gleamd

votes: 1 Domski submitted this bio 1 year, 3 months ago

Early life

Mitch Hedberg was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He was the son of Swedish immigrants Arne and Mary Hedberg, graduated from Harding High School in Saint Paul and was married to Canadian comedienne Lynn Shawcroft on February 25, 1999.

Career

He began his career in 1989 playing open mic nights in south 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, which was so intense that it left a mark on him throughout his career, sometimes even leading to him 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. Mitch was also a three-time performer at the Montreal Just for Laughs festival.

Hedberg could be heard as the voice of Jimmy John's radio advertisements during the months leading up to and after his death. 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's friend and former tourmate Dave Attell, featured a toast to Hedberg at the end of the show.

Death

Late in the evening on March 29, 2005, Hedberg was found dead by his wife in his room at the upscale Westminster Hotel in Livingston, New Jersey. 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 1 on his official website. Hedberg had reportedly been preparing for his first HBO special, which, according to his website, was a goal he had strived for as a comedian.

Hedberg was known to be a drug user, even referring to it in some of his jokes. He was arrested in May 2003 in Austin, Texas for possession of heroin. Hedberg was also 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.

votes: 1 seerysm submitted this bio 1 year, 2 months ago

Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 29, 2005) A great comedian that left us too early.

Some of his brilliant lines:

"An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience."

"I love blackjack. But I'm not addicted to gambling. I'm addicted to sitting in a semi circle."

"I think foosball is a combination of soccer and shish kabobs."

"I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too."

"I wanted to buy a candle holder, but the store didn't have one. So I got a cake."

"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."

"I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later."

"If carrots got you drunk, rabbits would be messed-up."

"My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them."

"My friend asked me if I wanted a frozen banana. I said 'No, but I want a regular banana later, so... yeah."

"Wearing a turtleneck is like being strangled by a really weak guy, all day. Wearing a backpack and a turtleneck is like a weak midget trying to bring you down."

"When someone hands you a flyer, it's like they're saying here you throw this away."

"When you go to a restaurant on the weekends and it's busy so they start a waiting list, they say, "Dufrenes, party of two, table ready for Dufrenes, party of two." And if no one answers they'll say the name again: "Dufrenes, party of two." But then if no one answers, they'll move on to the next name. "Bush, party of three." Yeah, but what happened to the Dufrenes? No one seems to care. Who can eat at a time like this? People are missing. You people are selfish. The Dufrenes are in someone's trunk right now, with duct tape over their mouths. And they're hungry. That's a double whammy. We need help. "Bush, search party of three. You can eat once you find the Dufrenes."

"I bought a doughnut and they gave me a receipt for the doughnut. I don't need a receipt for a doughnut. I'll give you the money, you give me the doughnut—end of transaction. We do not need to bring ink and paper into this. I just cannot imagine a scenario where I would have to prove that I bought a doughnut. Some skeptical friend—"Don't even act like I didn't get that doughnut—I got the documentation right here! (pause) Oh wait, it's back home in the file…under 'D'…for doughnut."