Hiram Kasten, a comedian/actor who was part of the New York comedy club scene in the 1970s and 1980s, died today at his home in Batavia, New York at age 71.
He endured seven years of fighting through a multitude of illnesses, including prostate cancer, according to his wife, Diana Kisiel Kastenbaum.
He died hours after their 38th wedding anniversary. Kasten, born Hiram Z. Kastenbaum, was a Bronx, New York native who dreamed of becoming an actor.
After a few years of bouncing around the theater scene, he decided he would try his hand at stand-up comedy. He set his sights on The Comic Strip, where the MC was Jerry Seinfeld, who passed Hiram on his first audition.
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