DETROIT – Comedian Ralphie May has passed away at the age of 45, according to reports.

TMZ reports the comedian, who first appeared on NBC's "Last Comic Standing" in 2003, has died.

The report indicates May had recently gone through a divorce and custody battle for his two children.

UPDATE: TMZ now reporting May died Friday morning after battling pneumonia for 6 weeks and died of cardiac arrest.

Story is developing.

Back in 2012, May revealed he had almost died after contracting pneumonia on a cruise ship, then suffering a pulmonary embolism.

“I was afraid if I had gone to sleep, I wouldn’t have woken up,” he said in an interview. “People say at the end of your life, the happy moments flash before your life. I was so close to death and I felt regret. I put my career before my babies and wife. I compromised my health. I should have been in a hospital instead of a ship.”