UPDATE, with additional information and clarification: Kenny DeForest, a popular stand-up comic who made appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Late Show with James Corden, HBO’s Crashing and Comedy Central’s Tales From The Trip, died Wednesday at a Brooklyn hospital days after what is now believed to be a single-vehicle e-bike accident on Dec. 8. He was 37.
Family and friends initially believed the accident to be the result of a collision involving DeForest’s bike and a car but after consulting an EMS report and discussions with a nearby crossing guard the comic’s friends now suspect DeForest was riding an e-bike and somehow crashed at the Rogers
Avenue and Sterling Place intersection near Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
An EMS report was filed, but the NYPD apparently was not called to the scene.
In a statement to Deadline, DeForest’s friend and fellow comic Ryan Beck said, “We’ve learned more information today from an EMS report. Kenny was on an e-bike and crashed. I spoke with crossing guards at the area today, and am still in search of more information. There is no police report because it
was not a hit and run as first understood.”
Beck had announced his friends death on a GoFundMe page set up for DeForest’s family to assist with medical bills following the accident. According to Beck, DeForest had undergone neurological surgery to remove a piece of his skull and relieve pressure from a brain bleed.
“Kenny died on Wednesday December 13th at Kings County Hospital surrounded by his parents, family, and friends,” Beck wrote. “Kenny’s final moments included some of his favorite songs, stories of his childhood, and memories of his extensive positivity and joy for life.”
“He was a tremendous person and comedian,” Beck told Deadline. “All of us in the New York comedy scene are truly devastated.”
Yesterday, the social media page of Late Night with Seth Meyers, posted, “Kenny DeForest was a universally beloved comedian who died tragically, and much too young. His relaxed, confident delivery always stood out. As you can see from his debut late night set on LNSM, he wasn’t afraid to tackle controversial topics, but never just to be edgy- always in service of an original angle and a great joke. It’s a shame we won’t get to see what he comes up with next.”
“Kenny DeForest was one of the funniest and most beloved comics any of us knew,” wrote comic and Adam Ruins Everything host Adam Conover on Instagram. “A tragedy. Watch his special on YouTube. It came out three months ago. It’s beautiful.”
Kenny DeForest – Don’t You Know Who I Am?, his comedy special shot at Brooklyn’s The Gutter and released in August, and is available on YouTube. Watch it below.
Born April 23, 1986 in Springfield, Missouri, where he was would become part of a growing stand-up comedy scene before relocating to New York City, DeForest made his breakthrough performance in 2016 on the web series Live @ The Apt, and the following year appeared on NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers.
In 2018 he appeared on MTV Decoded, and the following year on CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden. Other credits include a 2019 episode of the Just For Laugh’s TV series Straight Up, Stand Up and, the same year, Comedy Central’s Tales From The Trip.
A familiar presence on the New York stand-up scene, DeForest released his debut stand-up album B.A.D. Dreams in 2017, and was invited in 2018 to perform at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. His comedy style has been described as wry and gentle, with an “ever-evolving jaded-optimistic POV on what it means to be alive on this planet at this moment…”
DeForest recently completed a Nov. 30-Dec. 3 run of shows at the Funny Bone in St. Charles, Missouri. Last night, the comedy club posted a tribute message on Instagram that reads, “@kennydeforest you were one of the funniest, kindest people to walk the face this planet and we are all feeling so grateful for our time with you and will miss you tremendously!”
The GoFundMe page indicates that DeForest’s organs will be donated: “Even in death he will continue to make meaningful improvements in the lives of others.”
Information on survivors was not immediately available.
