Career: He began his career in 1989 playing open mic nights in south Florida. Two years later, in 1991, he moved to Seattle and began doing the same there, where 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 his 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. Hedberg was deemed the "Kurt Cobain of Stand Up Comedy" because of his long hair, laid back attitude, drug addiction, and Seattle background. Hedberg was set apart from his stand-up comedy peers by many traits, including his unique pronunciations, an "abrupt" style of punchline delivery, and a curious stage presence that was professional-but-casual and confident-but-shy.
Mitch's joke topics rarely, if ever, treaded into smutty or contentious territory, instead focusing largely on deft wordplay, clever non sequiturs, innocent whimsy, and imaginative "object" observations. Although his stand-up delivery occasionally contained so-called "four-letter words," such language was never central to Hedberg's gags, instead being just exclamation/filler phrases during his stage discourse (his jokes rarely suffered when he performed them on television with the curses omitted - some might argue that they were better for the more universal appeal).
His onstage persona, though slightly nervous, was always quite endearing; he would happily joke with the audience if they hadn't reacted particularly well to a joke. He was happy to criticise his own weaker jokes, such as his statement on Strategic Grill Locations: "That joke was just a carbon copy of the last joke." His jokes ranged from compact one- or two-liners ("I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it.") to slightly longer material (usually with multiple punchlines) in which he would take everyday ideas or situations and pick out certain aspects at which to poke humor (the Dufrenes joke is a good example of this). Mitch was also a three-time performer at the Montreal Just for Laughs festival.
Death: Hedberg was known to be a drug user. In May 2003, he was arrested in Austin, Texas, for possession of heroin. In 2004, Hedberg's drug use seemed to spiral out of control. At a September 23 performance in Phoenix, Arizona, Hedberg appeared on stage intoxicated, nearly collapsed, and asked the audience for drugs, which he then ingested in front of the crowd. At several other performances, he openly asked the audience for "any drugs" they might have, including Xanax and other prescription drugs.
Late in the evening on March 29, 2005, Hedberg was found dead by his wife in a Livingston, New Jersey, hotel room. He was 37 years old. His death was first announced by Howard Stern on his morning talk show (on which Hedberg had appeared many times, including 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, which was his main goal to achieve as a comedian. The high school he went to in St. Paul put his picture up in the student of the month column following his death, to show how greatly loved he was by the faculty that had taught him, and the many students that had seen him perform. Hedberg was 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.
Results of the autopsy and toxicology reports were first reported by journalist Peter Hyman in the January 2006 edition of Spin magazine.
Hedberg could be heard as the voice of Jimmy John's radio advertisements during the months leading up to and after his death. (Since his name was never used in the ads, the company likely felt there was no need to pull the ads after he died.) 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 friend and former tourmate Dave Attell, featured a toast to Hedberg at the end of the show.
Highlights
Mitch Hedberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I said see, what you have done now
Oh see, C. C. Rider
I said see, what you have done now
Ahh, you made me love you
Now, now, now, now your man has gone
Oh, I'm going with my baby
And I won't be back 'til fall, yeah
And I won't be back 'til fall, yeah
And if I find me a new girl
I won't be back at all
Ah, Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, won't you come along with me
(Jenny, Jenny, woo, Jenny, Jenny)
Jenny Jenny, Jenny, won't you come along with me
(Jenny, Jenny, woo, Jenny, Jenny)
I worry 'bout you, baby, spendin' nights in misery
Spinnin', spinnin', spinnin', spinnin' like a spinnin' top
(Jenny, Jenny, woo, Jenny, Jenny)
Spinnin', spinnin', spinnin', spinnin' like a spinnin' top
(Jenny, Jenny, woo, Jenny, Jenny)
Come along, baby, [Incomprehensible]
Yeah, see, C. C. Rider
I said see, what you have done now
Oh see, C. C. Rider
Ah, come on see, baby, what you have done now
Ahh, you made me love you
Now, now, now, now your man has gone
Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, won't you come along with me
(Jenny, Jenny, woo, Jenny, Jenny)
Jenny Jenny, Jenny, won't you come along with me
(Jenny, Jenny, woo, Jenny, Jenny)
Come along baby, [Incomprehensible]
Spin, spin, spinnin' like a spinnin' top
(Jenny, Jenny, woo, Jenny, Jenny)
Spin, spin, spinnin' like a spinnin' top
(Jenny, Jenny, woo, Jenny, Jenny)
The lyrics to Mitch Hedberg's song "Highlights" are actually a version of a classic blues song called "C.C. Rider" that has been covered by many artists throughout history. The song tells the story of a man who is in love with a woman named C.C. Rider, but ultimately ends up leaving her and going on a journey with another woman named Jenny. C.C. Rider is blamed for making the man fall in love with her and causing him to leave, as evidenced by the lyrics "Ahh, you made me love you, now, now, now, now your man has gone."
The repeated references to Jenny suggest that she may be a better or more suitable partner for the man than C.C. Rider, as he repeatedly asks her to come along with him on his journey. The song is steeped in the traditions of blues music and captures the raw emotional quality of the genre.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh see, C. C. Rider
Hey there C.C. Rider
I said see, what you have done now
What have you done now
Ahh, you made me love you
Oh, you made me fall in love with you
Now, now, now, now your man has gone
And now, my man has left me because of you
Oh, I'm going with my baby
I'm leaving with my significant other
And I won't be back 'til fall, yeah
And I won't be returning until autumn
And if I find me a new girl
And if I find a new love interest
I won't be back at all
I won't be coming back
Ah, Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, won't you come along with me
Oh, Jenny, Jenny, won't you join me on my journey
(Jenny, Jenny, woo, Jenny, Jenny)
Recurring refrain
I worry 'bout you, baby, spendin' nights in misery
I'm concerned about you, baby, spending sleepless nights in sadness
Spinnin', spinnin', spinnin', spinnin' like a spinnin' top
Feeling dizzy and overwhelmed, like a spinning top toy
Come along, baby, [Incomprehensible]
Join me, baby, for an unclear purpose
Yeah, see, C. C. Rider
Yeah, you see me C.C. Rider
Ah, come on see, baby, what you have done now
Come on and see, baby, what you did to me
Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, won't you come along with me
Oh, Jenny, Jenny, won't you join me on my journey
Spin, spin, spinnin' like a spinnin' top
Feeling dizzy and overwhelmed, like a spinning top toy
(Jenny, Jenny, woo, Jenny, Jenny)
Recurring refrain
Contributed by Matthew E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ImSquiggs
I got to see him live with Stephen Lynch a few months before he passed. It was the funniest show I've ever seen, even though he was so wasted on something that he was only half there for the show. Here's some of my favourite jokes he did that were not from CDs (as far as I can remember) --
- When a joke landed flat, he poked his head through the big red curtain he was in front of and said "Hey look, there's another audience back here, and they think I'm hilarious. Hello other audience, I'm wearing the world's biggest cape."
- There was a speaker on the stage that was like a little box on the ground. So he walks up to it and goes "What is this, some kind of shoe analyzer?" and proceeds to put his shoe on top of the box, and then says "Analyze this."
- He started to tell a joke about a dolphin but got distracted and never said the punchline. I always remembered that he had a secret dolphin joke and tried to find it, but it wasn't anywhere. One day my sister found it on a LiveJournal page quoting comedians, no idea where they heard him say it, but it apparently went something like this:
"Dolphins have a reputation for being smart, but there's gotta be at least a few dumbass dolphins out there. And I'm gonna find them... probably in a lake."
RIP Mitch, you were a formative piece of my early humor and even after watching every episode of Friday Night Standup growing up, I still think you're the funniest comedian I've ever seen.
@mitch5699
I love how his jokes are never at anyone's expense , he had to have been the coolest guy to know in person ... rip brother...
@phunnyordie5582
Unless you’re his parrot
@AnnaPeach
@Phunny or Die 😅
@silentjohnny4988
Or a midget lol
@havensinclair3832
Id like tgis comment but it has 69 likes
@Edimonde
My name is Acula and this man has slandered my reputation and ruined my doctor job
@davidbobb6226
Mitch used to be so hilarious. He is still hilarious even today, even though he passed. But he used to be hilarious too.
@metalmaniac3434
Wtf you did not make any sense at all.were you high when you posted this
@minisquidwards
It is a reference to a Mitch joke.
@treyferguson2965
@Metal Maniac jesus christ, it's a Hedberg joke reference. I use to do drugs. I still do. But I use to too