Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 29, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and unconventional comedic delivery. Hedberg's comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes, and observational comedy, mixed with absurd elements and non sequiturs . [1] Hedberg's comedy and on-stage persona gained him a cult following, [2] with audience members sometimes shouting out the punchlines to his jokes before he could finish them. [3]

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Biography

Early life

Mitch Hedberg was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the son of Arnold and Mary Hedberg. ^[4] He graduated from Harding High School in Saint Paul and was married to Canadian comedian Lynn Shawcroft ^[5] on February 25, 1999. ^[6]

Career

Hedberg began his career in 1989 playing open mic nights in southern Florida. ^[7] 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; he suffered from intense glossophobia, which sometimes led him to perform with his eyes closed.

He first achieved national exposure in 1996, performing at the prestigious Just for Laughs Montreal International Comedy Festival, which aired on Comedy Central. Hedberg appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman 10 times and became one of the show's most successful American comedians. His eyes were closed during the Just for Laughs festival portion that was taped and aired on CBC and the Comedy Network.

Hedberg could be heard as the voice of Jimmy John's radio advertisements during the months leading up to and after his death. He was also 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 tour-mate Dave Attell, featured a toast to Hedberg at the end of the show.

He appeared in the 2005 film Lords of Dogtown ; the film, released after his death, was dedicated to his memory. ^[8]

Death

Hedberg was known to be a drug user, referring to it in some of his jokes ("I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too"). Hedberg was arrested in Austin, Texas, in May 2003 for possession of heroin. He was also born with a heart defect for which he received extensive treatment as a child. ^{[9] [10]} It was initially speculated that this condition may have played a part in his death until the New Jersey medical examiner's office reported "multiple drug toxicity", in the form of a cocaine and heroin "speedball", as the official cause of death. His funeral was held at St. Ambrose of Woodbury Church in Minnesota.

Style

Hedberg stood out among stand-up comedians due to his unique manner of speech (he rarely used contractions), a style he adopted later in his career, ^[11] his abrupt delivery, and an unusual stage presence. His jokes focused largely on word play, non-sequiturs, paraprosdokians 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. He would also constantly move in one spot and, when holding the microphone in some skits, uncontrollably shake it as a result of his nervousness. ^[12]

Hedberg occasionally added disclaimers to the end of jokes to let the audience know that his reaction to the joke was not unlike 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 did not gain the reception he had intended, occasionally quipping, "That joke's better than you acted." During recordings for CDs, he would often joke that he would find a way to edit a failed joke to make it seem well received, such as "adding" laughter to the end of a joke about numbers. Following a failed joke on Strategic Grill Locations , Hedberg 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." ^[13]

Comedy Central Records announced the release of the first album of new Mitch Hedberg material on June 10, 2008. The album titled Do You Believe in Gosh? was released September 9, 2008 and contains material recorded at The Improv in Ontario, California in January 2005. Hedberg's wife Lynn wrote the introduction, in which she stated that the performance was in preparation for an end of the year CD recording. ^[14]

Discography

• Strategic Grill Locations (1999) (Originally self-published, later re-released on the Comedy Central label, edited)
• Mitch All Together (November 18, 2003)
• Do You Believe in Gosh? (September 9, 2008) ^[15]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1999	Los Enchiladas!	Lee
2000	Almost Famous	Eagles Road Manager
2005	Lords of Dogtown	Urethane Wheels Guy

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

References

1. Mitch Hedberg, 37, Dies; Offbeat Stand-Up Comedian
2. Cult comedian Mitch Hedberg dies on tour
3. Comic Tragedy
4. To All of Mitch's Fans
5. Interviews: Mitch Hedberg
6. Mitch Hedberg
7. Mitch Hedberg
8. www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Lords_of_Dogtown
9. Report: Mitch Hedberg died of drug overdose
10. Comedian Mitch Hedberg IS STILL ALIVE !
11. YouTube - Mitch Hedberg at Jongleurs
12. Mitch Hedberg + Stephen Lynch
13. ''Mitch Hedberg: Strategic Grill Locations''
14. ''Do you believe in Gosh?'' liner notes, Lynn Shawcroft, 2008
15. COMEDY CENTRAL Records(R) to Release New Mitch Hedberg CD 'Do You Believe in Gosh?'... | Reuters