PBS is running a great six-episode series on the past 100 years of American comedy called MAKE ‘EM LAUGH. I did these two mind maps on the fly during the first two episodes on slapstick and groundbreakers.
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[…] You can see my maps of the previous two episodes here. […]
Django says
Cool! When I think of comedians I think of Bill Hicks. I read somewhere that we laugh when people point out the difference between the way things are and the way they should be. No one pointed out that difference better than he did.
“TV is a medium to push product. Period.” Right on! Hicks was censored on Letterman ’cause his jokes about pro-lifers killing doctors would potentially offend some CBS (or NBC, I can’t remember) stakeholders/advertisers/something like that.
Austin Kleon says
I had to live in England to discover Bill Hicks — I was berated by a drunk Englishman one night, who said, “You bloody Americans, you don’t even know your best comic!”
If someone asked me for a list of my favorite writers, Hicks, Carlin, and Pryor would be on it.
Here’s a good Hicks quote:
For all you folks who’ve never heard of Bill Hicks, HEAD TO YOUTUBE IMMEDIATELY!
Django says
On Friday 30th January 2009 Letterman finally screened the Hicks routine that was censored in 1993. Bill’s mother Mary was a guest. Letterman apologised and praised the material. Very emotional interview at times and like everything related to Hicks you just get dragged back to Earth, though in a very liberating way.
In my comment above I got some stuff wrong, which is what happens when I’m slack and quote from memory: Bill joked a fair bit about pro-lifers, but didn’t do his “pro-lifers shooting doctors” bit — instead he did his bit about how if pro-lifers were really committed they would block cemeteries, not med clinics.
Also, Letterman took blame (on behalf of the production team, though he said the final decision was his) for the routine being cut. It was a while ago that I read “Love All the People”, though I’m pretty sure there were some theories, probably posited by Hicks, as to why the censorship took place, with reference to advertisers, etc. I think there was an apology from Dave in the book too, now that I take the time to think of it.
So I’m very sorry about the misinformation. I hope the spirit of the comment was accurate, though. Kinda Gonzo blog-commenting. (At best.)
Austin Kleon says
No worries!
I stayed up and watched the Letterman show with Mary Hicks on Friday night. Overall, it was incredibly awkward, with Dave apologizing all over himself.
Here’s a cut/paste from a Facebook conversation I had:
Everybody who missed it can watch it here and decide for themselves:
http://lateshow.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/video_player/index/php/976782.phtml
Austin Kleon says
Bill Hicks, quoted in “The Goat Boy Rises,” a 1993 New Yorker article, which starts out with the Letterman controversy: