Ralphie May dies; ‘Last Comic Standing’ comedian was 45

LOS ANGELES — A spokeswoman for Ralphie May says the comedian has died. He was 45.

In a statement Friday, publicist Stacey Pokluda says May died of cardiac arrest. She said he had been fighting pneumonia, which caused him to cancel a few appearances in the past month.

His body was found Friday morning at a private residence in Las Vegas.

On Wednesday, the round-faced May was named casino comedian of the year at the Global Gaming Expo. He was booked through the rest of 2017 at Harrah’s Las Vegas.

May, a Tennessee native who was raised in Arkansas, parlayed a second-place finish on TV’s “Last Comic Standing” in 2003 into TV and club appearances.

His publicist said May’s survivors include his wife, Lahna Turner, and children April June and August James.

On social media, fellow comedians expressed their grief.

“I’m at a loss for words to hear about the passing of comedian Ralfie May,” Gabriel Iglesias tweeted. “He was a friend.”

Jim Gaffigan wrote: “So sad to hear about Ralphie. Sweet guy.”