In a previous article we wrote about Lenny Bruce, arguably one of the pioneers
Bill Hicks
of satirical stand up comedy in the United States. If Bruce was the first generation to air the kind of views which were almost unacceptable in his time, Bill Hicks was surely the second generation.
Born in the southern U.S. state of Georgia, he was brought up by relatively religious parents – they were Southern Baptists. They eventually ended up in Houston, Texas, where Hicks was educated. Citing influences such as Woody Allen and Richard Pryor, Hicks began writing comedy routines with a friend to perform in front of other children. After his death his mother spoke about how his initial interest in comedy was piqued when he realised you could actually make a living from being funny.
Stand Up Career
Straight from High School and still in his early 20s, Hicks began his career as a stand up, performing mostly in the Houston area. His set remained unchanged for some time and in his desire to push the boundaries of creativity he began to experiment with substances that, probably due to his upbringing, he had never tried. He tried alcohol, he started smoking and he started to use various illegal drugs.
As his reputation in the smaller, more progressive venues (universities, nightclubs) became established, he came to the realisation that alcohol was not the answer and neither were the mind-altering drugs with which he had been experimenting. He had become however, a chain-smoker and never managed to quit with any degree of success. Fans of Hicks’ material will be aware though, that the benefits of drugs and the freedoms to use them became significant parts of his routines.
Rodney Dangerfield & New York
In 1987 he moved to New York and appeared on a Rodney Dangerfield show, Young Comedian’s Special. This provided his career with a much needed boost and for the next few years he was performing at an average of about 300 times per year. Jack Mondrus was hired by Hicks in 1988 as his first professional manager and helped to promote Hicks’ image as a comedian who’s wild days were behind him. Through Mondrus he also met his future fiancée, Colleen McGarr.
Bill Hicks was a regular visitor to Europe and his the United Kingdom in particular were an extremely receptive and appreciative audience. The relatively liberal outlook of the British may have added to an atmosphere for Hicks in which he was preaching to the converted rather than haranguing an American audience (albeit in a funny way).
Hicks’s targets were as you would expect from a satirical comedian – religion and politics to name a couple – and he became wildly successful among more left-leaning audiences. The mainstream were not so sure and he was regularly censored and banned from television shows worried about what he might say or do.
Eventually his nicotine addiction caught up with him and he was diagnosed with cancer in 1993. He knew he was dying and it was in fact the side effects of his treatment which killed him at the age of 32 in 1994. Some os the last words he wrote, two weeks before he died were:
“I left in love, in laughter and in truth and wherever truth, love and laughter abide, I am there in spirit.”