The 5: Great Comics Who Died Too Soon
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This Week on the 5: Brilliant Comedians Who Left Too Young
It’s always too soon to lose a great comic, but particularly painful when they die before they had the chance to show the world how brilliant they are. Here are five comics that could have, and should have had the time to show us so much more. Every one of them left behind great work to share with all the people who didn’t get the chance to see and hear them. Make sure that you share it.
- Freddie Prinze. Only 22 years old at the time of his death, Freddie Prinze was about to become a huge star. He had dropped out of high school in his senior year to do stand up and three years later ended up co-starring on the hit TV show Chico and the Man. Four months before his suicide he signed a $6 million dollar deal with NBC. After he got picked up for a DUI, his wife filed for divorce, leaving him and taking their 9 month old child, Freddie Prinze, Jr.. After the divorce, Prinze fell into a depression and ended up committing suicide in front of his manager.
- Bill Hicks. Bill Hicks has never been more popular, nearly 20 years after he died from pancreatic cancer at 32 years old. He never found mainstream success in the United States, but had a big following in England. Hicks’s satire, and commentary on society, the way he would take aim at consumerism, and his candor in talking about drug use are still incredibly relevant today. He was in his time, and ahead of his time at the same moment. A documentary about his life, American: The Bill Hicks Story, came out in 2010.
- Mitch Hedberg. Mitch Hedberg was a stand up on the verge. His unique delivery, comedic voice and phrasing set him apart from everyone else. His surreal and observational one liners were hysterical then and still are now. When he was found dead in a hotel room on April 1, 2005 with cocaine and heroin in his system, everyone was so shocked they thought it might be an April fool’s joke. Unfortunately it wasn’t. His passing at the age of 37 saddened everyone.
- Patrice O’Neal. Patrice O’Neal was a philosopher as much as he was a brilliant stand up comedian. He’ll be remembered forever by all those who knew him and saw him perform. Not long before he died, he appeared to be on the brink of mainstream notoriety. He died due to complication from a stroke he suffered at the age of 41. After he died the outpouring of love for Patrice was overwhelming. His last taped special, Elephant in the Room, received rave reviews.
- Andy Kaufman. Already popular because of his tv appearances, but still just barely beginning to show the world all of the bizarre and amazing things he was capable of. He wrestled women on national television, he created the lounge singer Tony Clifton, and was a true performance artist. You could not tell what was a work and what was real with Mr. Andy Kaufman, to the point that many people believed he faked his own death and that he’s still alive today. He was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer and passed away in 1984 at the age of 35. Jim Carrey played Kaufman in 1999’s Man on the Moon.
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