Colleagues remembered 43-year-old comedian Fuquan Johnson Sunday night following performances at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood.
Johnson was among three people found dead early Saturday morning at a home in Venice after apparent drug overdoses.
“He was like family to the comedy community, and this club,” said comedian Ron G. At the Laugh Factory. “Just a great guy. Every time somebody had a special or an open mic or a showcase, he was there in the front row cheering for everybody.
“Super-cool guy, reckless, always honest and very authentic, no matter what.”
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TMZ, which first reported the story, reported that all the victims appeared to have ingested cocaine laced with fentanyl. The powerful painkiller has been blamed for millions of overdose deaths across the United States over the last several years.
The coroner's office has not determined a cause of death. Toxicology tests generally take weeks to complete.
Police said it is too early to determine whether there will be a criminal investigation.
U.S. & World
Firefighters and paramedics were dispatched at 12:04 a.m. Saturday to a home in the 200 block of Carroll Canal. Three people died at the scene and another person was rushed to a hospital, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The three fatalities were later identified as Johnson, 43, of North Hollywood; Natalie Williamson, 33, of Los Angeles; and another comedian, Enrico Colangeli, 48, of Medford, Massachusetts, according to the Los Angeles County coroners' office.
Johnson was a standup comedian and writer for “Comedy Parlour Live.''
“I love you Fuquan Lateef Johnson! #FuFacts RIP,'' actor and director Damien Dante Wayans tweeted Sunday.
