Everything about Mitch Hedberg totally explained
Mitchell Lee Hedberg (
February 24,
1968 –
March 29,
2005) 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.
Biography
Early life
Mitch Hedberg was born in
Saint Paul, Minnesota, the son of Arnold and Mary Hedberg. He graduated from
Harding High School in
Saint Paul and was married to
Canadian comedian Lynn Shawcroft on
February 25,
1999.
Career
He began his career in 1989 playing
open mic nights in southern
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. His fear was so intense it left a mark on him throughout his career, sometimes even leading to him performing with his eyes closed. He first achieved national exposure in 1996, performing at the prestigious
Just for Laughs Montreal International Comedy Festival, It was initially speculated that his heart condition may have played a part in his death until the
New Jersey medical examiner's office reported "multiple drug toxicity," including
cocaine and heroin, as the official cause of death.
Due to Hedberg's death being very close to
April Fool's Day, many fans originally thought that it was an April Fools' Day
prank pulled by either Hedberg or those close to him.
Style
Hedberg was set apart from his stand-up comedy peers by many traits, including his
unique manner of speech, (a style he adopted later in his career), his abrupt delivery, and an unusual stage presence. His jokes focused largely on
wordplay,
non-sequiturs,
whimsy, and object observations. 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.
As a result of his stage fright, Hedberg often performed wearing sunglasses, with his head down, with his hair in his face or with his eyes closed in order to avoid eye contact with the audience. He would often stand upstage during performances or perform with his back to the audience.
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 didn't gain the reception he'd intended; occasionally quipping, "That joke's better than you acted." During recordings for CDs, he'd often joke that he'd 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."
Discography
Filmography
TV appearances
| Year |
Title |
Role/Info |
| 1998 |
That '70s Show |
Episode 11, as Frank |
| Premium Blend |
Episode dated May 23, 1998 as Himself |
| 1999 |
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist |
Episodes 604 and 609 as Himself |
| Comedy Central Presents |
Himself |
| 1998 |
Home Movies |
Episodes 104, 105, 112, and 113 as The Pet Eulogist, Mitch, Cop, and Dr. Fizzel (Anger Management Counselor), respectively |
| 2001 |
Ed |
Episode 110 as Dave |
| Just for Laughs in Montreal |
Himself |
| Late Friday |
Himself |
| 2002 |
Saddle Rash |
Various voices |
| 2003 |
Late Show with David Letterman |
Himself |
| Late Show with David Letterman |
Himself |
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien |
Himself |
| Crank Yankers |
Himself |
| 2004 |
Shorties Watchin' Shorties |
Episodes 1 through 9 as Himself |
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mitch Hedberg'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://mitch_hedberg.totallyexplained.com">Mitch Hedberg Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
