Bill Hicks

Bill Hicks, 1991

William Melvin Hicks (born December 16, 1961 in Valdosta , Georgia , † February 26, 1994 in Little Rock , Arkansas ), better known as Bill Hicks, was an American comedian . He was known for his socially critical and snappy stage program. He described his appearances as " Chomsky with dick jokes" (for example: "Chomsky with dick jokes").

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Hicks appeared early. In 1977 he had his first engagement as a stand-up comedian with a friend at the age of fifteen . In the early days of this form of comedy, the two were able to celebrate success with regular appearances at the Comedy Workshop in Houston . The following year, Hicks performed solo. In 1980 he moved from Texas to Los Angeles .

In the following years he suffered from alcohol and drug problems . His style also became rougher and coarser during these years, which is why his TV appearances were regularly cut.

Hicks made several guest appearances on the David Letterman show, but these were noticeably shortened and defused to cater to the tastes of a mainstream audience. As a sort of compensation, Hicks, who was more and more sucked in by alcohol, appeared again in Houston, where he gave anarchic stage shows as an outlaw comic with a troupe of young comedians, which particularly attacked the bigotry of the television preachers .

In 1988, after an experience with his girlfriend, Hicks decided to quit drug use and attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings . He got a recording deal and has been featured on television a lot. The British broadcaster Channel 4 broadcast a special about Hicks, which established his success on the island.

In June 1993, Hicks was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.

His twelfth and final appearance on Letterman's show was completely cut out for the TV broadcast of the show. Hicks' appearance was, although he had rewritten jokes in advance and left out, by the department "Standards and Practices" (the name of the legal department of most US broadcasters) classified as unsuitable for viewers. Hicks himself attributed the complete censorship to the aims of his ridicule: among other things, pro-life groups who often booked commercials on the station.

Hicks died at the age of 32 on February 26, 1994 in Little Rock, Arkansas of complications from pancreatic cancer.

The American rock band Tool dedicated their 1996 album Ænima to the late Bill Hicks and incorporated several excerpts from his shows into the song Third Eye .

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• Oliver Nagel: “Not all drugs are good. Some of them are great! ", In: Titanic 5/2006, p. 36 ff. (Accessed on August 27, 2015.)