Alex Duong, comedian and 'Blue Bloods' actor whose career was taking off, dies at 42 after cancer battle

Alex Duong, a Vietnamese comedian who was yet seeing his acting and touring careers instrumentality disconnected erstwhile helium was diagnosed with a rare, assertive crab aboriginal past year, died Saturday greeting successful Santa Monica aft going into septic shock, his woman confirmed connected societal media. He was 42.

“Alex was an unthinkable hubby and begetter until his precise past moment. He fought truthful hard for a twelvemonth and ne'er erstwhile complained astir the symptom helium was in. The symptom I consciousness present is thing compared to what helium endured,” Christina Duong, the parent of their 5-year-old daughter, Everest, wrote connected Facebook.

Duong “wasn’t conscionable a doorway guy, helium was family,” the Comedy Store wrote Sunday connected Instagram. “A loving husband, devoted father, and 1 of the hardest working, proudest members of The Comedy Store, helium brought unmatched energy, heart, and hustle to The Store each night. We emotion you and volition miss you. Thank you for being portion of our family.”

Born the youngest of six children connected March 20, 1984, successful Dallas, Duong coiled up leaving schoolhouse to prosecute a diagnostic improvement woody for his screenplay “Enchanted Melody,” but that fell done due to the fact that of financing. The communicative was yet turned into a signifier play and showcased by the East West Players, L.A.’s apical theatre institution for authentic Asian American stories.

Before his diagnosis, Duong had been acceptable to unfastened connected circuit for Ronny Chieng — “a large happening successful our world,” according to “The Vietnamese” podcast big Kenneth Nguyen — and, aft trying his manus astatine acting since the mid-2000s, had done a three-episode, three-season impermanent prima arc connected “Blue Bloods,” playing Sonny Le other Donnie Wahlberg’s pb quality Danny Reagan. Wahlberg told him helium mightiness spot enactment connected the “Blue Bloods” spinoff “Boston Blue.”

“Blue Bloods” writer Van B. Nguyen drew a analyzable enactment life-arc for Duong’s pack subordinate with a bosom of gold. The “Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle” seasoned had decided to crook down one-line roles and roles successful which helium was playing an Asian stereotype. His vocation was taking disconnected aft the amended portion of a decennary doing sets astatine the Comedy Store, wherever helium was the archetypal Vietnamese American idiosyncratic to enactment arsenic a doorway guy.

Then it each fell apart.

Los Angeles comedian Alex Duong, photographed successful April 2025, mislaid imaginativeness successful his near oculus arsenic a effect of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Duong was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a uncommon brushed insubstantial cancer, soon aft the Palisades occurrence rained ash connected his family’s West L.A. flat successful 2025. He had a “mental breakdown” implicit the fires and the demolition they wrought, helium said connected “The Vietnamese” successful February 2025, and had to halt wearing his contacts due to the fact that a unit headache was gathering down his eyes. It yet localized down his near eye.

His manager astatine the Comedy Store pulled him speech and said, “Your near oculus looks similar it’s astir to autumn out. You should spell home,” Duong told The Times past April. His woman urged him to motion up for aesculapian sum and spell to the exigency country to get checked.

He had been healthy, was 9 years sober, and the household hadn’t been capable to spend wellness insurance. “It was easier to wage the good erstwhile you wage your taxes than to wage $12K a year,” helium said.

Duong made definite his wellness sum had kicked successful earlier getting care. After a week getting steroids and symptom medicine astatine Providence St. John’s Medical Center successful Santa Monica, helium received the biopsy results: an highly assertive malignant wide was blocking humor travel to Duong’s optic nerve.

Removal of the tumor was scheduled for 2 months later, truthful Duong went location to his household for the weekend. By Monday, helium was unsighted successful his near eye. He returned to St. John’s and had urgent country to region the mass, but without a promised neuro-ophthalmologist successful the room, the comic said connected “The Vietnamese,” they didn’t get the full thing, leaving crab down his eye.

Duong said that “out of axenic frustration” aft 2½ weeks of hospitalization — during which helium was “getting abdominous and missing [his] family” and wasn’t satisfied with his attraction — helium signed himself retired St. John’s and took an Uber to UCLA Medical Center successful the mediate of the nighttime successful hunt of a specialist. UCLA Health had neuro-ophthalmologists connected unit who absorption connected neurological diseases and different diseases, similar Duong’s, that impact the optical nerve. It besides had orbital surgeons.

He started chemotherapy soon aft the February podcast was recorded and was getting achromatic humor compartment injections to assistance boost his immune system.

A mates of months later, helium told The Times, helium was $400,000 successful aesculapian indebtedness and grateful for the enactment helium and his household were getting from his drama colleagues. A co-worker of his woman had launched a GoFundMe successful February 2025, with donors including businessman, shaper and comic Byron Allen. The effort, which is approaching $125,000 successful pledges, was primitively aimed astatine helping wage for his care; present it volition “help supply stableness for Christina and statesman gathering a assemblage money for Everest — thing Alex would person wanted much than anything.”

“I can’t adjacent thrust myself to auditions. ... Everything I worked for, it’s like, 2 weeks. Two f— weeks, man. It’s each gone,” helium told Nguyen connected “The Vietnamese.”

“It was gonna beryllium a bully year,” Duong continued arsenic helium broke down successful tears. “ I knew it was a unsmooth one, due to the fact that superstition, I’m a Rat, this is the Year of the Snake, it was gonna beryllium a unsmooth one, but ... tin I conscionable person a chill twelvemonth wherever I work? I conscionable privation a chill twelvemonth wherever I enactment and I gain a small wealth and I tin instrumentality attraction of my family.”

Being a roadworthy comic moves “so fast,” helium said, and it’s thing a idiosyncratic does solo. “What bash I bash now?” From the chemoreceptor down, Duong said, his full assemblage was fine. But helium felt helpless.

“The doctors — you know, we’re successful 2025. Hopefully they’re going to instrumentality immoderate swings,” helium said. “I’ve been taking swings my full frigging life.”

The wide down his eyeball grew into his nasal cavity and the broadside of his neck, helium told The Times. Extremely risky orbital reconstruction country was a possibility, on with a donor nerve, oregon a afloat donor eye. He didn’t cognize if helium would ever retrieve his sight.

Doctors told him that for the archetypal clip successful his life, helium had to halt helping others and absorption connected helping himself. “It’s the astir maddening thing,” helium told Nguyen. An mishap with a cupful of java successful February 2025 greeting had him feeling similar helium should cheque into a psych facility. “I’m not harmless astir anybody. I can’t adjacent walk a cupful of scalding blistery java to my woman without spilling it connected the dog. ... I don’t spot myself astir anybody anymore.”

But Duong inactive had his consciousness of humor, helium told Nguyen, and the enactment of his friends and family.

“Comedians ever person each other’s backs erstwhile times are s—,” helium told The Times past year. “We cognize however hard it is to conifer and conflict and scrape by successful this lifestyle, conscionable truthful we tin bash these jokes and support improving. It’s a beauteous happening to spot successful this world; it truly is.”

He added: “I don’t privation to beryllium strong! I conscionable privation to spell archer my d— jokes, marque radical laughter and bent retired with my family.”

After her husband’s death, Christina Duong wrote connected Facebook, “Through it all, helium kept a grin connected his look and ever reassured america that helium would beryllium okay. He loved Everest truthful deeply. Even successful moments of delirium, helium remembered her and stayed calm for her. He was specified a beardown fighter, but this past week was simply excessively overmuch for his assemblage to bear. I find comfortableness successful knowing helium is nary longer successful pain. He passed peacefully with america by his side. I volition ne'er hide that moment.”

He was alert capable the nighttime earlier his decease to accidental goodbye to his daughter.

A memorial work volition beryllium held astatine noon connected April 17 astatine Hollywood Forever Cemetery, according to an update connected his GoFundMe, with “all who knew and loved Alex ... invited to travel unneurotic to observe his life, his light, and the unthinkable interaction helium had connected truthful many.”

“Thank you for the outpouring emotion and enactment during this hard time,” Christina Duong wrote connected Facebook. “Please support our household successful your prayers. I emotion you truthful much, Alex. Until we conscionable again.”

Freelance writer Julie Seabaugh contributed to this report.