Mitch Hedberg
Mitch Hedberg
Born	February 24, 1968(1968-02-24) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	March 29, 2005 (aged 37) Livingston, New Jersey
Medium	stand-up, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1989-2005
Genres	Observational comedy, Surreal humor, Word play
Subject(s)	everyday life
Influences	Steven Wright
Spouse	Lynn Shawcroft
Notable works and roles	Mitch All Together
Website	www.mitchhedberg.net

Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 29, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humour and unconventional comedic delivery. His routines featured elocutive but often short, sometimes one-line, observational jokes on everyday life, mixed with absurd and at times hylozoistic and paraprosdokian elements as well as 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.^[1][2][3] Image File history File links Mitchhedbergbw. ... is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For an overview of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, see Minneapolis-Saint Paul. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. ... “NJ” redirects here. ... Richard Pryor hits the money line A stand-up comedian or stand-up comic is someone that performs in comedy clubs, usually reciting a fast paced succession of amusing stories, short jokes and one-liners, typically called a monologue. ... “Moving picture” redirects here. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Comedy may be divided into multiple genres based on the source of humour, the method of delivery, and the context in which it is delivered. ... Observational comedy is a brand of humor based on making remarks about various facets of daily life. ... Surreal humour is a form of humour based on bizarre juxtapositions, absurd situations, and nonsense logic. ... This article is about Word play. ... Everyday life is the sum total of every aspect of common human life as it is routinely lived. ... f u ... Lynn Shawcroft is a Canadian standup comedian. ... Mitch All Together is stand-up comedian Mitch Hedbergs second and final comedy album before his death in 2005. ... is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience, with the absence of the theatrical fourth wall. ... This photograph, a cow with antlers standing on a pole, is an example of surreal humour. ... Elocution is proper speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone. ... A one-liner is a joke that is delivered in a single line. ... Hylozoism is the philosophical doctrine that all or some material things possess life. ... A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe the first part. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Biography

Early life

Mitch Hedberg was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the son of Arnold and Mary Hedberg.^[4] He graduated from Harding High School in Saint Paul and was married to Canadian comedian Lynn Shawcroft on February 25, 1999. For an overview of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, see Minneapolis-Saint Paul. ... Harding Senior High School is located on the east side of Saint Paul, Minnesota and is currently one of seven high schools in the St. ... For an overview of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, see Minneapolis-Saint Paul. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... Lynn Shawcroft is a Canadian standup comedian. ... is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

Career

He began his career in 1989 playing open mic nights in south Florida. Two years later, in 1991, he moved to Seattle, where, due to his continued efforts, his popularity increased. However, Hedberg did encounter some degree of difficulty. It took him more than a few years to come up with a good deal of material, and he also needed to conquer his stage fright, which was so intense that it left a mark on him throughout his career, sometimes even leading to him performing with his eyes closed, which he often incorporated into his jokes. He first began achieving national exposure with a special on Comedy Central. Hedberg appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman ten times and became one of the show's most successful American comedians. Mitch was also a three-time performer at the Montreal Just for Laughs festival. It has been suggested that Open spots be merged into this article or section. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... “Seattle” redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel in the United States. ... Late Show with David Letterman is an hour-long weeknight comedy and talk show broadcast by CBS from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway in New York City. ... Just for Laughs (in French Juste Pour Rire) is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec. ...

Hedberg could be heard as the voice of Jimmy John's radio advertisements during the months leading up to and after his death. He also was 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 tourmate Dave Attell, featured a toast to Hedberg at the end of the show. This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The Atlanta Thrashers are a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Dave Attell (born January 18, 1965) is a popular American stand-up comedian and host of Comedy Centrals Insomniac with Dave Attell. ...

Comedy Central Records will release a new collection of Hedberg's comedy. At the time, however, it was unknown whether it would be a CD, DVD or both.

Death

Late in the evening on March 29, 2005, Hedberg was found dead by his wife in his room at the upscale Westminster Hotel in Livingston, New Jersey. His death was first announced by Howard Stern on his morning talk show (on which Hedberg had appeared twice, including an appearance less than two weeks before his death) and later confirmed by the Saint Paul Pioneer Press. Many people who learned of his death thought it to be an April Fool's joke, because it was announced April 1st on his official website. Hedberg had reportedly been preparing for his first HBO special^[5], which, according to his website, was a goal he had strived for as a comedian.^[6] is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. ... This article is a biography of Howard Stern as an individual; for information regarding his radio show see The Howard Stern Show. ... The St. ... April Fools Day or All Fools Day, though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on 1 April. ... For other uses, see HBO (disambiguation). ...

Hedberg was known to be a drug user, even referring to it in some of his jokes. He was arrested in May 2003 in Austin, Texas for possession of heroin. Hedberg was also born with a heart defect for which he received extensive treatment as a child. Though this condition initially had been cited as a possible cause of death, in May 2005 the New Jersey medical examiner's office reported "multiple drug toxicity," including cocaine and heroin, as the official cause of death.^[7] Results of the autopsy and toxicology reports were first reported by journalist Peter Hyman in the January 2006 edition of Spin magazine. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas, the county seat of Travis County, and home to the University of Texas at Austin. ... For other uses, see Heroin (disambiguation). ... “NJ” redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Peter Hyman is an American cultural reporter and journalist. ... Spin is a music magazine that reports on all the music that rocks. Founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. ...

Style

Hedberg was set apart from his stand-up comedy peers by many traits, including his unique pronunciations, his abrupt style of punchline delivery, and an unusual stage presence. His jokes focused largely on wordplay, non-sequiturs, whimsy, and object observations. His jokes rarely featured obscene material, although he would often use a curse word as an exclamation. However, his material rarely suffered when he removed the curse words. His stand-up act is characterized by a strange, off-beat delivery which leads many in the audience to believe he is under the influence of drugs. Word play is a literary technique in which the nature of the words used themselves become part of the subject of the work. ... Non sequitur is Latin for it does not follow. ... An odd or fanciful or capricious idea; the theatrical notion of disguise is associated with disaster in his stories; he had a whimsy about flying to the moon; whimsy can be humorous to someone with time to enjoy it [syn: notion, whim, whimsey] 2: the trait of acting unpredictably and...

As a result of his stage fright, Hedberg often performed with his head down and with his hair in his face in order to avoid eye contact with the audience. Earlier in his career, he would often stand upstage during performances or perform with his back to the audience.

His act usually consisted equally of compact one- or two-liners similar to the style 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. He did not often craft jokes with long serious setups leading to a big punchline, or use callbacks to previous jokes. f u ...

Hedberg was noticeably self-aware of the status of his jokes, whether they were poorly delivered, underexplained, or just poorly received. He occasionally added disclaimers to the end of jokes to let the audience know that his reaction to the joke matched theirs.

Hedberg most notably acknowledged when jokes were poorly delivered or received in the form of a resigned "all right". He also toyed with his audiences after a joke did not gain the reception he had intended; occasionally quipping, "That joke's better than you acted." During recordings for CDs, he would often joke that he would find a way to edit a failed joke to make it seem well received, such as "adding" laughter to the end of the joke. Following a bombed joke on Strategic Grill Locations, Mitch 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." Strategic Grill Locations is stand-up comedian Mitch Hedbergs debut comedy album. ...

Discography

• Strategic Grill Locations (1999)
• Mitch All Together (2003)
• compilation of unreleased material (2007)

Strategic Grill Locations is stand-up comedian Mitch Hedbergs debut comedy album. ... Mitch All Together is stand-up comedian Mitch Hedbergs second and final comedy album before his death in 2005. ...

Filmography

The year 1999 in film involved some significant events. ... Los Enchiladas! is a 1999 film written and directed by and starring stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg. ... The year 2000 in film involved some significant events. ... Almost Famous is a 2000 film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and released in 2000. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2005. ... Lords of Dogtown is a 2005 film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, written by Stacy Peralta. ...

TV appearances

The year 1998 in television involved some significant events. ... That 70s Show is an American television sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenagers living in Point Place, Wisconsin, a fictional suburb of either Kenosha[1] or Green Bay[2] from May 17, 1976 to December 31, 1979. ... List of That 70s Show episodes Erics Buddy is an episode from That 70s Show. ... Premium Blend is a show on Comedy Central which features a well-known stand up comedian as an emcee who introduces four or five lesser known comedians looking for a big break on television. ... The year 1999 in television involved some significant events. ... Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist was an animated series that originally ran on Comedy Central from 1995 to 1999, and starred Jonathan Katz. ... The year 1998 in television involved some significant events. ... Home Movies is a dialogue-driven American animated television series that originally aired from 1999 to 2004. ... This is a list of television-related events in 2001. ... Ed was an NBC television program produced by Worldwide Pants Incorporated from 2000-2004. ... Just for Laughs (in French Juste pour rire) is a comedy festival held each year in Montreal, Quebec. ... Friday Night Videos was a music video show broadcast on the American NBC television network from July 29, 1983 to May 24, 2002, and was considered network television’s answer to MTV. // History In the beginning, MTV was still a phenomenon that very few people actually could see in their... The year 2002 in television involved some significant events. ... Saddle Rash is the name of a cancelled comedy cartoon. ... This is a list of television-related events in 2003. ... Ŝ “Late Show” redirects here. ... Ŝ “Late Show” redirects here. ... Late Night with Conan OBrien is an American late night talk show that is syndicated worldwide. ... Crank Yankers is a United States TV show produced by Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison that features actual prank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests which are re-enacted onscreen by puppets. ... Comedy Central Presents is a television series shown Friday nights at 10 p. ... The year 2004 in television involved some significant events. ... Shorties Watchin Shorties is a television show broadcast on the Comedy Central. ...

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Mitch Hedberg

• Official website
• Sept. 2007 news of new Mitch Hedberg release for Comedy Central.
• Mitch Hedberg at the Internet Movie Database
• Entertainment Weekly report of his death
• Lynn Shawcroft's blog (Hedberg's widow)
• Interview: Mitch Hedberg in The A.V. Club