
(audience laughing) - Excuse me.
- Uh, excuse me, Miss Scissorhands.
- My name is Diana-Maria Riva, I am an actor.
- He called to congratulate me?
- Well, his exact words were up yours,
but I know what he meant.
I was shocked to see how well Greg did with his acting,
his timing and his comedy was great.
And Greg, with his quick witted intelligence,
was able to keep up.
So we were a great little team.
- Lucy, I'm home.
- [Dave] With his ambition, tireless work ethic,
Giraldo believed his show would be a hit,
but he struggled against certain network pressures.
- They would say things,
they would want him to be more stereotypical.
- I don't think anyone ever thought
of Greg as a Latin comedian ever.
And the network wants to Spanish it up.
- Greg Giraldo hated the term, Spanish it up.
- Hey, here we are, hey, check out this character.
Can you believe he is Latin and a lawyer?
Oh, my goodness, we've gotta watch that show.
- It was not really an organic take on who he was,
even though it was supposed to be who he was.
- He felt like that was not the right thing to do,
but we were both afraid,
like who do you talk to?
And would we be hurting our chances of getting on the air.
- With the pressure of being a Latino lead of a show,
and being that it was his first show,
the weight was definitely on his shoulders.
- [Dave] Giraldo wouldn't have
to shoulder the burden for very long.
"Common Law" was canceled after four episodes because
of poor promotion, a lousy time slot, and low ratings.
- I'll never forget when the news came
that they said, "We're pulling the show off the air."
So I got a little teary eyed and when he looked over
and he saw me, he just said,
"Please don't cry, please don't cry."
And then I could see in his eyes
that he felt responsible.
And he just kept saying, "I'm so sorry."
That's when I realized how much of this was on his back.
He was Atlas, you know, and thought,
and looked at it as, "I failed this show."
- [Dave] Giraldo was in the habit of winning.
"Common Law's" cancellation was his first taste of failure
and it would not be his last.
(dramatic music)
(upbeat music)
- I'm sure you all recognized me
from my super mega smash hit, "Common Law".
(audience laughs)
It was violently and abruptly canceled
after just a couple episodes.
Meanwhile, Baywatch is still on the air.
- [Dave] When ABC axed his sitcom, "Common Law",
Greg Giraldo tried to bounce back.
He framed the sting of rejection as an opportunity.
- Greg really looked at it like,
"I'm not as good as I can be.
I need to be better at this before I feel comfortable going
and doing something like that again."
And he said, "all I want you to do is get me on the road.
And that's all I want to do.
I don't care who comes."
And for the next two, two and a half years,
that's all I did.
I just called club after club after club.
And he became a road warrior.
(upbeat music)
- Road warrior is a comic who is constantly traveling,
doing stand-up as many nights a year as they can.
- Do you want to know what a road warrior is?
It's somebody that never stops doing the road.
- You get up at the crack of dawn.
You get on a plane, you fly somewhere.
You rent a car, you drive to a hotel.
You unpack, you live in this place,
Six days, seven days, five days, whatever.
- On average for me, 51 weeks a year.
- It's good to be here, wherever we are, Samoa, apparently.
- [Dave] Greg Giraldo made his living like this,
roaming from town to town, city to city.
Playing small to medium sized clubs.
- Give a nice welcome to Greg Giraldo.
- Greg loved the road.
He just like loved the energy of the road.
He never seemed to get tired of like, you know, the town.
He liked it in the way, where it was like,
"Oh, I know a great place we can,"
you know, like he just knew Dallas really well
or whatever it was.
- Going city, to city, to city,
that grind it's also infectious.
- Back then there was the rock and roll aspect.
There was a party aspect of it.
There were a lot of guys that would go out
and we get hammered after the show.
- After Greg finished a performance,
he was the biggest celebrity in town most times.
And inevitably someone would come up to him and say,
"Hey, where are you gonna party?"
- [Dave] With his humor, good looks,
and natural charisma,
Giraldo was the kind of comic people wanted to party with.
And he was happy to oblige.
- He had the party people,
the cool guys wanted to take Greg out.
The cool women wanted to talk to him.
It gets tricky when those things are thrown in front of you,
it's a lot easier when the only thing people
are bringing you are like,
you know, books they read. (laughs)
- [Dave] When he wasn't indulging the rock
and roll lifestyle of the road warrior comic,
Giraldlo was strengthening his roots in his native New York.
- Right here with the green noodle we have me,
with the blue noodle is Lucas,
with the red noodle, it's Gregory,
and that's our dad right there.
This is a picture of my dad as a kid, just a little goober.
Parents met at Caroline's, a comedy club.
My mom was a waitress there and my dad was performing there.
- Maryanne and Greg were a great couple
from the beginning, from my perspective.
I mean, she was very cool.
She understood, you know, comedy and dark comedy
and got him completely.
- [Dave] Together, Greg and Maryanne had three sons,
Lucas, Daniel, and Greg junior.
- We live this crazy life, we're out every night.
You know, there's no structure really?
How are we gonna be parents?
- He's struggled with being a good father.
He's struggled with going on the road so many times a month.
- [Dave] But the boys never really felt
their father's absence.
- It was a very, very happy household.
Was very clear that he was working really, really hard,
and it was for us.
- Greg constantly talked about missing his kids on the road,
like all the time, like it was a real push/pull for him.
- He would arrive downstairs
and we would all get in the elevator,
and the second the doors open we'd sprint out
and hug him and everything.
So it was definitely a different vibe when he was home,
it was great.
- [Dave] As happy as his home life was,
Giraldo was still forced to work on the road
to support himself and his family.
And that lifestyle started getting to him.
- The thoughts that a comedy
is when a comedian has 23 hours to kill.
In those 23 hours he has before a show
that you gotta find things to do with your mind,
or you're gonna go nuts.
- Real unfortunate thing about Greg
was that he was smart enough to see it.
He was self aware enough to see it.
- There's little wake up calls, you know,
like I was not allowed to get on a plane
'cause I was too drunk.
Do you know how wasted you have to be?
Do you know how depressing that is for a gate agent to say,
"Sir, you're too drunk to sit in a seat."
(audience laughs)
- When he was around the city,
that was part of my social circle.
We went down to the Cellar and he did some spots.
What I do remember is we went around the corner to a bar
and there were a bunch of comics there.
And Greg said, "Let's do tequila shots."
So I said, okay.
And we did one shot, did two.
And then he said, "Let's do another one."
I wound up doing three shots.
I remember Greg having eight shots that night.
And then the next day he called me around noon
and he said, "I think I have a drinking problem."
And I said, "Look, I don't think you have a problem.
I think you just like to have a good time."
And then it was probably six months later,
I was like, "Huh, maybe there's something here."
(dramatic music)
(upbeat music)
- [Dave] Despite the pressures and temptations of the road,
Giraldo's diligence was paying off.
He earned a seat
among the New York comedy scenes inner circle.
- There's a table at every comedy club
where comics hang out at the back of the room,
away from the audience.
But it's where you sit and you hang out and you kibitz.
- The comedians table at the Comedy Cellar
is another rite of passage.
- That is where we all sat, and ate,
and talked, and mocked the hell out of each,
that was the best.
- Sitting at that table, being a part
of that conversation is a really special thing.
- [Dave] Greg would regularly hold court at the table
with comedians like Dave Attell, Patrice O'Neal,
and Saturday Night Live alum, Colin Quinn.
Their no holds barred conversations inspired
a new TV series.
- Let's start the show.
(audience cheers)
- "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn" is one
of the seminal moments in Greg Giraldo's career.
- But also you were a victim
of the American system's bias against Samoans.
- It was Colin's dream to bring this table to comedy fans.
This is how we think, this is what we do,
this is how we behaved.
It was voyeuristic in a way.
- Is the whole point of this war,
it was to stop the terrorism, make ourselves safer.
If we allow an Islamic extremist state to form,
that's not gonna make us any safer.
- [Dave] Airing on Comedy Central in post 9/11 America,
"Tough Crowd" exposed Giraldo to a whole new audience.
- We have banana Republic stores in Panama for Christ sake.
- [Judy] It's not economic imperialism.
- Panama is a banana republic.
(audience laughs)
- "Tough crowd's" another perfect vehicle
for someone that can write quick,
that has the work ethic.
Like that's the other thing, Greg worked his ass off.
He saw it as an opportunity.
- If they were exposed to our American public schools
where kids don't have to learn or memorize anything,
you know, what side would you choose?
- You had to be at the top of your game.
You had to be over prepared.
You could argue with him, but he was gonna win.
He was gonna win.
- We going there now?
- [Dave] Giraldo wasn't afraid
to take on more veteran comics
or of going directly for the jugular.
- Or maybe there's a nonviolent way
to solve the whole North Korea thing.
- [Colin] Good thinking.
Well, there might be, they're asking for, what?
- There was an interaction between Greg
and Denis Leary on "Tough Crowd."
Denis was the senior statesman in that group of comics,
and Greg was kind of, you know,
he was building a name for himself.
And Denis said something,
and Greg said something back that kind of bit Denis,
a little bit.
- There's a nonviolent way to solve a problem
with the country that we hate,
that hates us, has got weapons pointed at us?
I don't think so.
- No, you're right, like Russia, for example,
that big Russian war.
- And Dennis kind of came back a little bit more.
- This guy writes so many jokes before the show,
it's not even funny, it's unbelievable.
- And then Greg hit him really hard.
- That's kind of what we do here,
Denis, get a comedy writer.
(audience laughs)
- I think Denis was trying to say something
about our dad being like a nerd.
- You're the guy in school that did all the homework
and then asked if there was anymore that needed to be done.
- And then our dad just clapped back and just destroyed him.
- That's a good point,
and if you had tried a little comedy writing,
maybe your show would still be on the air.
- Greg had courage, Greg didn't back down and was just like,
"No, no, no, no, no.
I'm just as smart, just as funny.
And I'm gonna show you right now on TV."
- I remember Denis's manager calling me saying,
"Are we good? Like, we're cool?"
And I'm like, "Cool?
My guy just destroyed your guy."
- Well, we're wrapping up another season
of "Stand-up Nation with Greg Giraldo."
- [Dave] Giraldo had a skill set
that Comedy Central seemed eager to exploit.
- Hello and welcome, welcome to "Adult Content."
- Comedy Central totally got that Greg was the star
and there was a time when they were finding the show
that would go after the "Daily Show."
Whoever got that spot after was going to be set.
It came down to him and another guy who
was within the "Daily Show" world, Steven Colbert.
And so "Colbert Report" gets the slot.
- I love this man, Greg Giraldo.
- [Dave] To make things worse,
"Tough Crowd" was canceled after just two seasons.
Giraldo was falling into a familiar pattern.
- There is a consistency of rejection
that only so many people can take.
If someone breaks your heart, you can forgive them.
They break your heart again, you can forgive them.
But if they break your heart like six years in a row,
you kind of like sit there and go,
"Maybe it's not them, maybe it's me."
- I didn't even used to believe in soulmates,
the whole concept of soulmates,
I never believed in soulmates until I saw Siegfried and Roy.
(audience laughs)
Because there you got a gay lion tamer
who hooked up with another gay lion tamer.
- Greg's alcohol use escalated after "Tough Crowd."
He had more time on the road.
He had more success.
He did a great job of hiding it,
even from people he knew really well.
And it was a situation that he could manage,
but not entirely control.
(somber music)
- When we get off stage, that void is so enormous,
so gigantic.
- It takes hours to come down from that, you get so wound.
- You can't just go have a pizza and then go to bed.
You gotta... ing kill a deer or something,
or, you know... Something, or,
you know, you gotta do something monumentous.
- Drugs are so prevalent in stand the world
because man, they're easy to find.
- He had his pick of drugs on the road.
Oxycontin was popular, whatever pills,
uppers, downers, you name it he could get it
and rarely had to pay for it.
- Imagine if you're trying to quit anything,
like if you're trying to lose weight,
and every room you go into someone's got a cake, imagine,
it's hard, it's very hard.
- [Dave] This lifestyle, the travel,
the drinking, the drugs,
helped Greg quiet thoughts that nagged at him constantly.
- He started to drink to quiet the mind chatter.
His brain worked faster than the average person
and that's a hard thing to turn off.
- It is so difficult not to sit there
and drink until you are passed out.
- People aren't what they say, they're what they do.
And as much as he would say, "Yes, I hate the road.
I hate it, I hate it."
No you don't, you don't.
If you did, you would do something different.
(dramatic music)
- You get tons of attention, then it disappears.
You're finally headlining.
You're on the road, you have a good show.
Going back to hotel rooms is depressing.
What's gonna happen?
What's gonna happen is you're gonna get in trouble.
- [Dave] With his mental health worsening,
Giraldo knew that if he wanted to save his career,
his family, and his life, he'd have to make a change.
(dramatic music)
- I am getting old, it's all happening so fast.
I had to quit drinking and drugging.
I had to stop, there were a lot of wake up calls, you know?
- [Dave] The road warrior lifestyle
was wearing on Greg Giraldo.
- When you do something like crystal meth,
do you ever say "Gee, I got kids,
I got a wife." - It's worst.
- Does it go through your head, like?
- That's like, yeah, it's all over.
And today's 12 hours without a drink
or drug in my body and that's it,
I'm on my way to a meeting after this.
- [Dave] So he got sober.
- My name's Jesse Joyce, I'm a comedian and a writer.
- I introduced Greg and Jesse and I said,
"Greg, it might help you to have somebody on the road
to kind of help you make better choices."
- I was trying to get sober at the same time.
You form habits on the road and then suddenly
this is the first time you're doing it sober.
You have to get yourself outta that rut that,
you know, like the track, that well worn groove
that you would always do
and try to figure out what else to do.
You have to rewire your brain.
He and I worked really well together on the road
because we were both trying to figure
that out at the same time.
- Jesse became his really, really close friend
and helped keep him straight.
- Mr. Greg Giraldo.
- [Dave] Struggling to stay sober,
Giraldo still had friends rooting for
And they tapped him for gigs that would come
to define his legacy for better and worse.
- Arty, your liver has more holes in it
than Mel Gibson's apology.
(audience laughs)
- Greg was known as the guy from the roasts.
- Who would... you?
You have the sex appeal of a school bus fire.
- You looked forward to the Greg Giraldo set.
You knew it was going to be the highlight
of the whole roast.
- Penn Gillette, with your greasy ponytail,
you look like a male stripper
that swallowed a male stripper.
- I would watch the Comedy Central roast
just to watch Greg's Giraldo.
That guy brought so much game to those shows.
- This stage is like Planned Parenthood,
two sluts and nine abortions.
(audience laughs)
- The roasts were the biggest thing to happen to Greg.
He's just the best guy to ever do it.
- Kathy, you look like Ronald McDonald... ed
Lucille Ball's corpse
then pushed it down a flight of stairs.
(audience laughs)
- I didn't understand any of it as a kid,
he called Lisa Lampinelli
a wart on the cock of American culture.
And I don't know what a-
- No, that was a Bob. - Bob Saget.
- Bob, you are a genital wart
on the cock of American culture.
- But I didn't know what wart or a cock was.
- [Dave] For Giraldo, roasting celebrities like Bob Saget,
William Shatner, and Pamela Anderson was lucrative.
- Ladies and gentlemen, we have Greg Giraldo.
- [Dave] But the format
also saw the comedian's personal insecurities
dragged out into the open.
- I know a little bit about bitches
and, ladies and gentlemen, this is Comedy Central's bitch.
(audience laughs)
- While he talks,
see if you can count how many times Pam says,
"Who the... is that?"
- He's gonna make you laugh and then you'll forget him.
- Who, without these roasts, would starve to death.
- Please welcome the unknown comic.
- Please welcome comedy's cruel joke, Greg Giraldo.
- The only thing he would get labeled
for at the roast was being a failure, you know?
- Greg Giraldo lives on his mother's couch
and collects food stamps,
and Carrot Top makes $10 million a year.
- Greg Giraldo, you should be a bigger star,
you should be much bigger.
- In a way, good job other roasters,
'cause you found the thing he
was sensitive about, you know, to exploit.
- How do you create these jokes that are just,
they just fall off your tongue so trippingly.
- When you hate yourself a lot it's easy
to turn that hatred on others.
You know, it's easy to like,
attack them when you feel like you're not,
you know, worth saving either.
- [Dave] The roasts were Giraldo's golden handcuffs.
The work was steady, but felt a bit beneath him.
They boosted his profile, but only as an insult comic.
- I mean, there were times where he'd be in Minnesota
and be at a Subway sandwich shop,
and some teenager would reference him
as the guy from the roast.
And he was like, "Oh, I'm glad you know me,
but I'm also performing, you know,
at the club this weekend."
And, and so it was kind of limiting.
- I don't know the Greg, I know, the core Greg.
Sure, he could do those things, but that wasn't him.
- You have to separate yourself from that thing
that you don't wanna be anymore.
And that's hard, dude, that's really hard.
- [Dave] Giraldo's frustration often bubble
to the surface in his roasts.
- This is exciting I gotta tell you,
I've never roasted a fake character before.
Maybe next year we could roast SpongeBob Squarepants.
(audience laughs)
- There were just like, flashes of like,
genuine anger in the Larry the Cable Guy roast.
- How the... are you so popular?
- And it crushed because like people could really tell
that it really bothered the guy who's been made fun
of for being a failure all night long,
that... ing Larry the Cable Guy is like the most famous,
and popular, and wealthiest comic in America.
That part was like a little window into like,
oh we're not joking anymore.
- You say you've never done drugs,
but watching your success has put me in rehab twice.
So thanks for ripping my soul out, ya hillbilly...
(audience applauds)
- We interviewed Greg for "I Am Comic,"
a documentary, right here at the Comedy Cellar.
He said to me, "I understand you're sober a long time.
I wanna talk about that."
So we moved to the other end of the Comedy Cellar,
just Greg and I, no camera, and talked about sobriety.
We move all the way down to that corner booth,
all the way down there.
I can still see us sitting there.
And Greg says, "I can't get over the fact
that Larry the Cable Guy's a big star
and I'm still working nightclubs."
I get that, if you want all
of Larry the Cable Guy's success,
you have to have everything.
You have to do his act in front
of his audience, you want that?
And he laughed, "Okay, that's funny.
Yeah, I get it, I don't want that.
I just want to be successful on my own terms."
I told him, "You have to have acceptance."
- Anyway, now more Larry the Cable Guy.
- [Dave] In his academic career,
his hard work had been rewarded,
but show business was different.
- It's all bullshit.
Like if you're the best brick layer in town,
that's gonna get out and people are gonna be like,
"All right, you need to put bricks,
you gotta get this guy, Billy."
Well, in the entertainment industry,
it's all smoke and mirrors, it's a perception business.
- Show business is not about justice, not at all.
- He would be depressed about his lack of success,
ticket sales, why am I an up and coming young comedian
for 20 years.
- He would compare himself to other comics and say,
"I should be better at this, I should be better at that.
I should be a better actor.
People keep telling me I'm this, I'm not."
- [Dave] The toxic mix of addiction and inadequacy
was starting to get the better of him.
- Oh God, are you kidding?
I mean, did I ever witness Greg relapsing?
I mean, I'd walk into some of the most horrific scenes
of self hatred and just despondence of, you know,
hotel rooms and depression and empty bottles.
And you know, I mean, I've seen a lot
of it really up close and it was not pretty.
- At a certain point, it started to affect the work.
He would show up late or he would miss something.
- Like my life is so much harder now
than it was when I was younger.
I wanna be... ed up now all the time, you know?
But I can't because now I'm an alcoholic
and I can't drink at all 'cause when I do,
I end up snorting crystal meth off a switch blade
in some after hours bar thinking,
"Shit, I'm gonna be late for my flight in the morning."
Except it's like two in the afternoon
and the flight was six weeks ago and you're like,
"Holy shit, how did that happen?"
- There were also times when,
like I would go in the men's room
and he would be talking to some drunk guy
and he would be about to be in a fist fight
with someone and I'm like, "What the... are you doing?"
So like, there was an anger underneath it.
- [Dave] Giraldo's inability to manage his addictions
and hi worsening mental health began
to intrude on what was once his sanctuary, his home.
- Our house was, from what I remember, super happy.
Both our mother and our father,
they made a very deliberate effort to separate
what might have made my childhood abnormal.
- He could have said the road and family life,
these two things don't coexist.
They're not working and I'm gonna make a change,
but he didn't do that.
- He showed up at a parent teacher meeting
and his hands jittery, clearly signs of withdrawal
and Maryanne was worried.
- The counsel that his wife Maryanne was getting
was really foundational, tough love kinds of things.
- Maryanne ultimately kicked him out of the house
because she wanted what was best for the family.
- [Dave] As Giraldo grappled with addiction
and mental health issues,
he grew alienated from some people close to him.
- Some of the behavior towards the end
was a natural distancing from people.
It surprised me how bad it had gotten.
Basically said, "Hey, this isn't really
a two-way friendship anymore.
It really is me looking out for you, and I always will,
I love you, but you know, you should get help."
- I don't think Greg ever respected how outmatched he
was by his own illness.
And I would try to tell him,
this is so nothing to... Around with Greg, (scoffs)
like this is not gonna go well.
(dramatic music)
- Should he come home?
Should he just not come home?
- Maybe he shouldn't come home.
- Maybe he should start banging other broads.
(audience laughs)
- [Dave] Privately, Greg Giraldo's life
had never been worse,
but professionally things seemed to be taking a turn.
- [Craig] You'll decide who will win $250,000
and the title of Last Comic Standing.
(audience applauds)
- The "Last Comic Standing" thing
was sort of out of left field.
- Felipe, thank you for making me feel better
about my parenting skills.
(audience laughs)
- He was my biggest fan on "Last Comic Standing."
- [Dave] Stand-up's answer to "American Idol,"
NBC's "Last Comic Standing" gave upstart comedians a chance
to hone their chops in front of a panel of veterans.
- [Natasha] Tiffany, do another joke.
- And incorporate the word iguana.
(Andy laughs)
- Greg was very reluctant to take the job
at "Last Comic Standing."
He didn't want to be the Simon Cowell type,
he didn't want to just put people down.
- You describe the bad kiss so perfectly it took me
all the way back to when I was an altar boy.
- I think he wanted to be a mentor to a lot
of the comedians who auditioned for "Last Comic Standing."
- Felipe, you are awesome, you're a total original.
I think you're just great and congratulations on everything.
- [Dave] It looked like the roastmaster
was entering a new chapter,
but he was still battling his demons.
- Getting divorced again, and you know, a lot of people,
[Audience Cheers] Yeah.
It means every 10 years or so,
I gotta give all my shit away and start from scratch.
(audience laughs)
- When the marriage was breaking up and stuff,
he was, you know, like he was just very honest.
- I'd vote against both of them.
Why should they be married when I'm not married?
(audience laughs)
- Truth and pain, comedy, all right. (chuckles)
- How is the dude sleeping dead center,
that is... ing great.
Doesn't strike you as a weird choice
to fall asleep in the third row of my big TV taping.
- There was a demise.
Greg's final year,
I could see the pathology increasing
and I could see the disconnect.
I could see him getting worse.
- Coming up next, Flo Abrams has some advice on
how to avoid that nasty holiday hangover.
But they're never like tips
that would help people like me, you know?
Flo's like, "Drink plenty of water."
Oh. (audience laughs)
Flo's like, "Don't call your dealer
for that third eight ball in a row."
(audience laughs)
That'll leave a nasty sting in the morning.
- [Dave] Giraldo's success had a way of covering
for his deeper issues.
Some longtime friends,
never suspected that things had gotten so bad.
- Well, I knew that Greg had a substance abuse problem,
but I really thought he was,
I don't wanna say past this, 'cause you're never past it,
but he was in a good place.
- I wasn't worried about Greg.
Even when he started doing a rehab, or another rehab,
I viewed Greg as always winning.
- [Dave] Giraldo's issues may have been compounded
by his intelligence, which had served him well as a student,
a lawyer, and a stand-up comic.
- Greg's blessing and Greg's curse was he was brilliant.
Really smart people are very rarely happy, it's a curse.
They see it and they can't rationalize their way around it.
It's the reality of them, and the world, and the rest of it.
Ba-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
- Sometimes they're these guys and they're so smart
that it's hard to just get a simple kind of way
of life about sobriety or a program,
wherever the program is.
- He was brilliant, very smart.
You can't outsmart addiction, you can't outsmart it.
- He never took to the culture
and that's all we ever offered him.
Go to rehab, go to rehab, go to rehab,
which was AA indoctrination camps, right?
- You think, "Well, I'm so smart in these other areas
I can work this out.
I can figure out how to do less drugs."
Maybe it was combinations off.
Maybe do less of this more of that.
You can't outsmart addiction.
You have to just give up, surrender, and live clean.
- [Dave] It all came to a head on September 26th, 2010
in a place Giraldo found utterly familiar.
- Greg finished a Friday show
at the Stress Factory in New Jersey.
He went out and a fan supplied him
with Oxy, cocaine, and booze.
The next day, Saturday, he was scheduled
to perform at a sobriety event.
- Kind of put together this thing for recovery month
and Courtney Love was gonna do an acoustic set
and Greg was going to introduce her and do 10 minutes.
And Greg had sent a text, "I can't make it."
You know, "I'm really sorry, I'm not gonna make it."
- The reality is, yeah,
New Jersey comedy club hotel by yourself, blah.
That's where it really gets you.
(dramatic music)
(somber music)
- [Dave] Struggling with addiction and mounting feelings
of inadequacy, Greg Giraldo overdosed sometime
in the evening of September 26th, 2010.
He was rushed to a New Jersey hospital.
- I remember Tom Papa called me
and told me that Greg was in the hospital.
Even at that point, I was like,
"Well, it's gonna be fine."
Again, it's gonna be this incredible redemption story.
Like, I imagined him in some HBO special making fun
of himself for being in a hospital.
- New Jersey, after a late show at the Stress, no,
this is, come on.
It was heartbreaking.
- I called Maryanne, she said,
"You should come down."
And I went down to the hospital
when I remember Colin Quinn was coming out of the room
and I was walking into the room.
And he was lying there with tubes in his mouth.
- You know, and he was in a coma for, I don't know,
five days or so afterwards, and, and it was a process.
I mean, going to see him that way.
- [Dave] After the doctors ruled that there was no chance
of survival, Greg's family made the decision
to pull life support.
- The comedy world lost a good man and a great comic.
- If you understand addiction, like yeah,
like part of you is like shocked
when that phone call happens,
and the other part of you is like,
"Oh, okay, I guess it was today is the day," you know?
- Steve you're my best friend, I love you, man.
- I think Greg's death was definitely accidental.
Never in a million years
would he intentionally leave his kids,
me, quite frankly, I'd kill him.
- [Dave] A New York Times obituary summed up
Giraldo's legacy.
- Insult humor comic, that would not be Greg Giraldo.
- Oh, he must have been pissed.
I want insult comic on my... ing grave.
- That's really unfortunate,
I don't think that captures Greg.
- Mr. Greg Giraldo.
(audience applauds)
- I remember Giraldo said some mean shit
at one of the roasts,
and I think it was when he was in the throes of addiction.
We're going from LA to New York after the roast.
And I see him at the gate and I'm like hiding,
'cause like, I don't wanna get my feelings hurt again.
We're on the plane and I'm totally like,
"Oh my God, I hope he doesn't see me."
And as he's getting off the plane, it was so,
this was his real self, he just grabs me
and he kisses me really hard on the cheek
and he goes, "Great ing job."
And he walks off the plane and I was like crying
because I was like, that's the real... ing Greg.
(audience applauds)
- He's the comic I wanted to be.
He's a dad, he's a husband, he's a son.
Ing Harvard Law School grad.
And he still couldn't control these impulses.
So I think he kind of humanizes this business.
- As special as Greg is
that self-destructive streak, the tragic ending,
that could be anybody, do you know what I mean?
- I don't think, culturally,
we understand that mental health shortens lifespans.
We understand cancer does,
we understand hypertension can,
you know those kinds of things,
but we don't equate physical health with mental health.
I think Greg was one of those people who
was just not gonna be here for very long.
- [Dave] But in that short time,
Giraldo left an indelible mark on modern comedy.
- I will tell you,
if he had been sober, and straight,
and had lived another series of years, Greg would be a star.
Greg would be a superstar.
- Truth is, I think had he not self sabotaged
because of the addiction,
I think he would've had everything, you know,
that was coming to him, I think.
- He was a very good dad.
Also, he was pretty good comic.
So both of those, pretty good arguer too.
- I know he was constantly pegged by insecurity,
but I would let him know that he was enough.
- Thank you for laugh, everybody, I gotta go.
(dramatic music)