Mitchell Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 29, 2005) was an American stand… Read Full Bio ↴Mitchell Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 29, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his odd subject matter, stylistic elocution and memorable routines that often consisted of a string of one-line non sequiturs. He died at the age of 37 from multiple drug toxicity. Hedberg was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He was the son of Swedish immigrants Arne and Mary Hedberg, and was married to Canadian comedian Lynn Shawcroft on February 25th, 1999. He graduated from Harding High School in Saint Paul.
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.
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.
Movie Pot
Mitch Hedberg Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Mitch Hedberg:
- Hotels and Beds I like hotels...hotels are fun, beds are more fun though…
Arrows Hey I bought myself a parrot The parrot talked but he…
Candy Bars I got two straws in here in case one breaks…
Dry Clean Only 3rd Storee Miscellaneous If They Only Knew I could love y…
Highlights Oh see, C. C. Rider I said see, what you have…
Hotels and Beds I like hotels...hotels are fun, beds are more fun though…
Houses Hey check this joke out If you want to talk to…
Minibar Frosty, the snowman Was a jolly happy soul With a corncob pi…
Mitch in the S'th When I-when I play the South They say "ya'll" in the…
Pop I had a Mr.pip Mr.pip is the replida of Dr.Pepper But it's…
Sandwiches They say the recipe for Sprite is lemon and lime But…
Shaving Toe I have an underwater camera just in case I crash…
Shaving Too I just found out, what have I done Now I can't…
The CD Jokes Someday, when I'm awfully low And the world is cold I will…
The Dufrenes Bacon Brothers, The Can′t Complain She Is The Heart Written …
The Velcro Wallet Bacon Brothers, The Can't Complain Light The Way Written by …
You Were Good Yeah, yeah Yeah I've seen cool, I've seen cold I've seen …
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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hidendiamond
LAUGHED MY AZZ OFF the day i discovered mitch's comic stylings. that same day, i cried when i learned that mitch was no longer with us. life can be so tricky that we need guys like mitch to get us through. i do anyway. can anyone tell me where to get the full set this material came from? i have been collecting youtube vids of his stuff. soon as i have some extra cash, i intend to buy every CD of mitch i can find.
Ali Gabriel
WOOT!!! Mitch Hedberg!! I love that guy! RIP...
smecking
God, I miss this guy. What a loss.
Stephani Moss
"i'm gonna stop followin' my dreams.i'm gonna ask where they're goin' and hook up with 'em later."
daliOtter
R.I.P Mitch and thanks for the laughs!!!
damon79
Damn, that just makes the world a less beautiful place. May Mitch rest in peace. He would turn in his grave seeing what you have done. :( oh well, put your crap out to the world. there may be a couple of people that like it. :)
xyzunit
Do you like toast too? Yes as do I, it's warm and crispy... and a perfect place for jelly to lay.
Demyanmovement
anybody know the name of this comedy special i have 1 of his cd's but this isnt on it
anobar
OMFG.."hey peter frampton, do you like toast too!?"
chel
Hey, Peter Frampton! Do you like toast too? ....Yes, as do I it is warm and crispy. And a perfect place for jelly to lay. Now stay away from me, Frampton, I ain't got shit to say to you. lol