Mitch Hedberg

Mitch Hedberg
File:Mitch Hedberg.PNG Hedberg during his Comedy Central Presents special in 1999
Birth name	Mitchell Lee Hedberg
Born	(1968-02-24)February 24, 1968 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	March 29, 2005(2005-03-29) (aged 37) Livingston, New Jersey, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1989 – 2005
Genres	Observational comedy, surreal humor, word play
Spouse	Lynn Shawcroft
Notable works and roles	Mitch All Together Strategic Grill Locations Do You Believe in Gosh?
Website	www.mitchhedberg.net

Mitchell Lee "Mitch" Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 29, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and unconventional comedic delivery. Hedberg's comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes, and observational comedy, 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.

Biography

Early life

Mitch Hedberg was born on February 24, 1968, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the son of Arnold and Mary Hedberg. He graduated from Harding High School in Saint Paul and was married to Canadian comedian Lynn Shawcroft on February 25, 1999.

Career

Hedberg began his career in 1989 playing open mic nights in southern Florida. Two years later, in 1991, he moved to Seattle, where, due to his continued efforts, his popularity increased. Hedberg did encounter some degree of difficulty: apparently he suffered from intense glossophobia, which sometimes led him to perform with his eyes closed. However, on her Twitter page, his wife Lynn refuted this claim.

He first achieved national exposure in 1996, performing at the prestigious Just for Laughs Montreal International Comedy Festival, which aired on Comedy Central. Hedberg appeared twice on The Late Show with David Letterman and became one of the show's most successful American comedians. His eyes were closed during the Just for Laughs festival portion that was taped and aired on CBC and the Comedy Network.

Hedberg could be heard as the voice of Jimmy John's radio advertisements during the months leading up to and after his death. He was also the voice of the Atlanta Thrashers "Hockey Love" ad campaign in 2002–2003. Every performance of the Insomniac tour, headed by Hedberg's friend and former tour-mate Dave Attell, featured a toast to Hedberg at the end of the show.

He appeared in the 2005 film Lords of Dogtown; the film, released after his death, was dedicated to his memory.

Death

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"). Hedberg was arrested in Austin, Texas, in May 2003 for possession of heroin. 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 Jersey medical examiner's office reported "multiple drug toxicity", in the form of a cocaine and heroin "speedball", as the official cause of death. His funeral was held at St. Ambrose of Woodbury Church in Minnesota.

Style

Hedberg's stand-up comedy was distinguished by the unique manner of speech that he adopted later in his career, his abrupt delivery, and his unusual stage presence. His material depended heavily upon word play, non sequiturs, paraprosdokians 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 stemmed from his 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 in some skits, 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. 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.

Quotations

• "I was in a casino, minding my own business, and this guy came up to me and said, 'You're gonna have to move. You're blocking a fire exit.' As though if there was a fire, I wasn't gonna run. If you're flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit. Unless you're a table."

• "Alcoholism is a disease, but it's the only one you can get yelled at for having. 'Damn it, Otto, you're an alcoholic.' 'Damn it, Otto, you have lupus.' One of those two doesn't sound right."

• "I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long."

• "I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too."

• "I don't have a girlfriend. I just know a girl who would be really mad if she heard me say that."

• "I like an escalator because an escalator can never break. It can only become stairs. There would never be an 'Escalator Out of Order' sign. Only an 'Escalator temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience.'"

• "I'm fucking sick of following my dreams. I'm just gonna find out where they're going and hook up with them later.'"

• "I went to the store to buy a candle holder. They were out, so I bought a cake."

• "I went to a store that said they specialized in hard to find records and tapes. Nothing was alphabetized!"

• "I want to be a race car passenger. Just a guy that bugs the driver. Say man, can I turn on the radio? You should slow down. Why do we got to keep going in circles. Can I put my feet out the window. Man you really like Tide."

• "I think big foot is blurry, that's the problem. It's not the photographers fault. Big foot is blurry and that's extra scary to me, cause there's a large out of focus monster roaming the country side. Run he's fuzzy get out of here."

• "One time I got handed to me a picture and he said here's a picture of me when I was younger. Every picture is of you when you're younger."

• "I got my hair highlighted because I thought some strands were more important than others."

• "If I had 9 of my fingers missing I wouldn't type any slower. I type a hundred words a minute but it's in my own language.

• "I find a duck's opinion of me is very much influenced by whether or not I have bread."

• "You know when it comes to racism, people say: " I don't care if they're black, white, purple or green"... Ooh hold on now: Purple or Green? You gotta draw the line somewhere! To hell with purple people! - Unless they're suffocating - then help'em."

• "I got a king sized bed. I don't know any kings, but if one came over, I guess he'd be comfortable. "Oh, you're a king, you say? Well you won't believe what I have in store for you! It's to your exact specifications!."

Discography

• Strategic Grill Locations (1999) (Originally self-published, later re-released on the Comedy Central label, edited)
• Mitch All Together (November 18, 2003)
• Do You Believe in Gosh? (September 9, 2008)

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1999	Los Enchiladas!	Lee
2000	Almost Famous	Eagles Road Manager
2005	Lords of Dogtown	Frank Nasworthy (Urethane Wheels Guy)

TV appearances

Year	Title	Role/Info
1998	That '70s Show	Episode 11, as Frank
	Premium Blend	Episode dated May 23, 1998 as Himself
1999	Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist	Episodes 604 and 609 as Himself
	Comedy Central Presents	Himself
1999	Home Movies	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	Various voices
2003	Late Show with David Letterman	Himself
	Late Show with David Letterman	Himself
	Late Night with Conan O'Brien	Himself
	Crank Yankers	Himself
2004	Shorties Watchin' Shorties	Episodes 1 through 9 as Himself

References

Shecky magazine. http://www.sheckymagazine.com/mitch.htm

External links

• Official website
• Mitch Hedberg at IMDb
• Mitch Hedberg at Find a Grave