Beloved stand-up comedian Patrice O’Neal, who died in 2011 at age 41, is the subject of a new documentary in the works at Comedy Central. The network announced today that it’s teamed up with Bill Burr and Al Madrigal’s company All Things Comedy to produce an in-depth documentary about the comedian’s life and career, which will begin filming this fall. In addition to Burr and Madrigal, the project also has the involvement of O’Neal’s fiancée Von Decarlo, director Michael Bonfiglio (Gary Gulman’s The Great Depresh), and All Things Comedy’s Michael Bertolina. The documentary will attempt to put O’Neal’s work “into the context of the time as well as today†and feature never-before-seen personal materials as well as interviews with the comedian’s family, friends, and fellow comedians.
“Patrice was a tour de force in comedy who left an indelible stamp on the stand-up community and beyond,†Comedy Central execs Sarah Babineau and Jonas Larsen said on the project. “Comedy Central had the incredible opportunity to work with him throughout his career from Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, to the Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen and to his last stand-up special Elephant in the Room. Patrice was a fearless and fierce comedian and we’re honored to be able to shine a light on his life and career with this documentary.â€
“So happy that Mike Bonfiglio and Comedy Central are going to make this happen,†added Burr. “Patrice was the best that I ever saw.“