The Legendary Bill Hicks in His Prime - Sobers Up and Pushes the Envelope of Censorship

The Legendary Bill Hicks in His Prime - Sobers Up and Pushes the Envelope of Censorship

His greatest fame and notoriety, though, came from his ability to challenge mainstream beliefs and ideas. He has influenced the vast majority of famous and noteworthy comedians with acerbic styles in the past decade and a half. Hicks died of pancreatic cancer, which had metastasized to his liver, in 1994 at age 32.

His newfound substance usage caused a big shift in his comedic style. His act became much looser, as did his tongue, but thanks to alcohol, the change ultimately came as a detriment. Hicks decided that while it made it easier for him to hit the strongest part of his act while intoxicated--saying certain unpopular truths--he decided he had an ability to express them in a way that didn't require any liquid courage.

As for the other drugs, Hicks maintained an attitude of somewhat indirect (if not outright) endorsement. Once he began performing for larger venues and drew bigger audiences, he made a point to say that he no longer did drugs, but has no problem with them. He used this angle, with considerable success, as an 'in.' He would then get talking about the topic at which point he would regale the audience about the virtues of the "untaxed" drugs and what he believed to be the blatant hypocrisy inherent in the marketing of legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco.

Bill's fame grew as he started to work venues in California and New York once he put an end to his earlier days of sloppy excess. He had developed somewhat of a sour reputation with his earlier performances, which would sometimes devolve into nonsense as a result of his intoxication. This changed after he landed the support of manager Jack Mondrus who managed to convince many venues of his newly modified act.

Though he had 'cleaned up,' his act was by no means watered-down. Hicks saw numerous encounters with censorship over the course of his career. He was first invited to perform on Late Night with David Letterman in 1984, and one of his favorite jokes about accidentally causing a fellow classmate to use a wheelchair was omitted by the censors because of issues over the use of words such as, "wheelchair."

Five months before his death in 1993, Hicks was invited again to appear on The Late Show. His entire act was pulled from broadcast allegedly because the religious comments in his act made the producers nervous. In the act, he discussed the absurdity of the Easter Bunny representing the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He also discussed pro-lifers. He remarked on the typical 'face' that they have, and suggested that pro-lifers lock arms in front of a cemetery rather than a medical clinic. Hicks expressed his feelings of betrayal over the censorship in a letter to John Lahr of The New Yorker.

In 2009 David Letterman invited Bill's mother to appear on the show. He spoke with her at some length about her son and his death, and apologized to her for pulling the act. She accepted the apology. After Letterman aired the full act some 15 years after its original performance, he said to Mary, "it says more about me as a guy than it says about Bill because there was absolutely nothing wrong with that."

This article was written by Matthew Jorn and is part of a series highlighting the legendary life of Houston's Bill Hicks presented by the Russell SmithHouston Ford Dealership. Shopping for aused car Houston drivers have trusted Russell & Smith for over 70 years.

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