Mitch Hedberg - Still The Best
If laughter is the best medicine, that would make the comedy of the late Mitch Hedberg the cure.
His style, difficult to define, but best described as whimsical one line non sequiturs, will have you - as predicted to me by a friend - "laughing for days".
"My belt holds my pants up, but the belt loops hold my belt up.
I don't really know what's happening down there.
Who is the real hero?" Mitchell Lee Hedberg was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on February 24, 1968.
Spending the next 6 years in and out of the hospital for heart problems, Hedberg developed a habit of poor school attendance and never blossomed into an ideal student.
On barely graduating from high school, Hedberg packed paper bags with his belongings, and headed to Florida.
Starting his comedy career at open mike night at a local club in Boca Raton, he bombed repeatedly.
Severe stage fright prevented Hedberg from looking directly at his audience, always performing with sunglasses, sometimes with his eyes shut, often allowing his long hair to cover his face.
On rare occasion, he would perform with his back to the audience.
Hedberg's unusual manner of speech and odd behavior only heightened the abrupt delivery of the even odder material, and helped to create his onstage persona as a rambling stoner.
A philosopher of the absurd if you will.
"You know, I'm sick of following my dreams, man.
I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with 'em later.
" Success came slowly for the painfully shy comedian.
Having landed a job touring in the late 80's, Hedberg, although, not well received, loved being on the road and used this time to perfect his craft, and overtime started to gain in popularity.
His first national exposure came in 1996 with the Montreal's Just for Laughs Festival, which led to the first of ten appearances on the Late Show With David Letterman.
A second visit to Montreal in 1998 led to a $500,000 sitcom deal with Fox that never panned out.
The folks at Fox were not up to the difficult challenge of creating an apt platform for Hedberg's unique musings.
A frequent guest on Howard Stern's morning show, his resume included several television and film roles.
By the year 2000, Time magazine declared the stand up comic "the next Seinfeld".
"I used to do drugs.
I still do drugs.
But I used to, too.
" In February 1999 Hedberg married longtime friend Lynn Shawcroft.
In many ways the relationship was a true love story.
They adored each other, and Lynn enjoyed the touring lifestyle as much as Hedberg did.
The couple became inseparable, creating their own world.
The two became known for their secrecy and increasingly bizarre behavior.
Surrounded by rumors of drug use his whole career, Hedberg, other than references made during his act, remained tight-lipped about a possible problem.
His problem was no secret after an arrest in 2003 for possession of syringes, a bit of heroin and a handful of Valium and Xanax.
Shortly after his arrest, Hedberg underwent 13 hours of surgery to save his right leg from an infection that had been festering for months.
By 2005, He and Lynn were touring again, the comic, working hard; his health started to decline.
The comic was found dead in his hotel room in Livingston, New Jersey, on March 29, 2005.
His death initially believed to be related to his heart condition was later confirmed as a drug overdose from a mixture of heroin and cocaine.
Hedberg loved his life as comic, adored monster movies and, ironically the Kurt Cobain - Courtney Love existence with his wife Lynn.
"I was walking down the street the other day when this guy asked if I wanted a frozen banana...
I said 'no' but then thought I might want a regular banana later, so...
yeah.
" Hedberg, when trying out new material, delivered his jokes slowly and deliberately, line by line, as if waiting for approval from the audience before delivering the punch line.
Usually, he already had.
Brilliant.
His style, difficult to define, but best described as whimsical one line non sequiturs, will have you - as predicted to me by a friend - "laughing for days".
"My belt holds my pants up, but the belt loops hold my belt up.
I don't really know what's happening down there.
Who is the real hero?" Mitchell Lee Hedberg was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on February 24, 1968.
Spending the next 6 years in and out of the hospital for heart problems, Hedberg developed a habit of poor school attendance and never blossomed into an ideal student.
On barely graduating from high school, Hedberg packed paper bags with his belongings, and headed to Florida.
Starting his comedy career at open mike night at a local club in Boca Raton, he bombed repeatedly.
Severe stage fright prevented Hedberg from looking directly at his audience, always performing with sunglasses, sometimes with his eyes shut, often allowing his long hair to cover his face.
On rare occasion, he would perform with his back to the audience.
Hedberg's unusual manner of speech and odd behavior only heightened the abrupt delivery of the even odder material, and helped to create his onstage persona as a rambling stoner.
A philosopher of the absurd if you will.
"You know, I'm sick of following my dreams, man.
I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with 'em later.
" Success came slowly for the painfully shy comedian.
Having landed a job touring in the late 80's, Hedberg, although, not well received, loved being on the road and used this time to perfect his craft, and overtime started to gain in popularity.
His first national exposure came in 1996 with the Montreal's Just for Laughs Festival, which led to the first of ten appearances on the Late Show With David Letterman.
A second visit to Montreal in 1998 led to a $500,000 sitcom deal with Fox that never panned out.
The folks at Fox were not up to the difficult challenge of creating an apt platform for Hedberg's unique musings.
A frequent guest on Howard Stern's morning show, his resume included several television and film roles.
By the year 2000, Time magazine declared the stand up comic "the next Seinfeld".
"I used to do drugs.
I still do drugs.
But I used to, too.
" In February 1999 Hedberg married longtime friend Lynn Shawcroft.
In many ways the relationship was a true love story.
They adored each other, and Lynn enjoyed the touring lifestyle as much as Hedberg did.
The couple became inseparable, creating their own world.
The two became known for their secrecy and increasingly bizarre behavior.
Surrounded by rumors of drug use his whole career, Hedberg, other than references made during his act, remained tight-lipped about a possible problem.
His problem was no secret after an arrest in 2003 for possession of syringes, a bit of heroin and a handful of Valium and Xanax.
Shortly after his arrest, Hedberg underwent 13 hours of surgery to save his right leg from an infection that had been festering for months.
By 2005, He and Lynn were touring again, the comic, working hard; his health started to decline.
The comic was found dead in his hotel room in Livingston, New Jersey, on March 29, 2005.
His death initially believed to be related to his heart condition was later confirmed as a drug overdose from a mixture of heroin and cocaine.
Hedberg loved his life as comic, adored monster movies and, ironically the Kurt Cobain - Courtney Love existence with his wife Lynn.
"I was walking down the street the other day when this guy asked if I wanted a frozen banana...
I said 'no' but then thought I might want a regular banana later, so...
yeah.
" Hedberg, when trying out new material, delivered his jokes slowly and deliberately, line by line, as if waiting for approval from the audience before delivering the punch line.
Usually, he already had.
Brilliant.
