Robert Schimmel, the comedian most famous for his appearances on The Howard Stern Show and an HBO special regular, died Friday night after a car accident left him in serious condition.
Schimmel was traveling in Arizona Thursday with his 19-year-old daughter, who was behind the wheel, and 11-year-old son, who was in the back seat. Schimmel’s daughter swerved to avoid an accident, which caused the car to roll over several times and wind up on the other side of the freeway. The incident was first reported by TMZ.
The three were transported to a hospital. Schimmel son was released Thursday with no injuries and his daughter is still in the hospital but in stable condition. Schimmel himself was listed as “very serious.”
On Friday, Robert Schimmel’s brother Jeff Schimmel announced his brother’s death via Facebook, posting, “ROBERT SCHIMMEL. Son, Brother, Father, Grandfather, Comedian, Generous Man. I have always loved you, admired you, and was proud to be your biggest fan. I will never forget a single moment. R.I.P.”
Schimmel had previously been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2000. His cancer eventually went in to remission. Schimmel later wrote a book about his battle, titled Cancer on Five Dollars a Day* (*chemo not included): How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life. In January of this year, Schimmel announced he had developed cirrhosis of the liver stemming from a blood transfusion tainted with Hepatitis C he received while in the Air Force.