LOS ANGELES — Comedian Kate Quigley said she was doing "OK" after being hospitalized Saturday following the reported overdose deaths of three others in the Venice neighborhood — including comedian Fuquan Johnson.
In a text message exchange posted online by fellow comedian Brian Redban, Quigley wrote: "I'm alive. I'm not great. But I'm OK."
Quigley's agent did not respond to requests for comment on her condition Monday.
When Los Angeles police officers arrived at the scene in the 200 block of Carroll Canal in Venice, they found three people dead and one woman who was taken to a hospital. Officer Mike Lopez, a spokesman for the LAPD, said there "was no indication of foul play." Police suspect that the victims overdosed but did not identify the drugs that might have been involved.
TMZ reported that the people found dead had taken cocaine laced with fentanyl and that the woman who was taken to the hospital was comedian and actor Kate Quigley. She regularly performs stand-up at venues around L.A. and has appeared in shows such as "The Office" and "Star Trek: Hidden Frontier."
The Los Angeles County coroner's office identified the deceased as Fuquan Johnson, 43, of North Hollywood; Natalie Williamson, 33, of Los Angeles; and Enrico Colangeli, 48, of Medford, Mass.
Johnson was a stand-up comedian and a writer on the TV program "Comedy Parlour Live."
Friend Danielle Collins provided a statement to The Times about the "heartbreaking news."
"Fuquan is love and light he was filled with laughs and had a huge passion to smile; he definitely left behind a legacy," Collins said. "I will always love my friend until the end of time. Beyond grateful to have known and be loved by him all these years. May he rest eternally in peace."
Another friend, Jean Chang, said "Fu" — as everyone called Johnson — was the "most authentic person that most people would have ever met in their lives."
"He would call himself out, owning up to his mistakes. He was someone who knows his strengths as well as his weaknesses. He was a very genuine person and very giving," she said.
Actor and producer Luke Barnett told The Times that Johnson was "the nicest guy in the Valley, with a smile that lit up the room and made anyone instantly feel comfortable." Johnson, he said, "could roast you so bad you were in tears, confused whether they were from laughing or crying.
"He was always the first person to push you to keep going, to create something new, to put yourself out there," said Barnett, who met Johnson 10 years ago while working at a cocktail bar in North Hollywood where the comedian was a regular. "The world just lost a great comedian and an even better dude."
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