My first exposure to Bill Hicks came when I had heard on some comedy podcasts that I frequent, that Denis Leary, long one of my favorite comics, had quite possibly stolen his act (or portions of it) from a dude named Bill Hicks. Immediately, I began to research Mr. Hicks. What I found was a huge talent that was taken from the comedy world much too soon. Hicks died at age 32 in 1994 from pancreatic cancer. (In my own opinion, I think Leary and Hicks were doing similar subject matter, but Hicks' act was much more cerebral than Leary, who was the angrier and more loose of the two).
Hicks was considered a member of the Outlaw Comics that came to form in Houston, Texas in the Reagan 80s : Sam Kinison, Carl LaBove, Bob Barber, and others. But the difference between Hicks and the rest of the crew was Hicks’ intelligence. While Kinison was smarter than he made himself out to be (in late years, his act deteriorated to “two short screams and a long scream”), Hicks never shied away from a smart, politically fueled, and social commentary-style comedy. In fact, in later years, I would have called Hicks more a social satirist and critic than a comic.
Although he peppered his act with the occasional dick joke, his most memorable and important bits were the ones attacking the American media, American consumerism, the military-industrial complex, and American government in general. Hicks went after the big ideas and those in power. He was censored several times on national television and had to constantly deal with booking agents who thought he was too subversive and dangerous for their comedy club. It was for these reasons that he saw his greatest success not in the US, but in England, Ireland, Canada, and Australia.
Hicks was constantly looking for more from life. He turned heavily toward drugs and alcohol to help find his “third eye” and find out what the next step of human evolution would and should be. This exploration led to an alcohol problem , but he emerged from those issues with a clearer voice. He was constantly striving to bring new, bigger, and brighter ideas to the forefront, by showing people how government and industry profited by keeping the public fat and stupid. He was constantly striving to find the truth in American culture and American life.
What got me thinking about Hicks again recently was the discovery that there is a documentary being released about Hicks in April – “American: The Bill Hicks Story.” It also got me thinking about how we need a guy like Hicks right now to point out our mediocrity and our hypocrisy. How we can do better as a country and as a society. I wonder what Hicks would have to say about 2011.
Below are some of Hicks’ greatest hits.
And the trailer for “American: The Bill Hicks Story.” Looks great.
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