Standup Comic Vic Dunlop Dies at 62

5:49 PM PDT 8/17/2011 by Mike Barnes

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He starred on the ABC game show "Make Me Laugh" and in the 1993 film "Breakfast of Aliens."

Vic Dunlop, a standup comic who appeared on the TV show Make Me Laugh, died Aug. 13 from complications of diabetes at Glendale (Calif.) Adventist Medical Center. He was 62.

•Obituaries

Dunlop co-wrote and starred in the comedy film Breakfast of Aliens (1993) and was a regular on Richard Pryor's 1977 comedy-variety show and on the 1981-82 sitcom Harper Valley P.T.A.

He also had small parts in the films Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979), The Devil and Max Devlin (1981), Ladies Night (1983), Meatballs Part II (1984) and Martians Go Home (1989).

Dunlop, who lost a leg to diabetes in 2000, performed as recently as last month at the Riviera in Las Vegas.

After launching his career in Los Angeles in the early 1970s with the improv group Natural Gas, the rotund Dunlop gained attention as one of the comedians on a new version of Make Me Laugh on ABC.

On the show, contestants watched three standup comics perform their acts, one at a time, earning money for every second that they could make it through without laughing. Dunlop dressed up like a baked potato for one memorable bit; on another occasion, he acted like a pigeon. Other comedians to appear on the show included Richard Belzer, Gallagher and Avery Schreiber.

Survivors include his mother, Aurora; his wife, Linda; his children Matt and Apryl; his siblings Richard, Alan, Walter, John and Aurora; and four grandchildren.

The family has set up a Facebook page to help pay Dunlop’s medical expenses. A memorial is being planned for family and close friends.