San Diego

Comedy Community Mourns Comic Who Drowned Off Pacific Beach

The San Diego comedy community is mourning the loss of one of its brothers Tuesday after he drowned off the coast of Pacific Beach.

Several people spotted an unconscious man just before 2 a.m. on the shore near the base of Crystal Pier at end of Garnet Avenue. Witness attempted to give him CPR but were unsuccessful.

The Medical Examiner's Office later identified him as Jimmy Wolpert, a familiar and popular face at the Comedy Palace in Kearny Mesa and comedy clubs around town.

Wolpert's friends embraced at the Comedy Palace Tuesday night, remembering the Poway native for his charm on and off the stage.

"He could walk into a room, he hadn't seen people for years and everyone would put down what they were doing and say hi to him and congratulate him and talk to him. They always wanted to hang out with him. He was always a great guy to have a laugh with," friend Steven Ghabbour said.

Messages of love are flooding Wolpert's facebook page -- an obvious sign that he touched many lives with his sense of humor, and his affection.

Many of his friends at the Comedy Palace were still too distraught to share their stories of Wolpert on camera, but their message off camera was consistent: The world lost a talented comedian and an even better person.

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