Essayist and Performer David Rakoff Has Died

Essayist and performer David Rakoff has died following a battle with cancer, according to published reports. He was 47 years old.

Rakoff’s stage credits included the plays One Woman Shoe and The Book of Liz written by humorists David and Amy Sedaris under the pseudonym “The Talent Family.” He appeared alongside Jackie Hoffman, David Ilku, and Jodi Lennon in David & Jodi & David & Jackie, as well as in Douglas Carter Beane’s The Cartells. He appeared in and adapted the screenplay for the 2010 Academy Award-winning live action short film The New Tenants.

As a journalist, Rakoff’s work has been seen in Conde Nast Traveler, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, Vogue, and many more. He also served as a regular contributor to National Public Radio’s This American Life, and was the author of the essay collections Fraud and Don’t Get Too Comfortable, both of which received a Lambda Literary Award, and Half Empty, which won the Thurber Prize for American Humor.