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Killingsworth, stand-up comic

By Ashleigh Oldland, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published June 25, 2008 at 10:10 p.m.

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Larry Killingsworth was a mentor for stand-up comics.

Larry Killingsworth was a mentor for stand-up comics.

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Larry Killingsworth wore funny on the inside and out.

Mr. Killingsworth, 55, a plumber by trade, a stand-up comic by night and a mentor and stand-up comedy teacher at Colorado Free University, was found dead at his home in Denver Sunday by a neighbor. The cause of death is still undetermined.

His friends jokingly describe Mr. Killingsworth, a short man with a straggly beard and a large belly who often wore a stocking cap, as an elf or a gnome with an infectious and unmistakable laugh.

"There could be 200 people in a room and you'd know Larry was there because you'd hear him laugh," said Sam Adams, a Rocky Mountain News sports columnist, stand-up comedian and friend of Mr. Killingsworth's. "He was a mentor to a lot of comics locally. He was Denver comedy's version of a basketball gym rat - always coming to the club, whether it was to perform or just to watch.

"Sometimes we'd be at bar gigs, with five to 10 people in the audience. No one would be paying us attention, but Larry would come to the show and laugh out loud at our jokes - just so we'd feel good."

Mr. Killingsworth was born March 25, 1953, in Dallas.

He performed stand-up throughout the Denver area at venues such as the Cigar Bar, Club 404, The Laughing Bean, Wits End, Comedy Works, as well as in Gillette, Wyo., Cheyenne and Las Vegas. He occasionally performed in prisons and homeless shelters.

James Killingsworth, Mr. Killingsworth's older brother, describes his brother's humor as a kind of intellectual and also "misdirectional" style.

The two brothers were raised in Oak Cliff, Texas, before moving to Colorado in the early 1980s.

"He was funny all the time so comedy was a natural outgrowth of his personality," James Killingsworth said.

There will be no formal service. There will be a celebration of Mr. Killingsworth's life at 9 p.m. today at the Cigar Bar, 8529 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood.

Mr. Killingsworth is survived by his older brother, James Dale Killingsworth; and his younger brother, Robin Andrew Killingsworth.

Comments

  • June 25, 2008

    10:44 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    windskull writes:

    My condolences we mourn the loss of 2 comic geniuses this week who will live on in our hearts. peace