HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 30, 2005) was an American
stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...
known for his surreal humor and
deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blun ...
delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes
one-line joke A one-liner is a joke that is delivered in a single line. A good one-liner is said to be pithy – concise and meaningful. Comedians and actors use this comedic method as part of their act, e.g. Jimmy Carr, Tommy Cooper, Rodney Dangerfield, Norm ...
s mixed with absurd elements and non sequiturs. Hedberg's comedy and onstage persona gained him a
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
, with audience members sometimes shouting out the punchlines to his jokes before he could finish them.


Early life

Hedberg was born on February 24, 1968, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the son of Arne and Mary (née Schimscha, 1943–2012) Hedberg. He was of Finnish-Swedish (from his paternal grandparents), Czech, and German descent. Hedberg attended Harding High School in Saint Paul. He took little interest in school, and claimed he was barely eligible to graduate.


Career

Hedberg began his stand-up career in Florida, and after a period of honing his skills, he moved to Seattle and began to tour. He soon appeared on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's ''Comikaze'', followed by a 1996 appearance on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' that brought him his big break. He won the 1997 grand prize at the Seattle Comedy Competition. The next year he appeared in an episode of Fox's series ''
That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, fro ...
''. In 1999, he completed his own independent feature film, '' Los Enchiladas!'', which he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in. He recorded three comedy albums: '' Strategic Grill Locations'', ''
Mitch All Together ''Mitch All Together'' is stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg's second comedy album. It is a recording of a performance at the Acme Comedy Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from May 2003. The CD was packaged with a DVD of Hedberg's 1999 Comedy Central ...
'', and '' Do You Believe in Gosh?'', the last released posthumously. He appeared at the Montreal Just for Laughs comedy festival in 1998, 2001, and 2004. Concurrent with his rising fame in the entertainment industry, Hedberg appeared on ''Letterman'' nine more times, signed a half-million-dollar deal with Fox for a television sitcom, and was dubbed "the next Seinfeld" by '' Time'' magazine. George Carlin, Dave Chappelle,
Mike Birbiglia Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
,
Norm MacDonald Norman Gene MacdonaldThe capitalization of Norm Macdonald's surname has been inconsistently reported in publications such as ''TV Guide''. Books that discuss him, such as ''Shales'' (2003) and Crawford' (2000), as well as other sources such as ...
and
Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series '' Lewi ...
were among his comedian fans.


Style

Hedberg's standup comedy was distinguished by the unique manner of speech he adopted later in his career, his abrupt delivery, and his unusual stage presence. His material was based on wordplay, non sequiturs,
paraprosdokian A paraprosdokian () is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence, phrase, or larger discourse is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used fo ...
s, and object observations. His act usually consisted equally of compact one- or two-liners and longer routines, often with each line as a punchline. Many of his jokes were inspired by everyday thoughts or situations. Hedberg occasionally added disclaimers to the end of a joke if it was not sufficiently well received, frequently variations on "that joke's dumb, I'm aware of that." 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 Comedy Central Records is a record label based in New York and owned by Paramount Global. The label specializes in stand-up comedy albums and is distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. The label has r ...
released an album, ''Do You Believe in Gosh?'' on September 9, 2008, that contained material Hedberg recorded at The Improv in
Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, i ...
in January 2005. His wife, Lynn, wrote in the introduction that the performance had been in preparation for a year-end CD recording.


Quotations

* "I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it!" * "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." * "An escalator cannot break. It can only become stairs." * "I think Bigfoot is blurry. That's the problem. It's not the photographer's fault. Bigfoot is blurry and that's extra scary to me. There's a large, out-of-focus monster roaming the countryside. Run! He's fuzzy! Get out of here!" * "My friend asked me if I wanted a frozen banana. I said 'No, but I want a regular banana later. So, yeah.'" * “I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too.” * "I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long." * "The depressing thing about tennis is that no matter how good I get, I’ll never be as good as a wall." * "Every book is a children’s book if the kid can read." * "When I was a boy, I'd lay in my twin-sized bed and wonder where my brother was." * "I like to throw a toothpick into the forest and yell 'you're home!'"


Personal life

Hedberg was married to Canadian comedian Lynn Shawcroft from 1999 until his death in 2005. Hedberg was a frequent recreational drug user, mentioning it in some of his jokes (e.g., "I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too"). He 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?" He replied, "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." In May 2003, he was arrested in Austin, Texas, for
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brown ...
possession. On October 12, 2004, Hedberg sat in on the news with
Robin Quivers Robin Ophelia Quivers (born August 8, 1952) is an American radio personality, author, and actress, best known for being the long-running co-host of ''The Howard Stern Show''. Early life Quivers was born on August 8, 1952, in Baltimore, Maryla ...
on ''
The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 ...
''. He appeared on the show again on March 17, 2005, this time with Quivers and Artie Lange present, and briefly discussed his drug use, saying: "Well, you know, I got the drugs under control now." Stern asked, "Do you? You know how to take them responsibly?" Hedberg replied, "Yeah, you know, just for the creative side of it."


Death

On March 30, 2005, Hedberg was found dead in his room at The Westminster Hotel in Livingston, New Jersey. His death was formally announced on April 1, leading some fans to believe it was an
April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
joke. His death was initially believed to be the result of a congenital heart defect, but in December 2005, the New Jersey medical examiner's office reported that he died accidentally as the result of "multiple drug toxicity", including cocaine and
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brown ...
. Hedberg's funeral was held at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Woodbury, Minnesota.


Discography


Filmography


Television appearances


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedberg, Mitch 1968 births 2005 deaths People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Comedians from Minnesota American stand-up comedians Cocaine-related deaths in New Jersey Deaths by heroin overdose in the United States American people of Finnish descent American people of Czech descent American people of German descent 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians