Bill Hicks

William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, satirist, and social critic. Hicks is often compared to Lenny Bruce and Sam Kinison, and characterized his own performances as "Chomsky with dick jokes." http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/coveringideas/jokes.asp

1980s

In his senior year of high school, the Hicks family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, but after his graduation, in the spring of 1980, Bill moved to Los Angeles, California, and started performing at the Comedy Store in Hollywood, where Andrew Dice Clay, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, and Garry Shandling were also performing at the time. He did a short-lived sitcom, Bulba, before moving back to Houston in 1982. There, he formed the ACE Production Company (Absolute Creative Entertainment), which would later become Sacred Cow Productions, with Kevin Booth.

Related Topics:
High school - Little Rock, Arkansas - 1980 - Los Angeles, California - Hollywood - Andrew Dice Clay - Jay Leno - Jerry Seinfeld - Garry Shandling - Sitcom - 1982 - ACE Production Company - Sacred Cow Productions - Kevin Booth

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In 1983, Hicks started drinking heavily and using drugs, leading to a more disjointed and angry, at times even misanthropic, ranting style on stage. As had become his trademark, he continued attacking the American dream, hypocritical beliefs, and traditional attitudes. At one show, two Vietnam veterans took exception to his statements, and sought him out after the show, breaking his leg. An infamous gig in Chicago during 1989, later released as the bootleg I'm Sorry, Folks, resulted in Hicks calling a drunk, female heckler a "drunk cunt" and, after further provocation, resulted in Hicks screaming possibly his most infamous quote, "Hitler had the right idea, he was just an underachiever".

Related Topics:
1983 - Misanthropic - American dream - Vietnam - Chicago - 1989 - I'm Sorry, Folks - Heckler - Cunt - Provocation - Hitler

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Hicks' success steadily increased (along with his drug use), and in 1984 he got an appearance on the talkshow Late Night with David Letterman, which was engineered by his friend Jay Leno. He made an impression on David Letterman, and ended up doing eleven more broadcast show appearances, all hugely popular, despite being bowdlerized versions of his stage shows.

Related Topics:
1984 - David Letterman - Bowdlerize

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In 1986, Hicks found himself broke after spending all his money on various drugs, but his career got another upturn as he appeared on Rodney Dangerfield's Young Comedians Special in 1987. The same year, he moved to New York City, and for the next five years did about 300 performances a year. His reputation suffered from his drug use, however, and in 1988, he quit drugs including alcohol, falling back to cigarette smoking as his only vice, a theme that would figure heavily in his performances from then on. In 1989 he released his first video, Sane Man, to critical acclaim.

Related Topics:
1986 - Rodney Dangerfield - 1987 - New York City

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