Remembering Ray Combs

Writing a memoir obviously brings back the details of many memories. Today I remember Ray combs.
I can’t remember the guy who taught the comedy writing class, he was a great guy and near the end of our class he had a good friend of his who was a working comedian come talk to us. Hi name was Ray Combs. Wow this guy was inspiring. This was 1986 and at the time he was getting paid great money to be the warm up act for numerous TV shows. He talked about coming to L.A from Ohio to make it in stand-up. He had to work odd jobs by day and perform at open mics at night. He slept in his car until he could make enough money to have his family join him in L.A. Man Ray Combs was so inspiring. He was very energetic and upbeat. He stayed after our class to talk with us. There was only about 10 of us in the class so we had some great personal conversations with Ray. Our final class was at the L.A. Cabaret which was a comedy club on Ventura Blvd between White Oak and Balboa. Everyone in the class did a 10 minute set, and Ray Combs came and closed the show. He was fantastic, he killed it of course. Ray Combs said he liked my set and told me I should continue in my comedy pursuits. In 1987 he landed a great supporting role in the movie “Overboard” with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. One year later in 1998 he was picked as the new Host of Family Feud. He held that job until he was fired in 1994 to make room for the return of Richard Dawson. He was in a serious car accident in 1995 leaving him partially paralyzed for a time. He regained his ability to walk but was in constant pain. He got divorced and was hospitalized after trying to kill himself with prescription medication. In 1996 Ray Combs was found dead in his Glendale Ca home. He had hung himself. It’s hard to grasp how this man I met in 1986 who was so vivacious and talented with a great career would be dead 10 years later at the age of 40