Katy Area Comedian, Sean Rouse, Passes Away at 43
KATY MAGAZINE
July 23 2018
By Jennifer Skelton
Sean Rouse, actor, comedian and graduate of Katy High School class of 1993, passed away on June 29, 2018.
Rouse suffered a stroke followed by a heart attack, which he did not recover from. He is survived by a son, mother, father, brother, friends and the comedy community.
He was discovered at the age of 24 when he made the finals of Houston’s Funniest Person contest in 1999. By those in the industry, Rouse was described as “dark, even though he looks innocent, and likeable even though he’s highly obscene. But most of all, he’s extremely entertaining.”
Rouse was very public about his lifelong struggle with rheumatoid arthritis after being diagnosed as a teenager. Rouse said that he had pain all over but more so in his knees, shoulders and ankles in the early days. Some days he would be able to jump out of bed easily and others every movement was a struggle. No matter the pain, Rouse never complained about his arthritis or used it in his comedy.
1.3 million Americans suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis. At the beginning of his career, without insurance, Rouse was spending half of his annual salary on medications to treat the symptoms. Arthritis is one of the top five most costly conditions for adults over 18 years of age.
For those that knew Rouse growing up, he was always the funny one. He was voted Class Wit/Clown of the Senior class of Katy High 1993. Friends since childhood, Billy McCaffrey was shocked and saddened by the news of Rouse’s death. “Putting a smile on someone’s face is what mattered to him most, the pain he was in didn’t matter at all.”, said McCaffrey.
Fellow comic Dave Attell wrote, “It took me a while to process the loss of Sean Rouse. He was always sick but i am still in shock. Sean was my opener for years and years. But he was a better comic than i ever could be. He was so smart and fearless. Sean could care less if the crowd cheered or walked out. It was beautiful madness..i loved him like a brother and miss him beyond words.”
Rouse’s acolades include
Actor in “Cedric the Coach” (2001)
Actor in “Men in Black” (2002)
Comedian on Dave Attell’s “Insomniac” tour (2005)
Comedian in “Down and Dirty” with Jim Norton (2008)
Comedian in “The Unbookables” with Doug Stanhope (2012)
Rouse had many standup gigs over the years that can still be watched on YouTube.
Service details have yet to be released.
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