and appeared in other plays including "David & Jodi & David and Jackie", inspired by the 1960s classic Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, alongside Jackie Hoffman, David Ilku and Jodi Lennon and "The Cartells". He also delivered a monologue about being fired in the stage show Fired!. Voice work The Canadian-born Rakoff voiced the part of the US President Thomas Jefferson for the audio book of Jon Stewart's America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction and provided the voice of Polish-American Leon Czolgosz (the assassin of US President William McKinley) in the audio book version of Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation. Rakoff was in the voice cast of the 2009 Williams Street animated pilot Snake 'n' Bacon. Based on the creations of American cartoonist and illustrator Michael Kupperman, it aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim channel. Directing In 1994, Rakoff directed Stitches, by David and Amy Sedaris. His direction was described as "clearly focused" by The New York Times and "brisk" by Newsday. He also directed Jail Babes starring The Duelling Bankheads (David Ilku and Clark Render) at La Mama, E.T.C. in 1996, and Mike Albo's one-man show, Spray, at P.S. 122 in New York City. Personal life Green card and citizenship From 1982, Rakoff lived in the United States (minus his four-month stay in Japan in 1986), first as a student, then as a resident alien. In the early 1990s he was issued a green card, a subject about which he wrote in one of his early newspaper articles. After living in the United States for 21 years, Rakoff was motivated by a desire to participate in the political process and applied for U.S. citizenship. Rakoff chronicled the experience of becoming an American citizen in an essay published in Don't Get Too Comfortable. He became a U.S. citizen in 2003, while at the same time retaining his Canadian citizenship. Illness and death In 2010, while writing the book Half Empty, Rakoff was diagnosed with a malignant tumor and Hodgkin's lymphoma, and later developed a post-radiation sarcoma behind his left collarbone and began chemotherapy. He died in Manhattan on August 9, 2012. References External links David Rakoff's filmography from The New York Times David Rakoff's favourite books David Rakoff articles at Byliner "Our Friend David" anthology of Rakoff's radio stories for This American Life David Rakoff Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript