RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Fans and fellow colleagues were remembering Gardena-born comedian and actor Teddy Ray, who has died at age 32, authorities in Riverside County said.
Ray, whose legal name was Theadore Brown, died Friday in the 40 block of Via Santo Tomas, the Riverside County coroner’s office reported. The time and cause of death were unknown and the case remains under investigation.
After appearing at comedy clubs in Los Angeles, and elsewhere, Ray made his on-screen debut on BET’s “ComicView” and was later featured on the eighth season of MTV’s “Wild N’ Out,” the HBO Max series “PAUSE with Sam Jay” and Comedy Central’s “How to Be Broke.”
“Rest well champ!” said Nile Evans, co-creator of Wild N’ Out.
Ray was also known for his social media memes and viral videos.
He often appeared in sketches for All Def Digital, a multi-platform media comedy platform founded by Russell Simmons. The company tweeted that it was “heartbroken” about the news of Ray’s death. “We will miss him every day but we know he will have Heaven laughing.”
“Teddy Ray was a hilarious and beloved performer,” Comedy Central’s Twitter account posted Friday. “He’ll be deeply missed by the entire comedy community.”
In Ray’s final Instagram post two weeks ago, marking his 32nd birthday, he included a photo of himself sitting shirtless in the driver’s of a gold sedan.
“Pulling up on 32 like … Lord, I thank you for another lap around this hot … sun.”
