Big Man; RALPHIE MAY. NBCs Last Comic Standing Finalist Comes Out on Top

Ralphie May may not have won the NBC reality competition Last Comic Standing," but he is having the best year of his life. His appearance on the show has afforded the 450-pound powerhouse comic medical insurance which he will use on laser eye surgery and a gastric bypass surgery in November.

Ralphie May rails about the Hollywood bias against overweight people, It isnt a fat joke... its a prejudice joke." In his act, he talks about the time he auditioned for the role of a fat person, only to be told he was too overweight. Too fat to play fat?" And he describes the time he did a showcase for one of the late-night talk shows and they told him he was the best comic of the bunch, but that because of his size hed never get booked. Comedy is not about appearance, its about rockin a mike," he says. Are they laughing? Thats the only test."

Born in Chattanooga, Tenn. and growing up in Clarksville, Ark., Ralphie began gaining weight after a car accident at the age of 16 in which he broke 42 bones. Peaking at 800 pounds, he received a stomach-stapling operation in which he dropped 350 pounds from his 5-foot, 11-inch frame. Now, he needs a more drastic gastric bypass surgery to get to his target weight of about 200 pounds. Im basically a healthy person," says Ralphie, I have normal blood pressure, no diabetes and low cholesterol. Im tired of being this big and not because society says it. Im just tired because Im carrying around a lot of extra baggage," he says. I want to do more things with my girlfriend, like ride a bicycle. I havent ridden a bike in 15 years and I miss it."

Ralphie hopes that by losing weight, he can inspire other obese people to do the same.