'This American Life' humorist David Rakoff dies

Larry Busacca / Getty Images file

By Randee Dawn, TODAY contributor

David Rakoff, the author of three books of essays and a frequent "This American Life" contributor, died Thursday, according to the New York Times, and his death was confirmed by a rep for "This American Life." He was 47.

His mother, Gina Rakoff, told the Times that he died in his apartment, "surrounded by his loving family." While he was being treated for cancer, an immediate cause of death was not specified.

The humorist, a Canadian who resided in New York City, was the winner of the James Thurber Prize for American Humor in 2011 for his last book, "Half Empty." His two other books are "Fraud" (2001) and "Don't Get Too Comfortable" (2005).?But many recognized him for his oral storytelling, in wry and self-deprecating stories he contributed to the Chicago Public Radio program "This American Life."

Rakoff opened up about his diagnosis on "The Daily Show" in 2010, once he was undergoing chemotherapy for a malignant tumor. (This was his second go-around with the disease, having faced Hodgkin's disease, a form of lymphomia, when he was 22.) As he told host Jon Stewart at the time, "When it turns out to be your own mortality on the line, people tend to be quite optimistic about their long-term chances for survival. The will to keep on going is incredibly strong."

He also appeared in Off-Broadway shows and a handful of movies, including 2005's "Capote." In May he appeared in a stage version of "This American Life" where he talked more about his diagnosis and subsequent loss of his left arm to his disease. He also proved he could dance in public (audio of the full episode can be found here.)

More of David Rakoff's "TAL" work can be found here, and an essay he wrote for The New York Times in 2011, "The Waiting," can be read here.?

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