Richard Jeni Friends, Family In Mourning

An autopsy was performed Monday on comic Richard Jeni but the official cause of death won't be announced for several weeks, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Jeni, 49, was found Saturday with a gunshot wound and later died at the hospital.

"It was reported to us as a possible suicide," coroner's Capt. Ed Winter said Monday. He did not disclose what kind of weapon was used.

No suicide note was found, said Lt. Fred Corral of the coroner's office's investigative division.

Jeni died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Winter said. Los Angeles Police found Jeni alive but gravely injured after responding to a call that morning from a woman who said: "My boyfriend just shot himself in the face."

Jeni's agent, Jackie Miller-Knobbe of the APA Talent Agency, said workers there were "completely shocked."

The agency released a statement Monday calling Jeni's death "a true loss to the world of comedy."

"He was one of the great standup comedians of our generation," the statement said. "His kindness and joy will be missed."

Jeni, whose real name was Richard John Colangelo, was a regular on "The Tonight Show," a guest of both Johnny Carson and Jay Leno.

"He had an everyman kind of appeal," Leno told the TV show "Extra." "He just made me laugh. ... When you were in a room with other comics he made them laugh."

Jeni also wrote comic material for the 2005 Academy Awards, when Chris Rock was host, and appeared in an episode last year of Rock's TV sitcom, "Everybody Hates Chris."

"Richard Jeni was a friend, a mentor and one of the best comedians I've ever seen," Rock said in a statement Sunday. "I'm really gonna miss him."

"I do not know of one comedian who did not think that Rich Jeni was amazing," said fellow comic Jerry Seinfeld, in a statement late Sunday. "I feel sad for his family, friends and the millions of people he made happy."

Frazer Smith, a comic who had opened for Jeni, called him "one of the best standup comedians in the last 50 years."

"He had tons and tons of material," Smith said. "He was looked up to by all the young comedians - a total pro."

"Richard brought us all a lifetime of laughter," Jeni's family said in a statement Monday. "Our hearts are broken."

Jeni drew national attention in 1990 with his Showtime special "Richard Jeni: Boy from New York City." His "Crazy from the Heat" Showtime special drew record ratings for the cable channel.

Jeni went on to craft comedy specials for HBO, including 1992's "Platypus Man," which won a Cable ACE award and served as the basis for Jeni's short-lived UPN sitcom of the same name. His most recent special, "A Big Steaming Pile of Me," ran during HBO's 2005-06 season.

Jeni's film credits included "The Mask," "The Aristocrats," "National Lampoon's Dad's Week Off" and "Burn, Hollywood, Burn."

"What a loss and what a shame, as someone who gave so much laughter and joy, that he couldn't find enough to give it to himself," comedian David Brenner said Monday.