Mitch Hedberg
Encyclopedia
Mitchell Lee "Mitch" Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 30, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian
known for his surreal humor
and unconventional comedic delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes, mixed with absurd elements and non sequiturs. Hedberg's comedy and on-stage persona gained him a cult following
, with audience members sometimes shouting out the punchlines to his jokes before he could finish them.
, the son of Arnold and Mary Hedberg. He graduated from Harding High School
in Saint Paul
.
which brought him his big break. He won the 1997 grand prize at the Seattle Comedy Competition. The following year he appeared on Fox's hit series That 70's Show. In 1999 he completed his own independent feature film Los Enchiladas!
, in which he wrote, directed, produced and starred. He recorded three comedy CDs entitled Strategic Grill Locations, Mitch All Together, and Do You Believe in Gosh? which was released posthumously. He also appeared at the Montreal Just For Laughs comedy festival in 1998 and 2001. According to Mitch there had been talk of creating a TV series around him, but plans never came to be.
Hedberg was known to be a drug user
, referring to it in some of his jokes ("I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too.") He was arrested in Austin, Texas
in May 2003 for possession of heroin.
medical examiner's office reported "multiple drug toxicity" in the form of cocaine
and heroin as the official cause of death. His death was formally announced on April 1, 2005, leading many to believe it was an April Fool's joke, only to find out later that it was not. His funeral was held at St. Ambrose of Woodbury Church in Minnesota, and his remains were cremated. Details of where his remains are scattered are known by his family.
Mitch was interviewed by Jonathan Davis in the December 2001 issue of Penthouse. In the interview, published three years before his death, he was asked "If you could choose, how would you end your life?" His response was "First, I'd want to get famous, and then I'd overdose. If I overdosed at this stage in my career, I would be lucky if it made the back pages."
that he adopted later in his career, his abrupt delivery, and his unusual stage presence. His material depended heavily upon word play
, non sequiturs, paraprosdokian
s and object observations. His act usually consisted equally of compact one- or two-liners resembling those of Steven Wright
, in addition to longer routines, often with each line as a punchline. Many of his jokes were inspired from everyday thoughts or situations.
Because he suffered from stage fright
, Hedberg often performed wearing sunglasses, with his head down, with his hair in his face or with his eyes closed in order to avoid eye contact with the audience. He would often stand upstage or perform with his back to the audience. He would also constantly move in one spot and, when holding the microphone during some bits, his nervousness would cause him to shake it uncontrollably.
Hedberg occasionally added disclaimers to the end of a joke to let the audience know that he shared their judgment of it, most notably acknowledging when jokes were poorly delivered or received with a resigned "all right." He also toyed with audiences that failed to respond in the way he had intended them to, occasionally quipping, "That joke's better than you acted." During recordings for CDs, he would often say that he would find a way to edit a failed gag to make it seem well received, for example by "adding laughter" to a failed joke containing arithmetic. Following such a failure on Strategic Grill Locations
, Hedberg suggested, "All right...that joke is going to be good because I'm going to take all the words out and add new words. That joke will be fixed."
Comedy Central Records
announced the release of the first album of new Mitch Hedberg material on June 10, 2008. The album titled Do You Believe in Gosh?
was released September 9, 2008 and contains material recorded at The Improv
in Ontario, California
in January 2005. Hedberg's wife Lynn wrote the introduction, in which she stated that the performance was in preparation for an end of the year CD recording.
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
known for his surreal humor
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
and unconventional comedic delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes, mixed with absurd elements and non sequiturs. Hedberg's comedy and on-stage persona gained him a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
, with audience members sometimes shouting out the punchlines to his jokes before he could finish them.
Early life
Mitch Hedberg was born on February 24, 1968, in Saint Paul, MinnesotaSaint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, the son of Arnold and Mary Hedberg. He graduated from Harding High School
Harding Senior High School (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Harding Senior High School is a public comprehensive high school located on the East Side of Saint Paul, Minnesota. The school is one of six high schools in the Saint Paul Public School District and is the largest high school in the city of Saint Paul with enrollment at approximately 2400...
in Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
.
Career
Hedberg began his stand-up career in Florida, and after a period of honing his skills moved to Seattle and began to tour. He soon appeared on MTV's Comikaze, followed by a 1996 appearance on Late Show with David LettermanLate Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
which brought him his big break. He won the 1997 grand prize at the Seattle Comedy Competition. The following year he appeared on Fox's hit series That 70's Show. In 1999 he completed his own independent feature film Los Enchiladas!
Los Enchiladas!
Los Enchiladas! is a 1999 film written, directed by and starring stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg. The film is loosely based on his life growing up in Minnesota and his experience working in restaurants. It parodies a chain Mexican restaurant in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota, on the day before...
, in which he wrote, directed, produced and starred. He recorded three comedy CDs entitled Strategic Grill Locations, Mitch All Together, and Do You Believe in Gosh? which was released posthumously. He also appeared at the Montreal Just For Laughs comedy festival in 1998 and 2001. According to Mitch there had been talk of creating a TV series around him, but plans never came to be.
Personal life
Hedberg was married to Canadian comedian Lynn Shawcroft from 1999 until his death in 2005.Hedberg was known to be a drug user
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, referring to it in some of his jokes ("I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too.") He was arrested in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
in May 2003 for possession of heroin.
Death
On March 30, 2005, Hedberg was found dead in a hotel room in Livingston, New Jersey. Hedberg was born with a heart defect for which he received extensive treatment as a child. It was initially speculated that this condition may have played a part in his death. The New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
medical examiner's office reported "multiple drug toxicity" in the form of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and heroin as the official cause of death. His death was formally announced on April 1, 2005, leading many to believe it was an April Fool's joke, only to find out later that it was not. His funeral was held at St. Ambrose of Woodbury Church in Minnesota, and his remains were cremated. Details of where his remains are scattered are known by his family.
Mitch was interviewed by Jonathan Davis in the December 2001 issue of Penthouse. In the interview, published three years before his death, he was asked "If you could choose, how would you end your life?" His response was "First, I'd want to get famous, and then I'd overdose. If I overdosed at this stage in my career, I would be lucky if it made the back pages."
Style
Hedberg's stand-up comedy was distinguished by the unique manner of speechIdiolect
In linguistics, an idiolect is a variety of a language unique to an individual. It is manifested by patterns of vocabulary or idiom selection , grammar, or pronunciations that are unique to the individual. Every individual's language production is in some sense unique...
that he adopted later in his career, his abrupt delivery, and his unusual stage presence. His material depended heavily upon word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
, non sequiturs, paraprosdokian
Paraprosdokian
A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax...
s and object observations. His act usually consisted equally of compact one- or two-liners resembling those of Steven Wright
Steven Wright
Steven Alexander Wright is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jokes and one-liners with contrived situations.-Early life and career:Wright was born in Mount Auburn...
, in addition to longer routines, often with each line as a punchline. Many of his jokes were inspired from everyday thoughts or situations.
Because he suffered from stage fright
Stage fright
Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, whether actually or potentially . In the context of public speaking, this fear is termed glossophobia, one of the most common...
, Hedberg often performed wearing sunglasses, with his head down, with his hair in his face or with his eyes closed in order to avoid eye contact with the audience. He would often stand upstage or perform with his back to the audience. He would also constantly move in one spot and, when holding the microphone during some bits, his nervousness would cause him to shake it uncontrollably.
Hedberg occasionally added disclaimers to the end of a joke to let the audience know that he shared their judgment of it, most notably acknowledging when jokes were poorly delivered or received with a resigned "all right." He also toyed with audiences that failed to respond in the way he had intended them to, occasionally quipping, "That joke's better than you acted." During recordings for CDs, he would often say that he would find a way to edit a failed gag to make it seem well received, for example by "adding laughter" to a failed joke containing arithmetic. Following such a failure on Strategic Grill Locations
Strategic Grill Locations
Strategic Grill Locations is a comedy album from Mitch Hedberg. It is a recording of a performance at The Laff Stop comedy club in Houston, Texas from September 7, 1999. The album was originally self-published by Hedberg, and sold through his website and at shows...
, Hedberg suggested, "All right...that joke is going to be good because I'm going to take all the words out and add new words. That joke will be fixed."
Comedy Central Records
Comedy Central Records
Comedy Central Records is a record label founded by Jack Vaughn and Comedy Central that puts out comedy albums by comedians that have appeared on their network....
announced the release of the first album of new Mitch Hedberg material on June 10, 2008. The album titled Do You Believe in Gosh?
Do You Believe in Gosh?
Do You Believe in Gosh? is the third live album from stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg. It was released September 9, 2008. The album is a posthumous release, having been recorded two months before his death on March 29, 2005...
was released September 9, 2008 and contains material recorded at The Improv
The Improv
The Improv is a comedy club franchise. Originally, it was a single venue founded in 1963 by Budd Friedman and located in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City on West 44th near the SE corner of 9th Ave. A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District...
in Ontario, California
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...
in January 2005. Hedberg's wife Lynn wrote the introduction, in which she stated that the performance was in preparation for an end of the year CD recording.
Discography
- Strategic Grill LocationsStrategic Grill LocationsStrategic Grill Locations is a comedy album from Mitch Hedberg. It is a recording of a performance at The Laff Stop comedy club in Houston, Texas from September 7, 1999. The album was originally self-published by Hedberg, and sold through his website and at shows...
(1999) (Originally self-published, later re-released on the Comedy Central label, edited) - Mitch All TogetherMitch All TogetherMitch All Together is stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg's second comedy album before his death in 2005. It is a recording of a performance at the Acme Comedy Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota from May 2003...
(November 18, 2003) - Do You Believe in Gosh?Do You Believe in Gosh?Do You Believe in Gosh? is the third live album from stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg. It was released September 9, 2008. The album is a posthumous release, having been recorded two months before his death on March 29, 2005...
(September 9, 2008)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 1999 in film The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep... |
Los Enchiladas! Los Enchiladas! Los Enchiladas! is a 1999 film written, directed by and starring stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg. The film is loosely based on his life growing up in Minnesota and his experience working in restaurants. It parodies a chain Mexican restaurant in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota, on the day before... |
Lee |
| 2000 2000 in film The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor .... |
Almost Famous Almost Famous Almost Famous is a 2000 musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and telling the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine while covering the fictitious rock band Stillwater , and his efforts to get his first cover story published... |
Eagles Road Manager |
| 2005 2005 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005... |
Lords of Dogtown Lords of Dogtown Lords of Dogtown is a 2005 biographical film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, written by Stacy Peralta. The film is based on the story of "The Z-Boys", an influential group of skateboarders who revolutionized the sport... |
Frank Nasworthy (Urethane Wheels Guy) |
TV appearances
| Year | Title | Role/Info |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | That '70s Show That '70s Show That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979... |
Episode 11, as Frank (Chef at the Hub) |
| Premium Blend Premium Blend Premium Blend was a television show that aired on the American cable television channel Comedy Central from 1997 to 2005.The program features a well-known stand up comedian as an emcee who introduces four or five lesser known comedians looking for a big break on television... |
Episode dated May 23, 1998 as Himself | |
| 1999 | Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist is an American animated series that originally ran on Comedy Central from May 28, 1995 to December 24, 1999,–with a final set of three shelved episodes airing in 2002–starring Jonathan Katz, Jon Benjamin, and Laura Silverman... |
Episode 67 "Past Lives" and Episode 73 "Garden", both as Himself |
| Comedy Central Presents Comedy Central Presents Comedy Central Presents is a half-hour long stand-up show that features various stand-up comedians in each episode.-DVDs:Starting in 2008, Comedy Central started releasing "Best of" compilation DVDs, with uncensored audio... |
Himself | |
| 1999 | Home Movies Home Movies (TV series) Home Movies is a dialogue-driven American animated series that originally aired from 1999 to 2004. The plot surrounds eight-year-old Brendon Small , who makes films with his friends Melissa Robbins and Jason Penopolis in his spare time... |
Episodes 104, 105, 112, and 113 as The Pet Eulogist, Mitch, Cop, and Dr. Fizzel (Anger Management Counselor), respectively |
| 2001 | Ed | Episode 110 as Dave |
| Just for Laughs in Montreal | Himself | |
| Late Friday | Himself | |
| 2002 | Saddle Rash Saddle Rash Saddle Rash is a canceled comedy animated series. The pilot episode was featured on March 24, 2002 on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" programming block. Saddle Rash was created by Loren Bouchard, co-creator of Home Movies... |
Various voices |
| 2003 | Late Show with David Letterman Late Show with David Letterman Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is... |
Himself |
| Late Show with David Letterman Late Show with David Letterman Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is... |
Himself | |
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien Late Night with Conan O'Brien Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am... |
Himself | |
| Crank Yankers Crank Yankers Crank Yankers is an American TV show produced by Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison that featured actual prank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests, and re-enacted onscreen by puppets for a visual aid to show the viewer what is happening in the call... |
Himself | |
| 2004 | Shorties Watchin' Shorties Shorties Watchin' Shorties Shorties Watchin' Shorties was a television show broadcast on Comedy Central that is now on DVD. The show is made up of various short animated clips with audio from comedians' stand up routines. It also features two "shorties," a pair of babies voiced by Nick DiPaolo and Patrice O'Neal who watch... |
Episodes 4 and 9 as Himself |