Help comedian/husband/father Caleb Medley, shooting victim from Aurora massacre

This is what aspiring stand-up comedian Caleb Medley looks like on his home page.

Photo courtesy CalebMedley.com

But this (right) is what Medley looked like today, lying in a coma in University Hospital in Aurora, Colo., with a gunshot wound to his eye and head. Medley, 23, was one of the dozens of victims of the massacre that played out during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises early Friday. He attended the screening with his wife, Katie, who is due to give birth to their first child, a son to be named Hugo, today. Neither mother nor impending baby were harmed during the shooting.

“(Caleb) is in stable but critical condition and they are monitoring his condition,” said Medley’s father-in-law, David Sanchez, who addressed reporters today outside the county courthouse where the killer faced his first hearing. (Denver Post)

Caleb and Katie went to the midnight movie, because, as a site helping the Medleys says, they had decided “to treat themselves to one last thing before they “officially” became parents.” And the night before this, Caleb Medley had competed in and advanced out of the first round of the Denver ComedyWorks “New Faces Contest.”

Medley, like most stand-up comedians from novices to headliners, does not have health insurance. And neither does his pregnant wife.

His friends, family and loved ones have set up a site — https://calebmedley.com/help — to raise donations to cover both of their hospital bills. The site says that Medley lost his right eye and has suffered brain damage.

Caleb, Katie and Baby Hugo need your help. They need your prayers and good thoughts but unfortunately, they will also need financial assistance. These are hard times for everyone, but if you are here you; are here because you are interested in what happened to Caleb. You are here because you have a good heart.

If you are in financial stress and can only support Caleb through prayer or by sending him your good thoughts, thank you. If you are able to help financially, thank you for that too. Any amount is helpful, even a dollar will help. Just click HERE.

As of this writing, they had raised $7,141 toward their goal of $500,000.

If a lady on a bus verbally harassed by a kid can receive more than that in donations, then certainly this couple — soon to be parents and baby — is worth that much.

UPDATE: Katie Medley gave birth at 7:11 a.m. Tuesday, July 24, 2012, to Hugo Jackson Medley. They’re in the same hospital — Colorado University Hospital in Aurora — as Caleb. Caleb remained in critical condition but showed signs he was aware of the people visiting him and following commands.

Here is a video of Caleb Medley in much more easy-going times, uploaded by him in November 2010. It’s a travelogue as Medley and two other Denver-area stand-ups hit the road, driving long distances for one-nighters in Nebraska and Wyoming.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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14 thoughts on “Help comedian/husband/father Caleb Medley, shooting victim from Aurora massacre

  1. Seems like 10 big-time comics/actors could cover this now that they don’t even have to think about money, IF they can remember when they were at the same level – humping around the country trying to make ends meet while pursuing their dream.

    1. Yeah, some big time comedians could just cover him, but I think it is great that comedy communities all over are mobilizing to help Caleb Medley. He is not the last nor the only comedian to need our help.
      We might as well use this as an opportunity to strengthen the policy of comedians helping comedians even though you don’t know them and you needing help yourself.

  2. Wish whoever wrote this would have left the part out about the lady being harassed by a kid and getting so many donations. It was written in a way that made it seem like one was more significant than the other. Both stories are terrible and shouldn’t be compared. Just saying…

  3. The school bus monitor got a ton of money because the media ran a video of her round the clock for a week or so.

    How about if all the comedy clubs that make a decent living because comedians perform at their clubs …. what if they chip in and pay for his medical bills.

  4. As much as I was opposed to mandatory health insurance, it is intended to prevent situations like this. Anybody in Colorado who has no other source of insurance can buy an individual policy through Cover Colorado with low premiums and high deductibles to high premiums and low deductibles or anywhere inbetween. This guy made a bad choice to go without coverage then drew the short straw.

    Anyone who thinks universal coverage is the answer should think again. Universal coverage means rationed care and his injuries would have been considered to extensive to treat under a socialized medicine system.

    1. Whether you are for or against universal health care, please save your political views for another article. You know nothing about Caleb’s family circumstances and why he didn’t have insurance. Go find some political forum to comment on.

    2. Utter nonsense. His injuries would’ve been treated under Obamacare. Even more importantly, Holmes would’ve gotten the psychiatric help he needed before he became a mass murderer.

      The “socialism” argument is one made by children. Virtually everything in our society is already socialized. Time we joined the rest of the First World and started caring for our health the same way.

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