Tragic Loss: Ralphie May’s Secret Medical Struggles Revealed

Comedian Ralphie May died of cardiac arrest on Friday, but RadarOnline.com uncovered his secret health problems that he struggled with for years.

May, 45, was found in his home in Las Vegas and he reportedly had been battling pneumonia for the last six weeks.

That was just the end of his years-long medical issues.

In 2011 the Last Comic Standing competitor almost passed away after he contracted “two types of pneumonia, and it cause a blood clot to go into my lungs,” he announced. “I was close to death,” he admitted.

The Clarksville, Ark. native stood at 5-foot-9 and went from 800 pounds to 390, and during a cruise ship that year he fell ill.

“He had walking pneumonia when they left port, but he’d promised to do the cruise and didn’t want to let down his fans,” a close source told The National ENQUIRER at the time. “As the cruise progressed, Ralphie got sicker, despite taking antibiotics.”

Never losing his sense of humor, the funnyman told people that if he died, he was going to punish them – by making them carry his casket. But May’s condition worsened and he was taken to the ship’s infirmary before landing in a Tampa hospital on Halloween, clinging to life.