LOL
Posted on 03/31/2005 11:38:25 AM PST by Constitution Day
Comedian Mitch Hedberg dead at 37
BY MATT PEIKEN
Pioneer Press
Even family and close friends had a hard time understanding Mitch Hedberg, a St. Paul native who ran away from home and, despite living a scattershot life, became a runaway success as a standup comic.
Hedberg, whose space-case persona was as much part of his soul as it was his act, died early Wednesday morning in a New Jersey hotel room. He was 37. A medical examiner hasn't issued findings, but Hedberg's family is told he suffered a heart attack. His wife was with him.
After graduating St. Paul's Harding High School, Hedberg rose through the ranks at Minneapolis' Acme Comedy Co., and caught his big break through a Comedy Central special. He made several appearances on David Letterman's and Conan O'Brien's shows, made more Comedy Central appearances and produced two comedy CDs. His big dream, to have an HBO comedy special, was in the works.
Hedberg's one-liners, dished off in a spacy staccato, were based on absurdist, random observations. His long, dirty blond hair harkened to the image of a 1970s stoner, and his success occurred in light of, in spite of and even because of his quarter-century affair with drugs and alcohol.
"I'd probably be living in Costa Rica, eating oranges on the beach, if I wasn't doing comedy," he told the Pioneer Press last September.
"There's no two ways about — having a son in entertainment industry is challenging," his mother, Mary Hedberg, said Thursday.
She recalls being at work when her oldest daughter called in a panic to tell her Mitch had packed some brown paper bags and left home. Mary Hedberg couldn't get home in time to either see him off or talk him out of it.
"That was heartbreaking for us, but he kept in contact with us. He called as soon as the car broke down," she said. "You know, it was like putting him through college, even though he wasn't at college. But when he got his first break, we were just so thrilled for him, because we wanted him to know he was O.K., and to have that self-confidence that he could do what he wanted to do."
Louis Lee, owner of the Acme, said Hedberg not only became the Twin Cities' first breakout comedian of the 1990s but, along with Lewis Black, helped shape a national resurgence in standup comedy.
"It's very difficult for one-liner comedians to get an audience going, but when Mitch worked here, you could see the kids call out the punchline," Lee said. "Mitch made the whole comedy community realize how important good writing is. It's a huge loss."
Unlike many comics, Hedberg was demonstrably thankful to his fans. Not long ago, a group of college students in Florida, speaking with Hedberg backstage after a show, mentioned how hot their dorm room was. Hedberg surprised them the next morning by showing up to their dorm with a new air conditioner.
"Mitch presented a lot of challenges, but a lot of opportunities for traveling that we wouldn't have otherwise had, and he had a heart of gold," his mother said. "He was a brilliant comic and a wonderful person."
Dates haven't been set, but eventual visitation and services will be at Wulff Family Services, Woodlane Mortuary, in Woodbury.
Bwahaha!! I absolutely LOVED that line.
LOL
I NEVER got to see him. I think he came to my area, but I always seemed to miss it. :(
I think you have it exactly right.
Who are you again?
LOL
I love that one.
...why do we gotta keep going around in circles? Can I put my feet out the window? Boy - you really like Tide!
RIP Mitch.
LOL. Touche'.
Dang, I can't believe you've never heard of me. I'm famous for, ummmm, well, I'm famous. Famous for being famous. Trust me.
LOL! I love the DuFrane story! We sometimes imitate it when we have a long wait at a restaurant. Mitch will be missed.
why is a staircase that's moving down called an escalator? Shouldn't it be a descalator?
Johnny Carson had a good one: "There was a power failure today. Three valley girls were stuck on the escalators."
None of us knows 1%, or even 1/1000 of 1%, of the human experience. In other words, we are all ignorant. I, for instance, know essentially nothing about the sport of cricket. But if someone mentions a star cricket player, I certainly am not going to jump onto the thread and proclaim my ignorance on the subject. Who would care? What would the fact that I know nothing about the subject add to the discussion?
"It's the cutest infestation ever!"
LOL. Damn I liked this guy.
Here's a link to their site.
Thanks.
Great screenname.
Comedian Mitch Hedberg dies at 37
Jokester was set to perform at Baltimore's Improv; Cause of death unknown
By Jonathan Pitts
Sun Staff
Originally published March 31, 2005, 5:05 PM EST
It seemed like just another on-air phone call. Shortly before 10 a.m. today, the hosts of the Kirk, Mark and Lopez morning show on 98 Rock (WIYY-FM) dialed the number of standup comedian Mitch Hedberg, who was scheduled for a phone interview.
The nationally known jokester was booked for five straight shows at Baltimore's Improv beginning last night.
A distraught-sounding woman answered and said that Hedberg wasn't available. She hung up.
The mystery wasn't cleared up until midafternoon today, when the comedian's publicists announced that Hedberg, 37, had passed away the night before. The cause of death was still unknown.
Stephanie Drummond, producer of the drive-time show, was grappling with her disbelief today. Hedberg, who had become a semi-regular in recent years on such national TV shows as Late Night With David Letterman and Late Late With Craig Kilborn, had appeared many times on the station, which works closely with the Improv chain.
"He's a wonderful guy," she said. "His delivery is so dry. He's like [deadpan comic] Steven Wright, with a little bit of hippie in him."
The show was bombarded with e-mails asking about Hedberg today, many wondering if it was an April Fool's joke. It wasn't.
"We'll be playing a lot of his highlights on the [Friday morning] show," she said. "He'll be missed."
Just two weeks ago, the long-haired comic had tried out a few new jokes on the Howard Stern Show. Some were about satellite radio, which he said he was beginning to hear frequently during his cross-country travels. "There's a reason you can curse" on satellite radio, he said. "Nobody's listening."
The Improv announced this afternoon that comedian Randy Kagan, who was slated to open for Hedberg, would be headlining tonight through Sunday.
Link:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/news/bal-artslife-news-hedberg31,1,6888591.story
LOL thanks. I dreamed it up one Christmas.
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