The Texas Outlaw Comics were a group of comedians based in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
in the mid-1980s.
[Staff report (April 18, 1991). 'Texas outlaw' fires from the lip. '' Washington Times''] Formed at the
Comedy Workshop comedy club in Houston, early members included
Sam Kinison,
Bill Hicks,
Ron Shock
Howard Ronald "Ron" Shock (October 19, 1942 – May 17, 2012) was an American comedian and storyteller who was best known for his reenactments of stories that he extracted from newspapers.
Early life
Shock was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.Weat ...
, Steve Epstein, Carl LaBove, John S, Riley Barber, Dan Merryman, John Farnetti, and Jimmy Pineapple. Other members included Andy Huggins and Steven Juliano Moore.
[Harward, Randy (September 19, 2007)]
Comedy: Story of My Life. Comedian Ron Shock returns to the road, continuing a unique life journey.
''Salt Lake City Weekly
''Salt Lake City Weekly'' (usually shortened to ''City Weekly'') is a free alternative weekly tabloid-paged newspaper published in Salt Lake City, Utah. It began as ''Private Eye''. ''City Weekly'' is published and dated for every Thursday by C ...
''[Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas, Directors (2009). '' American: The Bill Hicks Story''] Epstein said, "We're looking for people who speak their minds, whose comedy comes from themselves–the people who aren't interested in selling out."
American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story.' HarperCollins,
They chose and trademarked their name because
Sam Kinison was using the term "Outlaw" to brand his own act, and Epstein felt that Kinison owed him money he had not been paid.
[True, Cynthia (2002). ]
American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story.
' HarperCollins, Their first taped special under the name Texas Outlaw Comics was for Houston NBC affiliate
KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Graham Media Group. Its studios are located on Southwest Freeway (Interstate 69 in Texas, I-69/U.S. Route 59 in Texas#Inters ...
.
References
Comedians from Texas
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