Acclaimed Dallas comedian Raj Sharma died Friday morning, according to social media posts from the clubs he regularly headlined and the podcast he once co-hosted.
He was 50 years old.
For more than two decades, Sharma served as a headliner at comedy clubs across Texas.
After having worked with major headliners such as Sebastian Maniscalco, Russell Peters, Sheryl Underwood and Godfrey, he took his act in recent years to California, where he was a regular performer at venues like the Laugh Factory.
His comedy career took him beyond American borders too, as he embarked on tours across the globe, playing clubs in Europe and Australia.
Along with North Texas comedy peers and collaborators Paul Varghese and Aaron Aryanpur, Sharma represented a generation of successful entertainers who not only made a career of comedy, but who served as elder statesmen and mentors to the acts who followed them.
Sharma had moved back to North Texas in recent months while dealing with various illnesses that regularly saw him hospitalized. His social media channels, where he boasted more than 450,000 followers on Instagram alone, had of late featured more confessional posts about his health — often from a hospital bed.
It was not abundantly clear what his diagnosis was based on his posts — and it’s not clear if his doctors ever determined the exact root of the issues, either. In various posts, he complained of facial paralysis that saw the left side of his face drooping; of infections that later were diagnosed as facial cellulitis; of dealing with a constantly running nose; of having his stomach pumped; and, more than anything else, of being always tired.
Still, he kept on performing where he could. He hosted a “Raj Sharma & Friends” show at the Addison Improv on March 18. In October, the same club hosted Sharma and his peers for a gig billed as “Raj Sharma’s 50th Birthday Spectacular!”
Remembrances shared on social media in the wake of Sharma’s passing noted that he was funny — of course — but seemingly each one just as deeply lamented losing such a kind and supportive friend from the local comedy scene.
A post from Hyena’s Comedy Nightclub in Dallas called him “a great comic and a better guy.”
A message shared by the Addison Improv expanded on that same sentiment, reflecting on his 25 years in the business.
“[He] was beloved by a lot of people,” that post read. “He had an amazingly infectious energy and he was an absolute killer on stage. He’s been doing comedy since 2001 and more than anything he was a great friend who would give you the shirt off his back.”
A post from The Treehouse Show, the podcast he co-hosted until just last month, echoed much of those same feelings.
Read that memorial: “We know for many this comes as a shock. For others, it is not a surprise. While we’re flooded with thoughts and emotions, right now we choose to celebrate the positive effect Raj had on our lives. Remember his laugh and his love. We will miss the jokes, the laughs, and the occasional tears. But most of all, we will miss our friend.”
