Comedian Robert Schimmel, 60, dies of injuries from car accident

Lee Kernis, Robert Schimmel's manager has confirmed that the comedian has died as the result of injuries from a car accident on August 26 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Schimmel's daughter Aliyah was driving when she swerved to avoid another accident resulting in the car leaving the road. She was hospitalized from her injuries but is expected to recover. A son was also in the vehicle but was not harmed. Born in New York City to Betty and Otto Schimmel, survivors of the Holocaust, Schimmel was voted class clown in high school. His career in comedy started when he performed at a comedy club during open-mike night at the urging of a sister in Scottsdale, Arizona. He moved to Los Angeles after being offered a job at a club as a regular. He found out that the club had burnt down after moving. He turned to Rodney Dangerfield who invited him to perform on his HBO Young Comedians Special. From that Schimmel went on to write for In Living Color and other comedians. In 1977 Schimmel married his first wife. The couple had four children. Their son Derek died at the age of 11 from cancer. After a divorce he married his second wife, Melissa Schimmel. The couple have two sons. After allegations of an assault Melissa Schimmel filed for divorce in 2009. Schimmel was a cancer survivor, battling lymphoma and winning. He also survived a heart attack. “Robert was always the butt of his own jokes. When he would talk about the failings of his marriages, his relationships or having kids, he always made the joke about his inability to ever win at the end,” said Kernis in a press release. Schimmel is survived by his second wife and five children.