Comedian Chris Cotton, 32, died this week, and the official cause of death was a blood clot in his right lung and heart failure due to an enlarged heart.
But the coroner also listed other “significant conditions” that were contributing factors to the comedian’s death, including “morbid obesity”,
According to federal standards, morbid obesity means 100 pounds over your ideal body weight or a body mass index (BMI) higher than 30. Chris was more than 300 pounds when he passed.
Comedy Central confirmed Cotton’s death in a tweet saying, “We’re devastated by the loss of Chris Cotton – a hilarious comedian, a beloved member of the Comedy Central family and a joy to be around. He will be missed.”
His sister-in-law, Karen Middleton, told Radar Online that Cotton was discovered “slumped over” behind the wheel of his car. He was pronounced dead at a hospital last Wednesday.
She told Radar, “We are all just shocked that this happened. He was just going to the store to get some stuff for the baby too.”
Chris and his wife Erica, were expecting their first child in February. The couple had been married for 8 years.
He was best known for his stand-up comedy and he was co-host of Comedy Central’s streaming talk show Every Damn Day.
Fellow comedian and actor Hannibal Buress, from Comedy Central’s “Broad City,” offered his condolences on social media. “A few weeks ago Chris Cotton randomly hit me up to thank me for a gig I got him YEARS ago that led to some other work for him” he wrote on Twitter. “I was in the middle of booking Isola Fest and booked him during the call. I was psyched to see him this weekend. RIP.”
A GoFundMe page raised over $50,000 for Cotton’s family.