04-03-2005
Apr. 3rd, 2005 01:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kotaotan"I'm sorry, Mr. Hayman. Your idols are dead."
First, let me extend my deepest condolences to my Catholic friends out there for the loss of Pope John Paul II. While not a Catholic myself, I did respect the man and I think the world has lost a good man.
I found out Thursday that Mitch Hedberg had died of an appearant heart attack at age 34. For those that don't know, Mitch was a stand-up comedian. He had made appreances on "That 70's Show" and played the Eagles' manager in the film "Almost Famous". Mitch was one of those rare things. A person who could make me laugh every single time I saw him. His on stage personality was amusing and down to earth and after a few minutes you would always end up talking in the same stoner voice he used. And now he's gone.
Celebrity deaths normally don't phase me all that much. It's another person lost to us. Only a couple have seriously shaken me. Mitch was one of those two. The other, of course, was Douglas Adams. I can remember that Saturday in May 2001 like it was yesterday. I heard the tail end of "Douglas Adams, dead today" on CNN and I just knew I had heard wrong. Certainly not Douglas. Unfortunately it was true. The single biggest influence on my since of humor and my writing style had been taken from me. Those dreams of one day meeting him? Gone. The unexpected resurrection of the Guide book series? Not gonna happen. Also, because of a heart attack.
I guess the reason it hurt so much on both counts is because I could relate to these guys. Our lives were completely different in most respects, but we all had that veiw of the world that few ever get. Cynical with an underlying optimism that no matter how many times we're shit on, it won't go away. A sense that the strange was just a part of life and that it made things interesting. I've come across few who have a true understanding of absurdity of life, and I've lost the two most vocal.
Good bye, Mitch. I'll let you know if Pringles ever gets around to making those tennis balls.
First, let me extend my deepest condolences to my Catholic friends out there for the loss of Pope John Paul II. While not a Catholic myself, I did respect the man and I think the world has lost a good man.
I found out Thursday that Mitch Hedberg had died of an appearant heart attack at age 34. For those that don't know, Mitch was a stand-up comedian. He had made appreances on "That 70's Show" and played the Eagles' manager in the film "Almost Famous". Mitch was one of those rare things. A person who could make me laugh every single time I saw him. His on stage personality was amusing and down to earth and after a few minutes you would always end up talking in the same stoner voice he used. And now he's gone.
Celebrity deaths normally don't phase me all that much. It's another person lost to us. Only a couple have seriously shaken me. Mitch was one of those two. The other, of course, was Douglas Adams. I can remember that Saturday in May 2001 like it was yesterday. I heard the tail end of "Douglas Adams, dead today" on CNN and I just knew I had heard wrong. Certainly not Douglas. Unfortunately it was true. The single biggest influence on my since of humor and my writing style had been taken from me. Those dreams of one day meeting him? Gone. The unexpected resurrection of the Guide book series? Not gonna happen. Also, because of a heart attack.
I guess the reason it hurt so much on both counts is because I could relate to these guys. Our lives were completely different in most respects, but we all had that veiw of the world that few ever get. Cynical with an underlying optimism that no matter how many times we're shit on, it won't go away. A sense that the strange was just a part of life and that it made things interesting. I've come across few who have a true understanding of absurdity of life, and I've lost the two most vocal.
Good bye, Mitch. I'll let you know if Pringles ever gets around to making those tennis balls.
