Veteran US comedian John Pinette has been found dead in his Pittsburg hotel room over the weekend. According to the coroner’s office, via The Hollywood Reporter, Pinette had long been dealing with liver and heart problems and on Saturday afternoon, he suffered a pulmonary embolism, which took his life. Born in 1964, Pinette got his big break when he was invited to tour with Frank Sinatra. Since then, he has gone on to be featured in Comedy Central's Shorties Watchin' Shorties, the Edinburgh Comedy Festival and Montreal's Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in 2000, for which performance he was nominated for a Gemini Award. Pinette also won an American Comedy Award for Stand-Up Comedian of the Year in 1999. 

John Pinette
Pinette had previously been struggling with a perscription drug problem.

One of his most famous appearances was his role as a carjacking victim on Seinfeld. Pinette had also built up a name for himself on the standup comedy circuit. At the time of his death, he had just started a comedy tour across a number of US and Canadian venues, which was about to go on until June. The comedian was also working on a separate standup project.

Besides his standup career, Pinette’s name might be recognizable from his many appearances on The Tonight Show. John Pinette was a frequent guest during Jay Leno’s tenure on Tonight and The View. He also had a fair few movie roles under his belt, including parts in Duets, Dear God, and Junior. His film credits include an appearance alongside John Travolta in The Punisher in 2004.

Read more: John Pinette Admitted To Rehab For Pill Problem.