Comedian Barry Crimmins passed away at age 64, after a battle with cancer.
His wife Helen broke the news to fans on Twitter early Thursday morning, saying he passed away peacefully.
Helen here with sad news…Barry passed peacefully yesterday with Bobcat and I. He would want everyone to know that he cared deeply about mankind and wants you to carry on the good fight. Peace.
— Barry Crimmins (@crimmins) March 1, 2018
Crimmins, an influential comic who got his start in Boston, was the subject of Bobcat Goldthwait’s 2015 documentary Call Me Lucky, which explored his roots in the early ’80s comedy scene and his confrontational style. He told the Daily Dot in 2015 that he started doing comedy because “I had to turn several years of being a screw-up into research.” (Call Me Lucky is streaming on Netflix.)
Crimmins was also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and became an advocate for fellow survivors, most notably testifying before Congress in 1995 to fight back against AOL for facilitating chat rooms for pedophiles.
He’d started doing standup again in the last few years, and Louis C.K. released his first standup special, Whatever Threatens You, on his website in 2016.
https://twitter.com/JuddApatow/status/969109245894344704?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
RIP, Barry Crimmins, hero.
— Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) March 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/michaelianblack/status/969193111250448384
Every day I tell myself maybe I need to quiet down, be easy, not be so vocal about things that are wrong so I can “succeed” in comedy. I’ll always remember @crimmins‘ response to these worries: “Fuck that.” I hope to make him proud by staying funny and staying loud. #RIPCrimmins
— Amy Miller (@amymiller) March 1, 2018
And up until the end, Crimmins was pointing out hypocrisy.
Please use your First Ammendment right to join me by freely saying: Fuck Guns. Fuck the NRA. Fuck paranoid clowns whose “hobby” threatens innocent lives and domestic tranquility. Fuck the Second Amendment.
— Barry Crimmins (@crimmins) February 20, 2018
