Talk:Bill Hicks

Due to their length, older discussions on this page have been archived. If further archivals are necessary, please see how to archive a talk page. Thank you.

Previous discussions:

• Archive 1 (prior to February 2006): Discography, How much do you smoke a day?, Removal of content, Hicks in the 1980s, Counts of the Netherworld, The world is one consciousness, Questions over viewing Image, Hicks and Dennis Leary, Flamewar on "Criticism" section, Notable quotation worth adding to article

When I started adding quotes from Bill, I was not aware wikipedia had a section specifically for that.. So I propose moving all of Bill's quotes to there and then tidying, deleting doublers, etc. Maybe leave between 3 to 6 (at a maximum) of Bill's quotes on the main page ?

I say, definitely this one.. IMO it totally defines what Bill, his philosophy, his beliefs and his entire career was about.

Bill- "I was told when I grew up I could be anything I wanted: a fireman, a policeman, a doctor - even President, it seemed. And for the first time in the history of mankind, something new, called an astronaut. But like so many kids brought up on a steady diet of Westerns, I always wanted to be the avenging cowboy hero - that lone voice in the wilderness, fighting corruption and evil wherever I found it, and standing for freedom, truth and justice. And in my heart of hearts I still track the remnants of that dream wherever I go, in my endless ride into the setting sun." (Opening voice-over to Hicks' Revelations special, also quoted in the last issue of Preacher) Dirk Diggler Jnr 10:46, 15 January 2006 (UTC)Reply

Make it so. --Viriditas 14:06, 15 January 2006 (UTC)Reply

• When people keep adding quotes (IMO usually because they want to get involved without writing any useful, original content) until the article becomes ridiculous, something has to be done... I've had success with removing the quotes section entirely to the talk page (eg Don Vito) and limiting the section to 3 quotes (eg Mitch Hedberg). Wikipedia is not a fansite or tribute and we don't allow dicdefs because we have wiktionary, wikiquote should be given respect too. Deiz 10:29, 2 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

• Either option—total removal or a firm restriction to three—sounds good to me. Anville 14:28, 2 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

• Another issue here is that listing a few quotes to illustrate the tone and content of Bill's work is great, this is turning into a script and as these are really "jokes" rather than quotes, which is how Bill made his living and therefore is Bill's intellectual property, having too many could possibly become a copyright issue. I recommend someone who has been editing this page for a while takes a bold step and slashes the quote section to the first or best 3 quotes, then we all pitch in with reverts and direct people to here. I'm a huge Bill fan but don't feel I've had enough input on the article to make major changes. Deiz 12:27, 3 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

Can people all agree on the 'best' three though? I have added one that I thought he was most well remembered for. And can somone please amend it, it is an abridged version from his famous London show. It cut's out a small middle piece.(Halbared 17:39, 11 June 2006 (UTC))Reply

I cannot find a clear source on the release year of Flying Saucer Tour Vol. 1. Some sources indicate 2002, others indicate 2003. I've put 2003 in my article on the album Love, Laughter and Truth, while the Bill Hicks article says 2002. Sources across the Internet disagree. Does anybody here know? gspr 12:49, 22 January 2006 (UTC)Reply

Don't know about anywhere else, but I'm fairly sure that in the UK Flying Saucer Tour Vol. 1 and Love, Laughter and Truth were released on 11 November 2002. I vaguely remember this as the date they were due be released, it's the release date shown by www.hmv.co.uk and amazon.co.uk, and I don't seem to recall there being any delay in the releases (though admittedly my memory is far from great). --CapitalLetterBeginning 15:06, 22 January 2006 (UTC)Reply

In the intro I think we should mention that many people believe Bill Hicks to be a prophet of enlightenment, this is not only my view but also the view of many other people and a valid philosophical point. To say that the term prophet is synonymous with the term 'respected and well known religious philosopher' would be a fair definition; while defining Bill Hicks as a respected and well known religious philosopher would also (certainly by the opinion of many people) also be fair. Bill could be described as the first athiest prophet of internal enlightenment. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 87.115.224.60 (talk • contribs) .

To add this to article, we would need a source or a direct citation to make it verifiable, because (according Wikipedia guidelines - articles need Verifiability, not truth). --Johnnyw 03:15, 17 February 2006 (UTC)Reply

I agree with the points made above regarding Bill being a prophet of enlightenment, but he was not an athiest. He frequently spoke of us (all humans) being the holy children of God and also voiced his wishes for a new, less antiquated, religion being founded that was based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. (*If someone recalls which gigs he expressed these views, please add the details.. As I cant remember exactly what show of Bill's I heard these views from.) [Dirk Diggler Jnr]

"Filling up the hump" bootleg has these views and so has "Philosophy The Best Of" [luuk]

Listening to his albums (addmittedly only 2) I've heard no clear proof that he was a Christian, at least during his years of comedy. Sure he may reference Christianity a fair bit, but hey, thats what a lot of atheists/agnostics do as well. Usually because we were raised in that faith and know it better than others, thus feeling able to criticise it with some knowledge of their doctrine. Also in Rant in E Minor he mentions having been raised Christian but does not say that he is still part of that faith. Nearly all the mentions of Christianity and faith in general in his work are usually accompanied by mocking humour, to me that would suggest that he probably wasn't a Christian. Of course it does not necessarily follow that he was an atheist, but it seems more likely. Juan Incognito 22:11, 19 March 2006 (UTC)Juan IncognitoReply

Juan Incognito, Bill wasn't Christian but he did hold Jesus in the same high esteem that he held MLK, John Lennon, et al in. If you listen to 08 - Gifts Of Forgiveness from Rant in E-Minor you will hear at least one clear statement where he confirms his belief in God, also listen to 24 - Time To Evolve which is also from Rant in E-Minor for a similar verification of Bill's belief in God. These tracks are indicators to Bill's philosophy regarding God. The many other tracks you speak of where Bill attacks Christianty with his acerbic wit demonstrate his righteous contempt & anger for what religion has been twisted and mutated into and why this has been done (i.e. to screw ppl out of money and keep them in fear and raise children who will grow up to believe what their parents believe), it isn't God he is mocking.. it's the horseshit man-made propaganda that the Holier Than Thou's expound in the name of God he is mocking.. and very rightly so. I mean look at Catholicism, the fkn Pope sits in the Vatican like some kind of religious Tony Soprano with all the churches kicking back $$$ to him. And people think it's sinful to say the church is run by moneygrabbing cocksuckers. Do you think if Jesus returned to Earth today and was going about doing his Messianic deeds and benevolent, loving teachings.. that at the end of his day he would sleep in a humble, inexpensive dwelling - or do you think he would sleep in a fkn multi-million pound palace while so many human beings around the world are starving and freezing to death. Bill found organized religion to be repugnant, wicked, hypocritical, harmful and stupifying to degree where he would feel like vomiting blood-laced bile. I share these sentiments. [Dirk Diggler Jnr]

Hi Dirk, I'll have a listen to that album you linked, and maybe check out the Rant in E minor chapters you cited. Thanks for the link/info. Juan Incognito 02:41, 23 March 2006 (UTC)Juan IncognitoReply

Hey Juan, you can hear both of the Bill Hicks tracks I mention above at these two MySpace sites.. one of them is officially Bills the other is by a fan (I think).
Official page Bill Hicks at Myspace
Dirk Diggler Jnr 02:54, 9 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

A few thoughts on Bill Hicks being a Christian or an Atheist. Reviewing his bootlegged work as well as his officially released audio and video, he was neither. Bill was a self-proclaimed preacher. In the documentary “It’s Just A Ride” there is a quick segment of Mary Hicks, Bill’s mother, speaking to that point: I said to Bill, you know you are just that far from being a preacher, and he said, 'I am a preacher.'

In the show “Relentless” (not the comedy album, but the video of the same name which was released in a “bootlegged” audio format as “Relentless in Montreal”) Bill asks if “the concept of the Devil still actually exists”. He then poses the question “What could oppose God’s Will?” Answering his own question, he screams “NOTHING! Nothing could oppose God’s Will!” Even with my very limited understanding of Christianity I’m fairly certain being a Christian means you believe in God as well as the Devil. Bill believed no such thing. He repeatedly denounced the idea of a Devil in his act (and interviews) and continually stated his belief that we are all the perfect and holy children of God.

With that in mind, “respected and well known religious philosopher” is a fairly accurate description of the man. -Doc Winston 21:38, 11 August 2006 (UTC)Reply

Hey Guys i'm just looking into the meaning of the word prophet. Wiktionary has prophet meaning 'someone who speaks by divine inspiration'. I dunno about divine but he is most certainly an inspiration. Dictionary.com says that prophet means: '2. A person gifted with profound moral insight and exceptional powers of expression', which I think also fits the bill (hahahahahh ha ah ha). I'm a newbie to Wiki, is this what is needed as a citation or does it need to be more substancial? i've seen some dodgy links to citations on wiki ie: 9/11 conspiracy sites claiming to be absolute truth etc.Theinnerexits 09:09, 19 August 2006 (UTC)Reply

Hi Theinnerexits, welcome to Wikipedia. =) A citation would need to excplicitly say that "Bill Hicks was a prophet" and nothing less, otherwise it's only made up by ourselves. See Wikipedia:Citing sources and Wikipedia:No original research for more info. Best wishes, Johnnyw talk 09:59, 19 August 2006 (UTC)Reply

Hi Johnny, thanks for the info.... I read further on reliable sources and it kinda rules out most of the websites (blogs/reviews) that cite Bill as a prophet. Well at least I know many people hold him in the same high regard as I do... thanks again...Time to hear some of the gospel... I'm off to watch it's just a ride and relentless.Theinnerexits 13:49, 19 August 2006 (UTC)Reply

Christian no christian, prophet no prophet, I think Bill's message lies beyond that. He relates god to the oneness envelloping all, the one consciousness. Free thinking would be the only way to this transpersonal thruth. Bill tried to cause a stirup for people to figure out things on their own and to know that he knows as less as they. He wanted you to hate and love him at the same time. But to me he is kind of a prophet and he seems more a preacher than a comedian sometimes :). Could there be a valid citation coming from the band Tool? [luuk]

To all you idiots concerned: Bill was a deist. Quit being stupid. When he spoke about 'God' he only used the term which has been erroneously misappropriated by most people to stand for 'the Universe' or the whole of Creation. What Bill understood, which most of you fail to, is that equating the whole Universe, the entire Creation, with a single human being is ludicrous. He was aware that, at our core, we all share a common spirit, an enlivening force which springs from the same source. We are therefore, ultimately, all the same, we are all one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.171.186.225 (talk) 06:07, 22 September 2008 (UTC) ^ Exactly. Too many people are talking as if Atheist and christian are the only two options. Maybe if people stopped seeing spirituality in such ignorant 2d terms we could move past the silly bickering. He wasn't an atheist and he wasn't a christian. I agree with the original point though. If you can call somebody a philosopher on Wikipedia, I think he qualifies. 209.40.209.76 (talk) 02:26, 11 October 2010 (UTC)Reply

And here they are:

• "Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine (LSD), I'm on the pavement thinking about the government. My life in the fucking nutshell." (With the first two lines Hicks is quoting Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues)

• "They said the same thing when [Bob] Dylan went electric!" (After announcing he had quit smoking and being booed by a crowd.)

• "I subscribe to Mark Twain's theory that the last person who should be President is the one who wants it the most. The one who should be picked is the one who should be dragged, kicking and screaming into the White House."

• "I'm sorry if any of you are Catholic. [beat] I'm not sorry if you're offended, I'm actually just sorry about the fact that you're Catholic."

• On the theft of his material by Denis Leary: "I have a scoop for you. I stole his act. I camouflaged it with punchlines, and to really throw people off, I did it before he did."

• "I love going to the movies. Now, I'm watching Terminator 2 and I'm thinking 'you know what? There is no way that you will ever be able to top these stunts in a movie ever again. You cannot top this shit.' Unless they start using terminally ill people as stunt men in pictures!" (Hesitant chuckles from the audience) "....well hear me out."

• At his final show: "This is the material, by the way, that has kept me virtually anonymous in America for the past 15 years. Gee, I wonder why we're hated the world over? Look at these fat Americans in the front row—'Why doesn't he just hit fruit with a hammer?' Folks, I could have done that, walked around being a millionaire and franchising myself but no, I had to have this weird thing about trying to illuminate the collective unconscious and help humanity. Fucking moron."

• "How much do you smoke a day, dude? Pack and a half? You little puss...Why don't you just put the fuckin' skirt on, and swish around for us? 'Pack and a half, I smoke a pack and a half..' I go through two lighters a day, dude."

• "..you never see my attitude in the press, that's what bugs me. You never see my point of view. For instance, gays in the military. Now, I dunno how y'all feel about it... here's how I feel about it: Anyone dumb enough to want to be in the military should be allowed in. End of fucking story. That should be the only requirement. I don't care how many push ups you can do, put on a helmet, go wait in that foxhole we'll tell you when we need you to kill somebody. You know i'm sick of hearing military guys saying "The esprit de corps will be affected, and we are such a moral..." Excuse me, aren't y'all hired fucking killers? Shut up! You are thugs and when we need you to go blow the fuck outta a nation of little brown people we'll let you know. Until then... Where do the fucking military get all these morals? "We are the military; is that a village of children and kids? Where's the napalm? (explosion) I don't want any gay people hanging around me when I'm killing women and kids. I just dont wanna see it."

• "I'm Bill Hicks and I'm dead now, cause I smoked cigarettes. Cigarettes didn't kill me, a bunch of non-smokers kicked the shit outta me one night. I tried to run, they were faster than I. I tried to hide, they heard me wheezing... Some of them smelled me. But now I'm in heaven... sniffing Yul Brynner's noggin!"

(in this quote Bill is parodying a real life anti-smoking commercial that the actor Yul Brynner made around nine months before his death. The simple-approach commercial shows Yul Brynner speaking directly to the viewers. He says words that are very close to "I'm Yul Brynner and I'm dead now because I smoked cigarettes. Don't die of cancer, give up smoking.")

• (In relation to a Lynyrd Skynyrd show in Chicago in 1989, in which an audience member continuously yelled "Free Bird!")

Bill: "Hitler had the right idea! He was just an underachiever! Kill 'em all, Adolf! All of them! Jew! Mexican! American! White! Kill 'em all! Start over! The experiment didn't work! Rain 40 days! Please fucking rain to wash these turds off my life! Wash these human waste of flesh and bone off this planet! I pray to you God to kill these fucking people!"

Audience member: "Free Bird!"

Bill: "Free Bird."

(dull muffled sound from the microphone)

• "I'm a comedian and poet, so anything that doesn't get a laugh... is a poem."

• "Frightening people man. Bush tried to buy votes towards the end of the election. Goes around, you know, selling weapons to everyone, getting that military industrial complex vote happening for him. Sold 160 fighter jets to Korea and then 240 tanks to Kuwait and then goes around making speeches why he should be Commander-in-Chief because, "We still live in a dangerous world."...Thanks to you, you fucker!"

Well, now we're down to four. Good enough? Anville 15:41, 3 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

Yeah think so. Thanks! --Johnnyw 16:53, 3 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

You're welcome! Anville 17:08, 3 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

• Nice one. Page looks much better. This can become annoying to constantly revert but if enough of us keep an eye out and just zap any new quotes (or remove old quotes if better ones are posted, rotation is good) and put them here it will work pretty well. Deiz 19:42, 3 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

One more:

• "They lie about marijuana. Tell you pot-smoking makes you unmotivated. Lie! When you're high, you can do everything you normally do, just as well. You just realize that it's not worth the fucking effort. There is a difference."

Anville 14:52, 28 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

And still more:

• "Yeah you really got my act down good, guys. That'll be great. You know, when I'm done ranting about elite power that rules the planet under a totalitarian government that uses the media in order to keep people stupid, my throat gets parched. That's why I drink orange drink." - Bill Hicks, after being asked to do an advertisement for orange drink.
• "Real men don't dance. They sit, sweat, and curse." (Love, Laughter, & Truth)

Anville 19:01, 6 June 2006 (UTC)Reply

• "If men could suck their own dicks then all you women would be sitting there alone looking at an empty stage." (Just For Laughs Festival - Centaur Theatre - Montreal, Quebec, Canada - 1990)

These should be integrated with http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Hicks . Some already have.

• "See, I think drugs have done some good things for us, I really do. And if you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then do me a favor; go home tonight, take all your albums, all your tapes, all your CDs and burn 'em. Because you know what? The musicians who made all that great music that has enhanced your lives thoughout the years? Rrrrrreal fuckin' high on drugs. The Beatles were so high they even let Ringo sing a few songs."

• "Boy, I tell you, politics does make for strange bedfellows. Saddam Hussein says in this quote, 'We have nothing against America. We just want to see George Bush beheaded and his head kicked down the street like a soccer ball.' And I was thinking, that's so weird, 'cos... that's what I wanted to see. Wow, me and Hussein, we're like this (crosses fingers). Who woulda thunk it?"

• "It's an insane world and I'm proud to be part of it."

• "I don’t mean to sound bitter, cold or cruel, but I am. So that’s how it comes out."

• "I left LA for England on the day of the LA Riots. I arrived eleven hours later and walked past a newsboard that said "LA Burns To Ground". Holy shit, did I leave a cigarette lit or something? Anyway, I had all these Brits come up to me and say "If it's any consolation the crime in Britain is terrible as well". I appreciate diplomacy, but this is Hobbiton and I'm Bilbo Hicks compared to the states. You can't tell with a British newspaper whether it's the main story or the comic section. I saw the front page of a newspaper there that read "Last night, a group of hooligans knocked over a dustbin in Shaftesbury." I'd like to see these 'hooligans' up against the Bloods in LA."

• "Ladies, if men could suck their own dicks you'd be here on your own tonight. Staring at an empty stage."

• "It's just a handful of people that run everything, and that's provable.... I have this feeling that whoever's elected president, like Clinton was, no matter what promises you make on the campaign trail - blah, blah, blah - when you win, you go into this smoky room with the twelve industrialist, capitalist scumfucks that got you in there, and this little screen comes down... and it's a shot of the Kennedy assassination from an angle you've never seen before, which looks suspiciously off the grassy knoll.... And then the screen comes up, the lights come on, and they say to the new president, 'Any questions?' ... [President]: 'Just what my agenda is.'"

• "During the Gulf war I was in the unenviable position of being for the war, but against the troops. I do not always choose wisely and yet, I am committed."

• "Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the weather."

Possibly a previously unknown and certainly a very rare recording of one of Bill's sets performed after he learned his final appearance on David Letterman was completely censored from the broadcast, is available to download in it's entirety and free from the art site 'Frequency23.org'. I hope you guys like it. [with love, Dirk Diggler]

[Bill Hicks - the lost hour - 5th October 1993|http://frequency23.org/component/option,com_zoom/Itemid,104/catid,4/]

Source : [www.Frequency23.org|http://frequency23.org/content/view/105/]

Contributed by michael cummings
Saturday, 04 March 2006

If the ideas of Bill Hicks are important...if his values are what we want folks to spend more time with...then we need to work on his legend in concert, a concerted effort...Howard, am I using this technology label right? You talk about orchestrated noise and this morning you posted about the book The Republican Noise machine, so I'm working on a Bill Hicks story to help folks have the "reasons to believe" Bill Hicks is legendary. I'm giving them what they might want to repeat to their friends...

Something to give a shit about...

Bill Hicks (December 16, 1961–February 26, 1994) is considered one of the most influential comedians of the 20th century. However, he is far better known in Europe and Canada than in his homeland of America. His outspoken candor kept him from widespread fame and mass media attention. However, his legend is building.

Each year, on the anniversary of his death, fans around the world help his ideas evolve by asking, What would Bill Hicks say?

New material emerges that honors his memory. This year, some authentic new material surfaced. For many fans, this is a momentous find. While eBay offers hundreds of hours of his material...there were three hours that ardent Bill Hicks fans craved to hear.

On 1 October 1993, Bill Hicks did his twelfth gig on the David Letterman show. What the audience in the studio didn't know was that Bill Hicks had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Later that night, Bill Hicks became the first comedian censored from CBS' Letterman show. Perhaps fitting for the Ed Sullivan Theatre, where Elvis Presley was censored in 1956. But, while Presley wasn’t allowed to be shown below the waste, Hicks was made to disappear.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have censorship in America.

As reported in The New Yorker, Letterman greeted Hicks as he sat down on the couch with, "Good set, Bill! Always nice to have you drop by with an uplifting message!" But, there was trouble in the air and Letterman knew it. Letterman went to commercial with, "Bill, enjoy answering your mail for the next few weeks."

Back in his hotel, Bill stepped out of the shower to answer the phone. Robert Morton...the Letterman show was not running his set.

Bill was terminally sick and knew it. He imagined his Letterman show to be his swan song...what he would be remembered for. In many ways he might have been right. This debacle brought him more attention in The United States than his previous 11 Letterman appearances combined.

In the next few days after the censorship, Bill Hicks performed three shows ranting harder than ever before. These three "post-Letterman shows" as they've been called, have long been thought not captured. This last week, one of these three historic shows has just emerged, the middle show from 10/5/93, recorded by an audience member who happened to be an audio engineer. There is a brief gap in the recording at the one-hour mark when he switched tapes, but the quality is as high as can be expected from a covert recording.

This historic performance is available in its entirety as a completely free download from the art site Frequency23.org. The download can be found on the second page of Mutant Media Gallery entitled "The Lost Hour".

Bill Hicks has been popularized by such bands as TOOL and Radiohead, cartoonists Jeff Danziger and Martyn Turner; writers Neal Pollack, Robert Newman, and A.L. Kennedy; and essays by Thom Yorke of Radiohead.

Thanks for the link! Is there any reason this cannot be linked under Bootlegs? That Nate Guy 22:06, 18 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

Noticed the link was added. I've changed the link to point directly to the appropriate page (though not directly to the mp3) and also changed the link style to match the rest of the links. That Nate Guy 01:59, 19 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

I suggest the paragraph:

Some reports have indicated that Hicks canonized Dennis Leary as his rightful successor, in the weeks before his death. This included giving Leary the right to use his existing material.

is removed from the main article. We have no proof (by means of references) that Bill gave the permission for Leary to use his jokes so by wiki standards it should be removed. Secondly it implies that the jokes were used after Bill's death, but "No Cure For Cancer" was released before he died. Paul Tew 04:40, 12 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

God, Bill would never have done that! He was apalled and aghast that Leary nicked his material word for word!

Certainly reading American Scream by Cynthia True would confirm that. I didn't feel it was my place to remove the comment without discussion first. Paul Tew 17:15, 31 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

Lots and lots of comics acknowledge the fact that Leary ripped of Hicks' material. Joe Rogan wrote about it http://blog.joerogan.net/archives/92%7Chere

Speaking as a casual reader, the para

Interestingly, patrons of the Boston comedy scene in the '80s dismissed Hicks as a copier of Leary. This impression was reinforced by the change in Hicks' act from the time he was on The Young Comedians on HBO to the time of Dangerous.

could really use some citations, as it is opposition to the rest of the section. Doceddi (talk) 12:11, 13 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

One point to Leary then since Hicks and Denis Leary is practically identical to Accusations of plagiarism. Seriously, should two articles use the same content in this manner? TeenageCynic (talk) 17:29, 10 November 2009 (UTC)Reply

Generally speaking, it depends on how the two articles are related. Say we have an article on George W. Bush and one on Political positions of George W. Bush. They should not duplicate large amounts of content between them because one is supposed to be a WP:SUMMARY of the other, and we may expect that people reading the more specific article are going to at least skim the other as well. But since Hicks' and Leary's articles are not related in that way, there might be more room for duplication. The readers of either article might be interested in the content without clicking through to the other. ~YellowFives 18:24, 10 November 2009 (UTC)Reply

nathan is the man

cool till I clicked it and saw it up close and saw how badly the face has been pasted onto another body! Think I'll touch that up in Photoshop and keep myself a copy of the better version ;)

if you look in the description of that image, it says "A fan art image inspired by the 1991 'Revelations' performance in London, England" Elijya 07:04, 30 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

I have a serious problem with the fawning tone of the article. The authors are obviously hard-core Hicks fans. Nothing wrong with that, but it should be a biography, not a hagiography. Hicks was not without his detractors (Yes - I am one of them). [James A. Walsh] —This unsigned comment was added by 24.111.18.50 (talk • contribs) .

Any specific suggestions? Constructive criticism is always welcome.. --Johnnyw 13:49, 2 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

i suggest that all f you read between the lines on this bill hicks bullshit - saw he and denis leary perform together during one of their dual performances at caroline's in the eighties before either was famous and they were trying to prove clubowners who already thought their acts were too similar wrong and they did it in spades - hicks opened first show leary opened second they touched on exactly the same subjects with hilariously different takes on each and my party and everyone else in the room went home happy. i am a fan of both. one guy died. one lived on - if denis stole bill's act - where did denis get the rest of his material / talk show appearance material / hbo specials / comedy central specials / movie scripts / tv scripts. pointing fingers at the guy who lived is inane and easy. how about pointing one at a guy who didn't make it and was envious. there are tons of comedians thru the years who have done this. gene baylos - a famously funny comic of the clubs in the late forties accused jerry lewis of stealing his body movements - i forget the guys name but there was a black comic who accused pryor of stealing his attitude once he revolutionized his act and redid it in the early seventies - there's always a bitter comic in a comedy club - most times more than five or six - this one - bill hicks - just happened to die and become an icon. listen to the work. read between the bullshit journalism and 'eyewitness' accounts.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 207.96.22.227 (talk • contribs) 04:37, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

A topic about fawning above is just all about Leary and plagarism. There is ample video evidence on YouTube. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Giff2005 (talk • contribs) 21:46, 2 May 2011 (UTC)Reply

I removed:

Bill Hicks was often asked to advertise products, only to turn down all offers. Bill did not believe that the art of stand-up comedy was only a jumping-off point to a larger career. Most other comedians at the time would start doing sitcoms or commercials, but Bill believed in and practiced the art of stand-up.

His goal was to educate the American public. He wanted to get people to understand that things were going on all over the world, not to trust everything that you hear on television, and to break the local masses out of their provincial ways of thought. Bill used stand-up comedy as a medium because he said that "the truth is much easier for people to handle if you wrap it up in jokes."

Near the end of Bill's life, Bill's mother started to understand and listen to Bill's work more. One day she told Bill that he was so good that he could be a preacher. To this Bill responded by saying "But Mom, I am a preacher, don't you see?"

This cannot be included as is since it is highy biased; see Wikipedia:NPOV about this before reinserting a strongly modified version. You cannot jump to your own conclusions (see Wikipedia:NOR) but need to cite sources to make it verifiable (see Wikipedia:Verifiability)! Also, the text is supposed to be an encyclopedia, which basically means that we only sum up what has already been said by (reputable and/or reliable) thirds and nothing else. Anything that goes beyond cannot be included (see Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought). Thanks for your attention.. --Johnnyw 09:44, 3 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

I think sources can be found for a decent amount of that text. I know for a fact he rejected endorsement offers. I left a request on the author's talk page for a source the other day, because I think most of that is true and I would like it to be backed up. Elijya 14:54, 3 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

Yes. He used his attitude to endorsements in his act. Such as the 'orange drink' routine.(Halbared 17:37, 11 June 2006 (UTC))Reply

I see the link has been removed from the main page already. So isn't Bill's official MySpace URL an appropriate link to have on his official wikipedia page? I say it is. It gives people who perhaps do not know or own any of Bill's material to hear it from a legitimate and legal source. [www.myspace.com/billhicks|http://www.myspace.com/billhicks] —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dirk Diggler Jnr (talk • contribs) .

1. What makes it "official"?
2. What about it provides any more information that isn't found at the site maintained by Kevin Booth? -- Rsm99833

What about the audio clips available at myspace? Dunno about the videos, since they require registration, but I tried to access the multimedia section at billhick.com, which led me to the sacred cow multimedia archive. All sections there relating to Bill are "under construction", with no end in sight. I guess hearing a couple of full length Bill Hicks bits are worth linking to?> --Johnnyw 18:41, 20 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

PS: All the clips at the dark times audio archive at billhicks.com is "are temporarily offline." as well.. --Johnnyw 18:45, 20 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

If you want the audio/video clips, they're all available at Kevin booth's web site (sacredcow.com). I still find it odd that a dead guy can put up an "official" myspace account. Rsm99833

Well, Kevin Booth operates and maintains everything official to Bill Hicks. He's not mentioned it. Plus, Myspace has a lot of "official" web pages, that have proven to be fraudulant (I've had more than one instance of "official" Jello Biafra & Alternative Tentacles myspace sites shut down). So to have a site claiming to be "official" on Myspace w/o some sort of validation doesn't mean too much. Rsm99833 16:42, 21 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

You are totally right, all apologies sir. Dirk Diggler Jnr 14:46, 27 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

I have just added the info on Bill Hicks's dedication by Radiohead. I was hoping that someone could add to it, the dedication within the album is shared between Bill Hicks and Indigo, I do not know what it is meant by Indigo. I am hoping someone can help. If I have posted this in the wrong place, please delete. My apologies, since this is my first contribution to this website.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Christratocaster (talk • contribs) . 06:35, 23 April 2006

Looks fine, no need to apologize! Thanks for your contribution.. Although I must say I cannot help with the Indigo-issue, since I do not own a copy of The Bends.. --Johnnyw 11:33, 23 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

Mention should also be made of the song "Just a ride,"(2004) by Welsh singer/songwriter Jem, wholly inspired by Hicks.

How about changing the following paragragh, to what follows next.. (?) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dirk Diggler Jnr (talk • contribs) .

Hicks is often compared to Lenny Bruce and Sam Kinison (the latter a contemporary and friend), and characterized his own performances as "Chomsky with dick jokes".

Hicks is often compared to Lenny Bruce and Sam Kinison (the former being a childhood hero and inspiration for Hicks, the latter a contemporary and friend), and characterized his own performances as "Chomsky with dick jokes".

Looks good, do it. -Quiddity 20:42, 30 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

Yeah, but Bruce wasn't a hero, Bill mentioned not knowing much about him or his act.

[Bill Hicks' bootleg archive & the Len Belzer interviews|http://www.countsofthenetherworld.com/mp3s/billhicks/index.html]

Enjoy, love Dirk Diggler Jnr 20:49, 3 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

Thanks for the link. But do you think a list of all known Bill Hicks bootlegs (audio and video) should be added to the article? In the same way there is a discography section, do you think there should be a bootleg section? The fact that Bill is no longer with us it makes his bootlegs all the more noteworthy. That link could be added too I suppose. HumphreyB 14:46, 8 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

As entered in the list of bootlegs

• Queens Theatre Early Show
• Queens Theatre Late Show
  and
• London, England - Early Show (1992)
• London, England - Late Show (1992)

are in fact the same show - 2 part live bootleg at the Queens Theatre, 17th May 1992, and Filling Up The Hump is also sometimes referred to as Live at Igby's Frisco 1993 as Bill's last intended performance, which has diferently sectioned track list. A-Doo 15:37, 11 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

Bill had a lot of "last intended performances". As he said in the Capseyez interview, he's retired more times than Sinatra. :b I'm not sure if this was a running joke or not, all those times he said he was retiring.--Sean.ridgeley 18:46, 23 August 2007 (UTC)Reply

Just a minor change. The tool album is called "Ænima" while the song in question is called "Ænema".
Enaku 13:21, 15 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

There used to be an external link next to the line in Bill's bio paragraph that says Bill described his routine as "Chomsky with dick jokes", the link took you to the webpage that confirms the above statement.. but the external link is gone I noticed. Anyone know when and why it was removed? Thanks. Dirk Diggler Jnr 11:10, 22 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

It got removed in this revision (diff). The actual citation had ended up at the end of another sentence and was removed because, as Michael Dorosh explains in his edit summary, it appeared to be irrelevant. I've reinstated it now. --CapitalLetterBeginning 21:09, 22 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

Cringe humor

This web site is very interesting, educational and offers lots of downloads, interviews and pics of up and coming, recent and grand-master comedians. It also champions free speech and is an opponent of censorship. It is certainly worth a visit and also worth bookmarking.
The biography it features on Bill Hicks (presently) has more scope and depth than Bill's entry at wikipedia and so is a handy cross reference place to compare wiki's details on Hicks against.
I did create a page for 'Cringe Humor', but apparently it is not a valid subject for the encyclopedia and will be deleted in 5 days.. so I am placing the link to it here on Bill's discussion page to make others aware of it's existence.. as the site in question (C.H.) offers information on Bill Hicks that is not available at his wikipage. (it also offers information and downloads from around 18+ other comedians.. some very new, some deceased) Dirk Diggler Jnr 10:25, 2 June 2006 (UTC)Reply

Has anyone heard of the play in London right now? Bill Hicks : A Slight Return. I saw it last week, its amazing. It's basically a play that lasts 1hr 10mins that imagines what Bill would say were he to return to earth now for one night only. It done with the upmost respect for Bill and his works, its well researched, well written, well acted and absolutely f**king hilarious. Surely this play must deserve a mention here somewhere or even its own wikipedia entry? Some1? Any1?

I'm not very adept at writing articles but I have lots of info and images is any1 needs any help? It's got alot of press over here in the UK and I was almost in tears by the end of it because its so heart-warming towards the end. It really does pay alot of respect to Bill.

It's a witty name for the show too.. Slight Return is the subtitle name of a classic Jimi Hendrix track, whom Bill was a massive fan of. (song "Voodoo Chile") Dirk Diggler Jnr 11:32, 22 June 2006 (UTC)Reply

hate to be a nit picker, but the song is Voodoo Child (Slight Return). On the same Hendrix album ([Electric Ladyland]), there's a 15 minutes blues jam called Voodoo Chile. Just need to seperate the two. (For the record, Hendrix is my favourite muso, and Hicks my favourite comedian) - Mbatterham 05:53, 14 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

the UK artist, charlie dore, on her 2006 album 'cuckoo hill' has a song named after and about bill hicks. ("When Bill Hicks died")

[Charlie Dore]

you can hear and/or legally download the song to keep for free, from her myspace page at this link ;

Charlie Dore's "When Bill Hicks died"

-an ex-wikipedia editor.

I'm calling "shameless self-promotion" here. -MRP 4/1/08 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.210.145.212 (talk) 09:00, 1 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

I notice that the Biography section covers some posthumous events. Shouldn't these be in the Legacy section? (Except, perhaps, for the mention of Arizona Bay and Rant in E-Minor being released in 1997, as they were the first posthumous releases.) --CapitalLetterBeginning 12:13, 21 July 2006 (UTC)Reply

I strongly support that. If I post this comment wrong somehow forgive me, but I just made my first contribution at all. -- rorschach23

I've read through the archived talk of "flamewar on criticism section" and think there's been sufficient time for a cool-down and to suggest that a new and fresh criticism section be included? This would need to be written with minimal bias either way, very matter-of-fact. I don't see why pro-Hicks would see this as such an affront as the man himself didn't seem afraid of criticism... should I source that statement? I'm "pro-Hicks" so maybe that counts. Anyway, I'd like to throw it out there that at least a brief list of who he pissed off, why and what sort of objections there were would do well to give it the balance an encyclopaedia entry requires. Has a criticism section been completely ruled out forever on this article? Judging from past reactions though, I think that we a mature discussion and fair amount of agreeance before bothering to put anything up there. - and you will know know me by the trail of dead. 04:33, 5 October 2006 (UTC)Reply

I love Hicks, and I'd love to see a list of who he pissed off. :)--Sean.ridgeley 18:51, 23 August 2007 (UTC)Reply

I have made a couple of changes regarding the use of the word "drugs", as well as detail about Hicks Drug use.

I changed one occurance of "drugs" to "mood altering substances", partly for variety, as "drugs, drugs, drugs" gets boring, and partly because of the overuse/misuse/confusing use of the word by our culture. "Just say no to drugs!", but prescription drugs, oh, they're OK. Nasty substances like crack, PCP, and heroin are "illegal drugs", but so are potentially useful medicinal plants/fungi, like many psychedelics and marijuana. Even though Hicks denied using drugs in later years, he evidently considered psychedelics and marijuana useful, as he talked about them often in routines. --Bill Huston ^(talk) 23:53, 14 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

Mood-altering substances is not accurate. Also, Hicks never denied using drugs. This is different than when he stated he had stopped using them.--Sean.ridgeley 18:53, 23 August 2007 (UTC)Reply

I think it should be added to the article that Hicks advocated the use of hallucinogenic drugs for spiritual purposes. He stated it outright on many occasions in his routine, the text of which is easy to transcribe as a source. --MRP 4/1/08 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.210.145.212 (talk) 08:58, 1 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Does anybody know what kind of association this foundation (which is also listed in the external links section) has with Bill Hicks (other than using his name and pictures to raise money)? Are they in any way authorized by him or his family? I couldn't find any real answers on their site (other than that he liked animals...) --Frescard 18:42, 22 February 2007 (UTC)Reply

It was one more click. C'mon, don't be that skeptical.

A click which tells you it is was founded after he died and is a foundation using his name. Sorry, but not suitable under WP:EL - if the organisation is notable, write an article about it and bluelink. Deiz talk 02:00, 24 August 2007 (UTC)Reply

No connection from Hicks to the foundation, just them "dedicating" "in tribute", and the reference is their own page. As the last sentence of the "Cancer diagnosis and death" section this is just tasteless and should, at best, be under a "influenced by" section. I'm removing the following sentence from "Cancer diagnosis and death":

"The Bill Hicks Foundation for Wildlife Rehabilitation, dedicated to Hicks in tribute to his love of animals, rescues and rehabilitates injured wildlife in the Texas Hill Country."

Estragon (talk) 13:18, 6 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Everyone knows bill has always had a passion for music and started writing and recording his music later in his career.

Does anyone have any of the recordings? the lyrics? I would love to cover some of his stuff. 202.6.129.2 17:15, 19 March 2007 (UTC)Reply

He's not much of a lyricist:

"The Wizards have landed

With plans for a perfect world

A new beginning

For all you boys and girls

They bring with them

The wisdom of the ages

Directly from the lips

Of the sages." (Rant In E-Minor)

I think it's meant in a sarcastic manner...72.78.21.3 06:57, 30 September 2007 (UTC)Reply

Article should at least mention why the Letterman performance didn't make it on air. Preferably with the specific quotes that made some censor uncomfortable. Tempshill 04:16, 20 April 2007 (UTC)Reply

In the censorship section, there is a quote: "Although Letterman later expressed regret at the way Hicks had been handled, he never appeared on the show again. " this statement is misleading because it suggests that he never appeared on Letterman ever again due to the censorship controversy. He died within the next year; he never lived to have the opportunity. And maybe he wouldn't have appeard on te show again, but the statement makes Letterman seem like a bad guy for not having him back on the show, when in actual fact he was sick and/or had passed away. Suggest changing it? what do you think?144.139.121.184 (talk) 12:26, 30 January 2008 (UTC)Reply

The article implies that the "Larry Sanders" 'censorship' episode (Aug. 25, 1993) was based on the Letterman 'event' (The Late Show with David Letterman, Oct. 1, 1993) while, at the same time, stating that the censorship occurred on Hicks' final (11th) apperance on Letterman's previous show, "Late Night with David Letterman." Also, the Sanders episode was called, "The Performance Artist," not "The Performing Artist." Me2-BFD (talk) 22:14, 5 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

Another small point - this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-s6Gs6Rj2U has his performance on Letterman when Mary Hicks went on the show, but if you look at the date this clip was uploaded, it was uploaded on Jan. 29, 2009, the day before this wikipedia article claims it was filmed. The citations for it do suggest that it was aired on the 30th, but was it possibly filmed on the 29th, uploaded, then aired the next day? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rollmebackagain (talk • contribs) 21:38, 1 March 2009 (UTC)Reply

I picked up this book a few days ago, The Conspiracy Encyclopedia. Hicks has a section in the "Key Figures" chapter on page 190. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.243.228.86 (talk) 20:43, 7 September 2007 (UTC)Reply

Has anyone thought of starting a section expanding on Hicks' spiritual beliefs? Since much of his material is related to religion/mysticism/God/etc., I thought it could be relevant to his biography. Are there any documented accounts on what he believed (such as texts or interviews) and how he came to his beliefs besides his recorded routines? From his acts, Hicks seems very aligned with monist and pantheist ideas, i.e. "We are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there's no such thing as death, life is only a dream and we're the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the weather..." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.60.10.123 (talk) 05:37, 24 November 2007 (UTC)Reply

I am concerned with the plagiarism section of the article. While there is sufficient evidence to name Denis Leary as stealing jokes, the section only uses a youtube video as its justification for naming other comics with careers established before Hicks'. The use of a youtube video as the only evidence seems lacking for it to merit all the information of that particular part of the article. I believe this section either needs a revision or should be removed. Even as a hard core fan of Bill, I find the sparsity of the section to show a considerable ammount of bias. I may look up some unformation for biographies written about Bill to add more sources and content to this section later, but I suggest that others take a close look as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.24.45.123 (talk) 22:08, 16 December 2007 (UTC)Reply

I agree totally; a youtube video is not a sufficient source to back claims these comedians plagiarised Hicks, especially when some of these 'stolen' pieces (such as from Robin Williams and Lewis Black) bear little resemblance to Hicks'. Obviously other comedians are going to touch on the same observations/topics Hicks has used, but in no way can you suggest the comedians listed in the article have ripped of Hicks based on that shonky video. I have removed this section, but if anyone has any substantial evidence of plagiarism, please re-write this section. TheCheez au (talk) 00:36, 26 December 2007 (UTC)Reply

A section on plagiarism by Denis Leary is needed, though. See [1] for material. Nishkid64 (talk) 06:35, 31 December 2007 (UTC)Reply

I finished a revision of this section which omits the youtube video and adds information regarding No Cure for Cancer and the allegations behind Leary's plagiarism. This section includes more reputable sources than youtube including Paul Outhwaite's biography. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.24.45.123 (talk) 23:38, 7 January 2008 (UTC)Reply

 

Image:Bill Hicks, 'Tool' album cover - 'another dead hero'.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

While Bill was very much pro the idea that people should be free to smoke, I think that anyone familiar with his work, would know he was very much against advertising a product, or class of product. Given that the classic style of advertising cigarettes is to picture it in the hand of someone 'cool', im quite sure bill would have been. while pro having the liberty to smoke, anti being a poster child for the cigarette industry. Would recommend using a different image. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.147.46.253 (talk) 16:47, 1 October 2009 (UTC)Reply

BetacommandBot (talk) 04:34, 12 February 2008 (UTC)Reply

the article incorrectly identifies the episode "The Last Temptation of Krust" as an homage to Bill, in fact it's about Lenny Bruce, the original "shock comic" in the 60's that was similar to Hicks' social commentary and attempts to illuminate the hypocrisy of our existence. Many people did see Hicks as Bruce's successor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alloowishus (talk • contribs) 16:09, 31 July 2008 (UTC)Reply

Krusty seems to be doing George Carlin's schtick, especially since he dresses like Carlin and has the tight ponytail that Carlin sported for years.

Regardless, without a citation from someone on The Simpson's staff, I do not buy the observation that this episode had anything to do with Hicks. DFS (talk) 09:10, 27 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

The claim that "Krusty The Klown's persona (in "Last Temptation of Krust") is a tribute to him," should really be scrubbed if there is no attribution. There are a lot of comedians who are considered, or consider themselves, to be "counter-culture" (like most of the comedians who provided voices in that episode). More than likely, Krusty's temporary persona is an ambiguous representation of any such comic.

In fact, if you go to the Wiki page for that particular episode, it mentions that Jay Leno's commentary (he was a guest voice) on the DVD referred to the character as "George Carlin's post-Vegas act." Near as I can tell, the Krusty=Hicks is just an internet theory...unless someone has a stronger reference than Leno's comment, I think the assumption should be scrubbed. Anyone agree or disagree? Ynot4tony2 (talk) 20:31, 15 December 2008 (UTC)Reply

I went ahead and removed it. No one has bothered to defend its inclusion in spite of it being challenged here a few times. Furthermore, it was added by an anonymous IP user who never made any other edits aside from this one. The notion that Hicks was a Simpsons fan isn't supported either ("he is said to have been" Said by whom?). Besides, supporting a large commercial enterprise that lends its image not only to its own licensed products but to other major corporations would seem to go against the image Hicks created for himself. Ynot4tony2 (talk) 13:55, 16 December 2008 (UTC)Reply

On the book "about" Hicks named "Love all the people" are letters he wrote to John Larr, Letterman, and other guys. On one of those he says he liked shows that went "against corporations that censor comedy" like it was done to himself. He mentioned Simpsons there. You can include it back if you want, I'm not bothering to add "Hicks was a Simpsons fan because it's a 'dark' series" on his article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.82.38.166 (talk) 21:02, 19 February 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hi not much of a fan, havent listen'd to him much, heard a quote somewhere and Wikipedia'd the man. Just wanted to point out that on the main article it says he was 32 years of age when he died. It also says that he was born on the 16th December 1961. It also says that he died on the 26th of Febuary 1994. Now I'm no mathematician, but if he was born on the 16th December 1961 and died on the 26th 1994, he wasn't 32 years old when he died. I'm going to quote the late Mr Hicks for you now: "Fucking moron." have a nice day.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.83.47.97 (talk • contribs)

Uh... yes he was. He would have turned 33 on 16 December 1994, but he died in February. Don't call other people morons until you can count. Katharineamy (talk) 15:48, 6 August 2008 (UTC)Reply

Owned, as they say. --LiamE

Stupid fuckwit, as they say, for saying "owned".

(talk) 17:04, 6 August 2008 (UTC)Reply

"Now I'm no mathematician" No, really? 71.58.210.86 (talk) 03:08, 25 December 2008 (UTC)Reply

Do we really need this rubbish here? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.108.204.159 (talk) 16:50, 12 December 2010 (UTC)Reply

In the introduction at the top it states: "Finding moderate mainstream success in the late 1980s and early '90s, Hicks tended to balance heady discussion of religion, politics and personal issues with more ribald material..." But I think think that the word 'philosophy' should be added to that description, as that was an essentual and stand-out part of his Hicks' comedy. It was my favorite part and what I remember him for. Neurolanis (talk) 22:03, 2 October 2008 (UTC)Reply

On the recent Letterman show, Mary Hicks revealed that Bill initially wanted to be a veterinarian, but when he saw Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show for the first time he said,"You can do THAT for a living?" Perhaps worth adding to the Early Life section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Stevewunder (talk • contribs) 06:15, 31 January 2009 (UTC)Reply

The article says that the Larry Sanders show episode about the Letterman appearance first aired in Aug., 1993. It also says that the actual episode was in Oct., 1993. Could someone please fix this? Thanks. Phiwum (talk) 01:53, 6 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

Unfortunately, on 24 February 2009, someone just changed the Larry Sanders air date from 1993 to 1994. But the 1993 air date is accurate, thus the episode could not possibly have been based on the Hicks incident on Letterman. As a result, I have removed the paragraph from the article. It seems to be just one of those coincidental cases of life imitates art.99.192.81.99 (talk) 19:11, 31 December 2009 (UTC)Reply

Folks - is it right that this section is LONGER than the Legacy section?! please, someone edit it down to a LINE OR TWO and be done with it, even having its own section is giving it more credit than it deserves - listing all the arguments is IRRELLEVANT - what has this got to do with Bill's life & work?! Transfer most of the info to the Denis Leary page if you want to, but this is NOT the place for it...

I'm not gonna do it as it needs consensus to avoid an edit war, so i hope to get some agreement before anything is done. Thank you. BigSteve (talk) 04:03, 15 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

agreed - "leary denied it." is really all that is necessary here. untwirl (talk) 14:01, 20 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

It's mostly one excessive cut-and-paste quote from a single editor. I've cut it back to one line. --McGeddon (talk) 14:17, 20 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

This article states "IMDB lists Hicks as an "uncredited" writer for Leary's No Cure for Cancer album". IMDB has taken this down. We could change it to "IMDB for some time listed", or it could just be taken down since it doesn't prove much compared to the views of the comedians and critics who discussed the issue. Billwilson5060 (talk) 13:01, 23 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

Other than an aside in the Dennis Leary section, there is nothing in this article about Hicks' Waco documentary, and nothing in the Waco Siege article about Hicks' documentary. In Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand Ups there is a clip of Hicks making a substantial, personal, eye-witness account where he alleges that the authorities deliberately started the fire that ended the Waco Siege. Presumably these clips came from Hicks' Waco documentary. The authorities deny these allegations and subsequent enquiries have also refuted these allegations. Can someone with more knowledge on the subject please add a well-sourced section about Hicks' Waco documentary, to either this article or the Waco Siege article? If this is not correct, can someone explain the clips of Hicks making the allegations on Channel 4's programme? Thanks, Andrew Oakley (talk) 09:47, 14 April 2009 (UTC)Reply

These sections within the infobox had gotten completely out of hand. Influences require a citation wherein the subject of the article (in this case Hicks) indicates that the included person was an influence; "Influenced" falls under the WP:BLP guidelines and also require a citation wherein the person named indicates that Hicks was an influence. Jgm (talk) 01:59, 10 May 2009 (UTC)Reply

Deja vu all over again. Are any of these people sourced as having influenced or been influenced by Mr. Hicks? - JeffJonez (talk) 05:34, 7 July 2011 (UTC)Reply

This article deserves a award of some kind. Just my 2 cents.--Dana60Cummins (talk) 04:08, 27 August 2009 (UTC)Reply

Can anyone elucidate what this actually means...

He moved back to his parents' house in Little Rock, Arkansas, shortly thereafter. He called his friends to say goodbye, before he stopped speaking on February 14, and re-read J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.

Does that mean Hicks, due to his illness, became incapable of speech, or does that mean he cut himself off from the outside world?

As Hicks made a living from what he said, it would be a bitter irony that he was silenced at the end! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.42.255.137 (talk) 11:42, 20 December 2009 (UTC)Reply

Who did Bill Hicks get his material from? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.197.240.90 (talk) 10:07, 22 December 2009 (UTC)Reply

He made it himself. What a lack of respect by your part. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.82.38.166 (talk) 20:59, 19 February 2010 (UTC)Reply

On 3 February 2009, the following text was added to this article:

"An episode of Larry Sanders Show (Season 2, Episode 14 "The Performing Artist"), featuring Tim Miller, apparently was based on comedian Bill Hicks' final appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman < ref >[ http://www.tv.com/the-larry-sanders-show/performance-artist/episode/46707/summary.html ] Larry Sanders Show.< /ref >. In that episode Larry cut Tim's act from the show for being too daring, later to be publically scolded by Tom Arnold and Roseanne Barr. Ironically, it was first aired 25th Aug 1993."

Three days later it was noted (above on this page) on 6 February 2009 that since the Hicks/Letterman incident happened in October 1993 that a show airing two months prior could not be based on it. So on 24 February 2009, someone just changed the date of the Sanders episode to say that it aired on 25 August 1994. But that's not true. The tv.com page used as the citation for the "based on" claim says that the episode aired on 25 August 1993. The Wikipedia page List of The Larry Sanders Show episodes also has the same date as does IMDB. All sources agree that the episode aired on 25 Auguat 1993. As a result, it is not possible that the Larry Sanders episode could have been based on the Hicks/Letterman incident. I have removed the paragraph mentioning the Larry Sanders episode, but it was re-added once already. It should not be included in the article.142.68.45.254 (talk) 23:42, 1 January 2010 (UTC)Reply

You reverted my mention of the book 'Love all the people' Letters, Lyrics, Routines.

In regards to my edit. You also reverted due to bad grammar. Bad grammar you can correct.

Explain or do it better.

On my side i will quote ISBN 1-84119-878-1 Pages 270-272.

Love All The People: Letters, Lyrics, Routines. If you have not read this book then i would advise you dont revert that which u can't suppourt.

I do hasten to add if you have not read this book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_All_The_People then why are you ruling on this article?

Love all the people ISBN ISBN 1-84119-878-1, (or if you are the U.S), US ISBN 1-932360-65-4, Pages 270-272 contains the whole version of the 'Letterman Incident' from Hicks' diaries

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Special:Contributions/213.107.93.242 (talk) 23:58, 30 June 2011

I'm not going to sink to your level of vitriol. If you can't be bothered to read how to do proper, footnoted citations, write posts in a civil way, or use proper English, then I'm not sure you're a constructive contributor to Wikipedia. This is not a Bill Hicks fan site. If you can't do the work of following Wikipedia policies and guidelines, or even that of the English language, then perhaps Wikipedia is not the best place for you. --Tenebrae (talk) 00:49, 1 July 2011 (UTC)Reply

You on the other hand are perfectly versed in English hence your complete oversight of my point (see above). I am sorry I dont do this everyday as I have a life outside Wikipedia and barnstars are but dust in the wind. So if u choose too ignore my edits then that's fine:

if you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch, if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; if all men count with you, but none too much.

read a book before you try and school english to an englishman — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.107.93.242 (talk) 01:07, 1 July 2011 (UTC)Reply

Please read Wikipedia policy regarding civility, which your rant above violates. We do not speak to other editors in such fashion. If you cannot adhere to that policy, it may be best you do not edit Wikipedia. Further violations can lead to your being blocked. Thank you. --Tenebrae (talk) 13:24, 7 July 2011 (UTC)Reply

Incidentally, that would be "try to school," not "try and school." Also, you misused the word "oversight." -- Tenebrae (talk) 13:25, 7 July 2011 (UTC)Reply

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RE: The following passage: "He spent time with his parents, playing them the music he loved and showing them documentaries about his interests. He died of side effects of his cancer treatmentItalic text in the presence of his parents at 11:20pm on February 26, 1994. He was 32 years old.[37]"

The source does not mention in any fashion, that the cause of Bill Hicks' death was anything but the cancer itself. No where, does the cited source mention side effects from cancer therapy. This needs to be edited or recited.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Bmer24 (talk • contribs) 00:38, May 1, 2012‎ (UTC} (moved from Talk:Bill Hicks/Comments by elektrikSHOOS (talk) 01:01, 1 May 2012 (UTC))Reply

Thanks! I tagged the sentence with {{Failed verification}} for now. Woz2 (talk) 02:02, 1 May 2012 (UTC)Reply

The 2nd paragraph says Hicks was 4th in 2007 and 2010, but later in the article it's 6th in 2007 and 4th in 2010. The only link I saw (reference 3 from Channel4.com) is, curiously, described as being retrieved in 2007 but points to an article clearly written in 2010. My suspicion is that

• That link originally pointed at 2007 and listed Hicks 6th there
• It subsequently changed to point to the 2010 article listing Hicks 4th
• Someone then looked at what was supposed to be the 2007 article and concluded that Hicks was 4th in 2007, and incorrectly wrote or edited the 2nd-paragraph statement.

But I have no way of confirming this. -- Steve Pucci | talk —Preceding undated comment added 14:14, 1 May 2012 (UTC).Reply

An image used in this article, File:Bill Hicks image.jpg, has been nominated for speedy deletion for the following reason: Wikipedia files with no non-free use rationale as of 6 May 2012 What should I do? Don't panic; you should have time to contest the deletion (although please review deletion guidelines before doing so). The best way to contest this form of deletion is by posting on the image talk page. If the image is non-free then you may need to provide a fair use rationale If the image isn't freely licensed and there is no fair use rationale, then it cannot be uploaded or used. If the image has already been deleted you may want to try Deletion Review To take part in any discussion, or to review a more detailed deletion rationale please visit the relevant image page (File:Bill Hicks image.jpg) This is Bot placed notification, another user has nominated/tagged the image --CommonsNotificationBot (talk) 21:05, 6 May 2012 (UTC)Reply

Isn't his middle name Melville, not Melvin? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.107.71.11 (talk) 14:32, 8 June 2012 (UTC)Reply

I believe that this article contains unnecessary of slang and casual language. Could I request permission to grammatically improve the article so it will sound more like an encyclopedia instead of the rolling stone magazine? comment added by User:Alex.miles.miller — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alex.miles.miller (talk • contribs) 05:57, 1 July 2012 (UTC) Reply

That's sure OK by me, though you don't need permission. --Tenebrae (talk) 00:43, 2 July 2012 (UTC)Reply

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

I work for Free Press Houston and we are trying to get a statue built of Bill Hicks in Houston. I am writing to request that this information be included on the Wikipedia article about Bill. The text I would suggest is:

"In August 2012, Free Press Houston started a campaign for a statue of Bill Hicks - http://www.billhicksstatue.com - to be permanently placed in the city of Houston." Willguess (talk) 19:13, 2 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

  Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. What is needed is something in a secondary source (i.e., independent from Free Press Houston) that suggests that the campaign is noteworthy and not ephemeral. The best example probably would be an article specifically focusing on the campaign in a major newspaper. Rivertorch (talk) 10:20, 3 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

I know this topic has been addressed before, at least twice (see above), but the article, as a result, seems to be worse rather than better. Specifically, I'm worried about a strong charge of plagiarism, against a living person, based on such thin referencing. The entire accusation relies on a single passage in Cynthia True's book, which is reproduced verbatim, without adding any of the evidence she cites to support it. And the evidence that she cites is marginal at best. Here is the sum total of all evidence that she presents:

"...'a bunch of whinin' fuckin' maggots,' Leary ranted of therapy junkies. A bunch of whinin' fuckin' maggots. That's what Bill called non-smokers in his audiences. '...We live in a country where John Lennon takes six bullets in the chest,' Leary cried, 'Yoko Ono is standing right next to him. Not one fuckin' bullet!' We live in a world where John Lennon was murdered yet Barry Manilow continues to put out fuckin' albums! Bill had said on Dangerous four years ago. '...All these rock stars should have been killed, man,' Leary said. 'Right after John Lennon died we should have got in the Partridge Family bus and driven around and killed 'em all one by one.' If you're gonna kill someone, have some fuckin' taste. I'll drive you to Kenny Rogers's house. Get in the car! I know where Wham! lives, Bill had declared on Dangerous.

This is hardly ineluctable evidence that "...Leary had, practically line for line, taken huge chunks of Bill's act and recorded it." Corroborating evidence -- that "at least 3 comedians have gone on record" about it -- is even more thinly supported by vague blog material. And there is no trace of documentation that Leary has denied the charges -- which he has -- so there's a problem with WP:NPOV as well. I have looked unsuccessfully for more solid evidence; so unless someone else can produce some, I'm going to remove this potentially libelous charge, or at least modify it to state that it is Cynthia True's opinion only. If someone is going to get sued, let it be her. For the record, I am neutral here -- I have no association with Leary, nor his family, nor with anyone related to or associated with Hicks. DoctorJoeE ^{review transgressions}/_{talk to me!} 15:10, 29 August 2013 (UTC)Reply

Having allowed more than enough time for objections or other input, I am going to proceed, as time permits. There will be a few additional changes as I make my way through the Berlin/Booth biography. DoctorJoeE ^{review transgressions}/_{talk to me!} 14:25, 4 October 2013 (UTC)Reply

Is it possible to take out the word "body" in "body of work" as it immediately follows info about his pancreatic cancer? You initially think it is talking about his body. Could it not just be "his work" ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.247.214.182 (talk) 22:40, 26 June 2015 (UTC)Reply

A valid suggestion. I have made the change. DoctorJoeE ^{review transgressions}/_{talk to me!} 00:30, 27 June 2015 (UTC)Reply

e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmCI8tYUccY

Famous "Conspiracy theorist" Alex Jones has claimed to be Bill Hicks and that he and a partner faked the death of Mr Hicks (that is, of the persona) and he took on his next persona, Alex Jones.

This really should be mentioned somewhere, even if it is not wideley accepted, because it is a neat post-death conspiracy that follows Hicks, just as the Paul was Replaced theory still dominates the conspiracy world of Mr McCartney. This Hicks theory is a common google search result with many pages on this from what it looks like. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.52.81.11 (talk) 19:21, 17 July 2015 (UTC)Reply

Um ... no. Even if you could source it properly - which I doubt - it would be giving undue weight to yet another ridiculous conspiracy theory that's riddled with holes big enough to drive a Mac truck through. This is an encyclopedia, not the National Enquirer. DoctorJoeE ^{review transgressions}/_{talk to me!} 19:52, 17 July 2015 (UTC)Reply

The website for Sacred Cow Productions for a long time, if not still, mentions that the character now played by Alex Jones was partly conceived by Booth and Hicks as an evil Rush Limbaugh caricature. That is a fact. In spite of this, Alex Jones continues to be taken seriously by almost everyone, and those who don't take him so are often admonished.69.43.35.98 (talk) 17:25, 20 November 2019 (UTC)Reply

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I have never seen any of Mr Hick's shows. However to write that "making his stand-up routine difficult to perform without mentioning words such as "wheelchair"" must be wrong. Surely the wheelchair joke was not his only joke? The routine could take place without that joke, therefore it could not be difficult to perform his routine without mentioning wheelchairs.Royalcourtier (talk) 19:57, 22 May 2016 (UTC)Reply

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There should be added under the Legacy heading some mention of the 2004 song by Welsh singer/songwriter Jem, inspired by Hicks, entitled "Just a Ride."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPeY7Mq3hC0 2601:246:4200:6792:E9FE:CE25:B7EA:CF64 (talk) 08:16, 14 December 2016 (UTC)Reply

How do we know that Hicks inspired the song? We would need a reliable source to that effect. DoctorJoeE ^{review transgressions}/_{talk to me!} 14:40, 17 December 2016 (UTC)Reply

https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/bill-hicks-biopic-treatment/ 65.207.90.10 (talk) 18:49, 16 September 2022 (UTC)Reply