The former 'Two and a Half Men' star describes the comedian, who roasted him on Comedy Central special last September, as 'a gentle giant, a brilliant comedian, and a noble dude.'
- Oct 27, 2011
AceShowbiz - Charlie Sheen is sending his well wishes to one of his roasters on September's Comedy Central special. Soon after news broke out that Patrice O'Neal has suffered a stroke, the 46-year-old actor expressed his support to the ailing comedian, wishing him "nothing but recovery".
In a statement released via TMZ, the former star of "Two and a Half Men" described the 41-year-old comedian as "a gentle giant, a brilliant comedian, and a noble dude." He went on to say, "Wishing him nothing but recovery, healing and laughter."
The sad news about Patrice was made public Wednesday, October 26 morning by fellow comedians Robert Kelly and Jim Norton on the "Opie & Anthony" radio show. Robert told listeners, "We're all here to let people know that one of our really, really good friends fell ill, fell sick... Patrice O'Neal had a stroke."
Jim further detailed, "The family wanted it kinda kept quiet, and we understood why, and out of respect for his mom and his wife, we didn't want to say anything." He added that they don't know if Patrice is going to fully recover. "We don't know how he is. We don't know how he's going to be," he admitted. "We wish we had more news for you."
The "Opie & Anthony" show has also posted a statement on its Facebook page. "Our close friend Patrice O'Neal suffered a stroke last week," it read. "Please respect his family and their request for privacy. An email has been set up for fans to send him well wishes and his family will make sure he gets them. You can write to [email protected]. When we have an update on his condition, we will let you all know."
Patrice, who made appearances as Lonny on "The Office", has diabetes. At Charlie's roasting event, he became a target of several jokes related to his health issues. Amy Schumer, in particular, joked, "Patrice has always been destined for stardom, and diabetes. So tonight is not just the roast of Charlie Sheen, it's also a farewell party for Patrice's foot."
Charlie himself cracked, "The only thing slower than [Anthony Jeselnik's] delivery is Patrice O'Neal's metabolism." He continued, "When I first saw Patrice on this stage, I thought the same thing we all did: Why is Mike Tyson's mother here?"
