Jon Cryer and Kyra Sedgwick will announce the nominees for the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on July 19 at 8:40 am/ET. The kudoscast airs Sept. 16 on Fox.... Alec Baldwin has declined to be roasted by the Friars Club on Oct. 19. In his stead, says the New York Post, Pat Cooper will take merciless hits.... Emmy-winning writer-producer Alex Reid (Malcolm in the Middle) has inked a two-year deal with ABC Studios, where Reid will coexec-produce Samantha Who? and develop new projects.... Comedian Richard Jeni, who killed himself in March, had a history of mental illness and was hospitalized last year for suicidal depression, says a coroner's report cited by the AP.
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A statement from the family of comic Richard Jeni and obtained by TV's Extra seeks to put to rest any assumptions as to the cause of the comedian's recent death, saying, "Pending the results of an autopsy, Richard Jeni did take his own life." Aware that rumors have been circulating as to the catalyst for this tragic turn, Jeni's family dismisses talk that professional woes played a role. "In fact, he had just enjoyed one of his most financially rewarding years to date," says the statement. "The past few years had been more prolific than ever."What, then, led Jeni to end things? "The truth is, earlier this year [he] was diagnosed with severe clinical depression, coupled with bouts of psychotic paranoia," his family shares. "One only needs to have a family member or friend with a mental illness to understand that there is nothing rational, predictable or fair about these diseases. Perhaps Richard’s passing will encourage people to have sympathy... for those who are afflicted with...
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Richard Jeni, a Brooklyn-born comedian who starred in a 1990 Showtime special, was a regular on both Carson's and Leno's Tonight Show, and appeared in such films as The Mask and The Aristocrats, died in an apparent suicide on Sunday. He was 45. Responding to a 911 call from a woman who said, "My boyfriend shot himself in the face," Los Angeles police found Jeni at his home and then rushed him to the hospital, but to no avail. The shotgun shooting is under investigation.
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