He and his wife were living in a housing complex in Los Angeles and he was hired to do a stand-up act for the residents for $100. In the middle of the show he felt ill, and sat down on the edge of the stage. Almost immediately he keeled over and died, apparently from a heart attack. When his wife later went to the management to collect the $100 he was to be paid, they only gave her $50, saying, "He didn't finish the show".