As first reported by friend Jim Norton on his Twitter feed (and later confirmed by TMZ), comedian Greg Giraldo has died after an accidental prescription drug overdose. Giraldo had been in a New Jersey hospital since being found unconscious following a party in his hotel room on Saturday. He died earlier today at the age of 44.


Giraldo was a Harvard-educated lawyer before getting into stand-up comedy, and while he never liked discussing his past profession, it definitely spoke to his quick-witted delivery and skill with an argumentative rant (and well-timed dig). After first breaking out as a regular panel member on Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn, Giraldo became a familiar presence on Late Night With Conan O’Brien, The Howard Stern Show, and The Opie And Anthony Show, but he was arguably most famous for his appearances on Comedy Central’s roasts. Here he is laying into the entire panel at the roast of Flavor Flav in 2007:


And here he is doing the same for David Hasselhoff from earlier this year:


More recently, Giraldo served as a judge on Last Comic Standing, and released his second album, Midlife Vices, on Comedy Central Records in 2009.