Calabasas Comedian Won't Face Assault Charge

CALABASAS—Comedian Robert Schimmel won’t face criminal charges for allegedly assaulting his wife.

According to prosecutors, his wife, Melissa Schimmel, declined to press charges, and without that there was not enough evidence to proceed with an assault charge stemming from a May 2 incident at their home.

Melissa did, however, file for divorce six days later and is seeking sole physical custody of the couple’s two children.

A frequent guest on the Howard Stern radio show, Robert Schimmel’s comedy rarely strays far from x-rated and controversial material, with jokes almost always revolving around sex.

Sheriff’s deputies say that they were sent to his home on Cielo Circle shortly after midnight, after being called because of a fight he had with his wife. They state that Schimmel was booked for spousal assault on his wife Melissa, 35, and held with $50,000 bail. She is reported to have physical marks from the encounter.

In 1998, Schimmel had a heart attack and two years later was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He later wrote a book, Cancer on $5 a Day* *(chemo not included): How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life.

Schimmel appears as #76 on Comedy Central’s list of the “100 Greatest Standups of All Time.”