As a child actor I found him rather funny, but when he became an adult he also became a somewhat less than his cute loveable self and the appeal he had as a child no longer existed for me. I did try to understand that maybe the serious health conditions he suffered from had turned him into an obnoxious person and found it sad.
But no matter what my personal feelings were towards him I didn't find the OP joke very funny. It was rather tasteless to print something like this . Wouldn't it be nicer to either say nothing or try to find some of his good points. A death is always sad no matter who it is , I prefer to remain respectful of that.