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.
Shaving Toe
Mitch Hedberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One time, this guy handed me a picture of him, he said,"Here's a picture of me when I was younger." Every picture is of you when you were younger. "Here's a picture of me when I'm older." "You son-of-a-bitch! How'd you pull that off? Lemme see that camera... what's it look like? "
I got a roommate. I live in New York City. I got roommate to save money. But, see, I fucked up cuz I'm 31 and I'm too old for a roommate. I fucked up severely. I signed a year lease, too. I really fucked up. It's like I wrote a joke that didn't work, but now I have to tell it for a year. My roommate says, "I need to shave and use the shower. Does anyone need to use the bathroom?" It's like some weird-ass quiz where he reveals the answer first.
Every time I go and shave, I assume there's someone else on the planet shaving. So I say, 'I'm gonna go shave, too.'
I drank some boiling water... cause I wanted to whistle...
If you lost your wallet, it's hard to dance. Hey I just lost my wallet but, hey this song is funky... fuck it... that shit's no good... this is a cd called "hit and miss"...
I got a robe... it's not a robe really it's just a towel that fits me.
My sister wanted to be an actress. She never made it, but she does live in a trailer... so she got halfway. She's an actress, she's just never called to the set.
On a traffic light green means 'go' and yellow means 'yield', but on a banana it's just the opposite. Green means 'hold on,' yellow means 'go ahead,' and red means, 'where the fuck did you get that banana at?'
The lyrics to Mitch Hedberg's song "Shaving Toe" are scattered and random, with several unrelated observations and jokes sprinkled in. However, they all tie back to the overarching theme of life being unpredictable and full of surprises. The opening line about the underwater camera is a humorous way of acknowledging that accidents and unexpected moments can happen at any time, and it's important to be prepared for them. The line about the picture of the guy when he was older is a joke about the fact that time moves forward and we all age, but also hints at the idea that our memories and photos are often selective and curated. The bit about the roommate is a commentary on the difficulties of sharing space with others, especially when you're used to living alone. The shaving joke brings up the idea of shared experiences and rituals, and the waving joke is a reminder that we can never truly know someone else's situation or abilities. The lines about drinking boiling water to whistle and losing wallets tie into the theme of life's unpredictability, and the final joke about the banana is a surreal twist that highlights the absurdity of our human-made systems and ideas.
Line by Line Meaning
I have an underwater camera just in case I crash my car into a river, and at the last minute I see a photo opportunity of a fish that I have never seen.
I carry an underwater camera with me in case of a car accident that lands me in a river; I will use this opportunity to capture photos of fish I haven't seen before.
One time, this guy handed me a picture of him, he said,"Here's a picture of me when I was younger." Every picture is of you when you were younger. "Here's a picture of me when I'm older." "You son-of-a-bitch! How'd you pull that off? Lemme see that camera... what's it look like? "
A person handed me a photo of themselves when they were younger, but I realized every photograph is of when we were younger; he later showed me a picture of himself when he is older, leaving me surprised, wanting to see the magical camera he used to pull it off.
I got a roommate. I live in New York City. ... It's like some weird-ass quiz where he reveals the answer first.
I live with a roommate in New York City, thinking I'm saving money, but I'm too old for a roommate. I'm stuck with him for a year and every time he needs to shave or shower, he asks if anyone needs the bathroom, with the answer already revealed.
Every time I go and shave, I assume there's someone else on the planet shaving. So I say, 'I'm gonna go shave, too.'
Whenever I decide to shave, I assume someone else out there is doing the same thing, prompting me to say, 'I'm going to shave too.'
Sometimes I wave to people I don't know... "Look what I got motherfucker! This thing is useful. I'm gonna go pick something up!"
I have a habit of waving to strangers, but it's worrisome since what if they don't have a hand, and instead of sounding friendly, I'd appear cocky, showcasing my hands to them.
I drank some boiling water... cause I wanted to whistle...
Drank boiling hot water just to make a whistling sound.
If you lost your wallet, it's hard to dance... that shit's no good... this is a cd called "hit and miss"...
When you've lost your wallet, it's impossible to enjoy life as one cannot let go of the financial burden, and we then realize the situation can be hit or miss.
I got a robe... it's not a robe really it's just a towel that fits me.
I own a robe, but it's not actually a robe - it's just a towel that's big enough to wrap around me.
My sister wanted to be an actress... She's an actress, she's just never called to the set.
Even though my sister aspired to be an actress, she never made it big; however, since she currently lives in a trailer, she's halfway there and as an actress - but she's never received work or calls to any sets.
On a traffic light green means 'go' and yellow means 'yield', but on a banana it's just the opposite. Green means 'hold on,' yellow means 'go ahead,' and red means, 'where the fuck did you get that banana at?'
Traffic lights follow specific rules; green implies 'go,' while yellow implies 'slow down and proceed with caution,' but bananas are entirely different. Green banana signifies 'hold on,' yellow implies 'go ahead,' while red means, 'where did you get this banana from?'.
Contributed by Makayla G. 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