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"Rice is great when you are hungry and want 2000 of something."
"I tried to walk into Target, but I missed."
"I had my palm read. I wrote something on it first, to see if she would read that too."
Side-splitting one-liners and anecdotes such as these, along with thousands of others, can be attributed to the comedic ingenuity of one man - stand-up comedian, Mitch Hedberg.
Born on Feb. 24, 1968 in St. Paul, Minn., Hedberg began his stand-up career at the age of 21 by performing at open mic nights in southern Florida. He moved to Seattle two years later, where his increasing popularity continued due to more open mic night performances.
Hedberg gained national exposure in the mid-nineties when he appeared on Comedy Central's "Premium Blend" and after his performance at the Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival. It didn't take long for Hollywood and the media to take notice. Fox signed Hedberg to a half-million dollar sitcom deal and Joel Stein of Time Magazine went so far as to label him the next Seinfeld.
In 1997, Mitch wrote, directed and starred in the film, "Los Enchiladas!" Shot on 16 mm film with a budget of $100,000, the movie follows the exploits of a number of disgruntled employees working at a local Twin Cities-area Tex-Mex restaurant. One year after shooting wrapped, "Los Enchiladas" premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.
As his career progressed, Hedberg went on to perform on "The Late Show with David Letterman" a total of 10 times, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and was a guest performer on hit television shows such as "Crank Yankers," "Ed" and "That 70s Show."
Hedberg's unique style and distinctive stage presence set him apart from his stand-up comedy peers. His long, disheveled hair and extremely laid back attitude and stage presence earned him the nickname "The Kurt Cobain of Comedy." Hedberg's abrupt punch line delivery and unique pronunciation style also played a part in his popularity and were key distinguishing characteristics.
Hedberg's shows were often unpredictable - audience members would shout out requests, Hedberg would laugh at his own jokes and criticize his weaker ones. Rather than treading into smutty or controversial topics like many of his contemporaries, Hedberg's material often focused on original observations that he made in everyday life. His mass-appeal was based in part on his deadpan delivery and his rambling, non-sequitur style.
In 2003, Hedberg performed in 54 cities around the country with fellow comedians Dave Attell and Louis Black. That same year, Comedy Central Records released two albums containing material from Hedberg's stand-up routines - "Strategic Grill Locations" and "Mitch All Together." The first, a re-issue of Hedberg's debut album that he self-released in 1999, features Hedberg's earlier work, while the latter is a CD/DVD set that was released for the first time in November of 2003. Both albums remain in the top-10 of sales for comedy albums on Amazon.com.
On March 30, 2005, at the age of 37, Mitch passed away in a hotel room in Livingston, N.J. He was found by his wife Lynn and was buried at Roselawn Cemetery in Roseville, Minn.
Mitch's stylistic legacy is openly admired by many comedians today, including Conan O'Brien, David Letterman and George Carlin. Fan sites, tributes, reenactments and quotes attributed to Mitch can be found around the world, thus ensuring that his unique style, hilarious wit and one-of-a-kind subject matter will forever be remembered in the annals of stand-up history.
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