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Re: Favorite Stand-Up Comedian
Those are not accusations. Some of his material are basically blueprints of Hicks material.
But they are still different types of comedians, so yeah, matter of taste.
Heres an interview Leary did, in it he mentions the Hicks controversy.
And the last question, so as to keep you on schedule. If I don't ask you about Bill Hicks, I'm going to get crap from a lot of people here at the site. I love both of you guys and have never tried the side-by-side comparison. Are people just blowing smoke when they claim about his material having been swiped by you?
DL: Well, here's the deal. I actually did this for 'Time'magazine, so I don't know if they used it or not, but I've done it so many times. It's a thing I shy away from because there are two people involved and one of them is not here. But here is the bottom line truth'¦but this is not going to change anybody's opinion, because people get caught up in conspiracies and myths. When Bill and I first met, it was at Catch a Rising Star and I think it was 1987. Bill Sheft would remember the year better than I. Bill Sheft, who's David Letterman's head writer and has been for years, he hosted a night there. The core of my act, which was the middle and probably the most famous part for No Cure for Cancer on record, but the actual special itself was longer. But you know the whole smoking and anti pop culture and P.C. thing was already established. I mean, that's what I was doing. He walked out of a room and said, 'There's a guy here from Texas and you guys are going to love each other,' because he had just seen his act. Bill and I, not only did we become friends, but then Bill and I found ourselves having club owners in New York saying, 'Well, we can't book you guys in the same show because you guys are too similar.' Caroline Hirsch said'¦whose club at that time, Caroline's, was downtown at the Seaport'¦said, 'You guys are my two favorite young guys. I'm putting you on, you're going to co-headline and you guys can decide who goes on first and who goes on second.' We did that for a weekend and sold out and audiences loved it. We ended up doing her New Year's Eve show for a couple of years in a row, which was a big gig at that time. Literally, I would open and he would close and then the next show vice-a-versa. So not only were we both aware of it and dispelling it but doing it in a very public place in New York and doing it with a lot of witnesses. Now, to go from that to getting famous first and being accused of stealing his material. And, quite frankly, there was about six or seven other guys, one guy who claimed I stole his aura. (laughs) I said, 'You know, it's funny, I guess I'm just a'¦I did nothing on my own.' I decided'¦because Bill was a really talented comedian, and I think just sort of hitting his stride when he got sick, as far as I'm concerned, time would have dispelled it, anyways, if he had lived. I obviously just kept working. It wouldn't have been an issue, I think, if Bill had lived. It's just that people look at a tragedy and they look at that circumstance and they go, oh, this must be how we can explain this. Like I said, they are never going to get over it. They are probably going to look at my book when it comes out and claim that there is Bill Hicks material in there, which is fine. I just continue to work and I wish the guy was around because I think he was a brilliant comedian. Sometimes I'm coming up with material so fast and furious, and I just think to myself, 'Boy, it would be a lot easier if I could steal this stuff!'
Re: Favorite Stand-Up Comedian
and about the stealing material, if the comedian makes me laugh, i don't care where the joke comes from.
I don't know, Part of me gets what you guys are saying because for a lot of people, listening to people tell jokes is just an escape, but...
Since this is a GNR forum I'll use this example:
What if Sheryl Crowe had been passing off Sweet Child O' Mine as her own song? Would that be ok because it's a good song?
It's pretty much the same thing.
To paraphrase Doug Stanhope: Comedy has no respect as an art form. There's no other form of entertainment where you just show up with no idea what's going to go on.
You'd never go, "Hey you wanna go see a concert?", "Who's playin?", "Who cares, let's just go".
You'd never walk into a movie theater and say "Give me two tickets to... whatever's closest."
Comedy clubs are too often used as an adult Chucky Cheese for all occasions
I also want to add Dave Attell and Sean Rouse to the list of favorites, because they rule, and pretty much nobody's heard of Sean Rouse.
- myillusions
- Rep: 5
Re: Favorite Stand-Up Comedian
I really like comedian/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham!!
He's great and absolutely hilarious! 
- dr_love6977
- Rep: 38
Re: Favorite Stand-Up Comedian
I'm a fan of Dane Cook, Louis CK, Mitch Hedburg, Nick Swardson, and Dimitri Martin.
I do have to put my foot down though. Robin Williams is not funny. He just talks so fast that your brain actually thinks something funny happened. Hey, he's doing the gay voice... now he's doing Arnold Swarzenegger... he's seriously the most predictable unpredictable person ever.
- warriorpriestess
- Rep: 5
Re: Favorite Stand-Up Comedian
Since this is a GNR forum I'll use this example:
What if Sheryl Crowe had been passing off Sweet Child O' Mine as her own song? Would that be ok because it's a good song?
not to be off topic but i couldn't resist. not sure if i would have thought it was such a good song if i only heard her version. she's ok otherwise but that cover was death.
- warriorpriestess
- Rep: 5
Re: Favorite Stand-Up Comedian
bill cosby
sam kinison
bill hicks
brad stine
christopher titus
dave chappelle
and there's a guy with a really weird name that one of the guitarists in my band played a cd of one night. don't remember his name for the life of me but it was seriously funny stuff.
- myillusions
- Rep: 5
