R.I.P. Erik Myers

Stand-up comedian Erik Myers died suddenly and tragically this morning when he was hit by a car near Amarillo, Texas.

Myers, 40, was en route to a weekend of gigs at Hyena’s Comedy Club in Dallas, where he was scheduled to perform tonight through Saturday. Hyena’s modified its page today: “Hyena’s Dallas will be closed tonight. Rest Easy Erik Myers…. One of the best.”

UPDATED: A tribute show will be held March 23, 2021, online. Tickets via Eventbrite.

Born on Leap Day of 1980, Myers grew up in Columbia, Md., graduating high school in 1998 and studying at Towson University. In 2005, he won the Funniest Person in Baltimore contest, then followed that up with 2011 Florida’s Funniest Comedian once he’d gone south to make his mark on the Florida comedy scene. He’d make the move to Hollywood, where he was a regular at the clubs, and also earned TV credits via Gotham City Live, Laughs, and Showtime’s Andrew Dice Clay Presents The Blue Show.

He put out an hour special in 2012-2013, Dopeless Romantic.

Here’s his bit about applying for work at Taco Bell, filmed at The Laugh Factory:

In 2017, he made this pilot for an animated series loosely based on his life, Court Ordered. Funny friends such as Sam Tripoli, Becky Robinson, Jay Davis, Stephanie Simbari, Craig Phillip Conant, Erin Darling, Theo Von, Pablo Francisco, Ian Edwards, Brad Williams, Jeff Dye, and Jamar Neighbors.

Myers released another special filmed at the Laugh Factory in 2019:

Myers just lost his father to cancer earlier this month.

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A post shared by Erik Myers (@erikmyerscomedy)

But Myers was eager to keep working, and had gigs lined up all through February, from The Comedy Catch in Chattanooga, Tenn., Hyena’s in Fort Worth, the Improv in Tempe, Ariz., Loonees in Colorado Springs, and then this weekend in Dallas.

Comedians were quick to react with shock and sorrow.

Erik Myers was one of the kindest people to me when I started stand up. His only mission in life was to make people laugh. He fought so many demons in his time here on earth & losing him like this is such a devastating blow to the comedy community. I hope you find peace my friend pic.twitter.com/wRaAubcYDq

— Jennifer Sterger (@jennifersterger) February 25, 2021

Erik Myers was a comedic FORCE. He would destroy a room. I’ll miss watching him get a standing ovation then innocently ask “How did I do?” I’ll miss hearing him say “BRADLEYS!” when we saw each other. I’ll just miss him. Do yourself a favor and watch his stuff. Rest in power pal pic.twitter.com/W1DC9CGie6

— Brad Williams (@funnybrad) February 25, 2021

The scratchiest shriek of a voice, the most energy one could exert on a stage, and a genuine understanding that every audience deserved the best show ever. #rip Erik Myers. You killed every goddamn time we did a show together.

— Alex Hooper (@HooperHairPuff) February 25, 2021

https://twitter.com/RoninSamTripoli/status/1365039921866502147

So sad to hear about Erik Myers. An absolute force on stage. We hung a lot early on in our careers and he was always so much fun to be around. I hope you’ve found peace, my brother. Godspeed

— Chris Porter (@IamChrisPorter) February 25, 2021

Erik Myers was amazing. We lived together for a short time. He helped me a lot, he would always pick up the phone when I was feeling so low. He was one of the funniest acts I ever saw on stage and I hope his family knows how much he was loved pic.twitter.com/xg1YKG8ISn

— Dustin Ybarra (@Dustin_Ybarra) February 25, 2021