Ryan Beck, a friend of DeForest, broke the news via a GoFundMe he set up to help with the comedian’s medical expenses. The comedian was taken to Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn last Friday after the accident and underwent neurological surgery to remove a piece of his skull and relieve pressure from a brain bleed, according to the GoFundMe post.
“Kenny’s final moments included some of his favorite songs, stories of his childhood, and memories of his extensive positivity and joy for life,” Beck wrote.
An outpouring of grief from his friends and fellow comics noted that DeForest, a native of Springfield, Missouri, was known for his kindness and positive personality.
“I don’t want to make this post,” Andy Sandford wrote on Instagram. “I want my friend/roommate/confidant/joke machine partner/one of the best people I know back. I learned very early in life that things do not happen for a reason. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and they’re gone way too early. RIP brother. You set the bar.”
Fellow comedian Ian Fidance also remembered DeForest by saying, “The kindest Soul, Kenny stuck his neck out for what he felt was right, even when it wasn’t the cool thing to do. He was a friend to all and a solidly righteous dude.”
L.A. comedian Atsuko Okatsuka added on X, “Kenny DeForest was always down to clown. A bright light. You’ll be missed,” and comedian and friend Mike Feeney lamented on X, saying, “I never saw Kenny Deforest not smiling. He was always funny, perpetually positive and a pleasure to run into at shows. A great hang through and through. I can’t believe he’s gone and I’ll miss seeing him.”
Even those who had only a few chance encounters with him, like comedian Jasmine Ellis, shared tributes. Ellis remembered his kindness on IG by saying, “We only did a handful of shows together, but in an industry where it’s so hard to make connections I always looked forward to working with you and seeing not only how hilarious you were but the way you would treat other people.”
DeForest was named one of Comedy Central’s “Comics to Watch,” “Best of the New Faces” by Village Voice at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, and one of the “50 Funniest People in Brooklyn” by Brooklyn Magazine. In 2017, his album “B.A.D. Dreams” debuted #1 on iTunes, and his work has appeared in the New York Times, New Yorker and Timeout New York. His stand-up special “Don’t You Know Who I Am?” was released in August.