(Photo credit: David Arnold Instagram)
A comedian who had been talked about being the “next” big thing in comedy has passed away. Comedian David Arnold passed away while doing what he loved the most – traveling on a comedy tour. Arnold was three shows into his four-month comedy tour called “Pace Ya Self.”
He halso released a comedy special on Netflix entitled “Not For the Weak.” It had quickly become one that was critically acclaimed by critics and fellow comedians.
In his special, there’s a six-minute set piece halfway into Arnold’s performance where the lights dim, as he sits in a chair under a spotlight to portray his grandfather, talking stuff about young David before eventually coming to respect what the grandchild has made for himself.
Before the end of the hour, Arnold also treats us to a colorful story about his deaf stepsister, and how the rest of the family adapted, or failed to adapt, to her condition.
Arnold ends by bowing to the audience on stage, accompanied onstage by his wife and two daughters. Then a mini-documentary plays showing flashbacks of the six months prior to the start of his tour. The mini-doc shows intimate interviews of Arnold, his wife and daughters, and follows him back to Cleveland for visits with his mom, sister, adoptive father and stepfather, as well as his high school.
(Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images)
A statement penned by David Arnold’s family revealed that they were “shocked and devastated” by the loss, adding that his death was due to natural causes. Asking for peace and privacy while they move forward, the family’s statement is clearly weighted in grief.
Starting off as strictly a stand-up performer, Arnold was first featured on Comedy Central’s Jamie Foxx’s Laffapalooza alongside Jamie Foxx and Cedric the Entertainer, the Montreal Comedy Festival, The Tom Joyner Show, BET’s ComicView, BET’s The Mo’Nique Show, HBO’s Entourage, Def Comedy Jam, and others.
If the name David Arnold doesn’t sound too familiar to you, you may not know that he did a lot of things behind the scenes in comedy. He first proved himself to be just as talented in writing bits and sketches as he was in performing them. Arnold would go on to be the joke creator behind a slew of series including TBS’ Meet The Browns, TV One’s The Rickey Smiley Show, OWN’s Raising Whitley with Kym Whitley, and TBS’ Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.
Arnold most recently held credits as a writer and producer on Netflix’s revival of the beloved sitcom Full House, titled Fuller House. The series picked up two decades after the events of the original production with D.J. Tanner-Fuller (Candace Cameron Bure) now widowed and moving back into her childhood home owned by her father, Danny Tanner (Bob Saget). Many of the original cast members also returned including Jodie Sweetin, Andrea Barber, John Stamos, Dave Coulier, and Lori Laughlin. Sadly,
David A. Arnold also made a huge name for himself as the showrunner and executive producer on Nickelodeon’s series That Girl Lay Lay. The teen comedy series centers around Sadie (Gabrielle Nevaeh Green), who wants to be noticed and not constantly overlooked in her high school. When she tosses out the wish that Lay Lay, an AI avatar comes to life to help her with her problems, the wish is granted and Lay Lay comes to life.
Being relatively young, Arnold was only 54, many people question what were the “natural causes” that he died of.
Death is usually considered “natural” if it wasn’t caused by an external factor. Simply put, a “natural” death is one that occurs due to an internal factor that causes the body to shut down, such as cancer, heart disease or diabetes. It means there was no external reason for the death, such as a traumatic injury.
Death certificates almost always include more details about specifically how the body failed, such as heart disease or kidney failure, even if it is only the best guess of the coroner (a trained official) or medical examiner (a doctor) charged with investigating the death.
“When a medical examiner fills out a death certificate, it’s their medical opinion based on all their experience and training that this is what happening,” said Dr. David R. Fowler, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners.
There is only a small section on most death certificates where doctors check a box to indicate the “manner of death” as natural, accident, suicide, homicide or “undetermined.” There is a more involved section for “cause of death.” It’s here where doctors are required to try to specify the immediate cause of death, along with the underlying condition that led up to it, and how long before death they occurred.
Fellow comedian and comedy writer Chris Spencer issued a statement mourning his best friend. “Our closely knit comedy community mourns the loss of one of the greatest to ever do it. He was admired by his peers, respected by other veterans, and looked up to by the burgeoning comedians that he mentored. He will be deeply missed, especially by his comedy fraternity.”
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