"Bill Hicks American Comic/Social Critic"

Bill Hicks was born on the 16th of December 1961 in Valdosta Georgia, USA. He moved to Houston, Texas at the age of Seven.

A child prodigy, he began performing and writing comedy at the age of thirteen. He would sneak out of his bedroom window to play the nightclubs he was banned from by his parents.

He started touring full time at eighteen and was already a seasoned pro by the time he was twenty.

"I grew up in what's called the memorial area of Houston. It's a well to do area. My friends were spoiled but no me, no siree. As a 12 year old I wanted a go-cart. When Christmas rolled around, all my friends got go carts, I got a Websters' College Dictionary. Wooh. Party. My dad goes 'wait a minute Bill Go- cart is in the Dictionary', 'yeah Dad so is tightwad."

Bill was a little to hard to be friends with. He was a great athlete, good at everything he did. Not just good, he wiped you out, without trying. He made you measure yourself against him. It was in a way even more maddening that Bill was so sweet and humble. If you were his friend, he was your biggest fan.

Bill always said "No one can give you any answers, there aren't any. You have to discover for yourself - you must learn to navigate the mystery."

Things did not always run smootly for Bill during his act. Often this would include attacking what most of the Audience believed in, having paid to see a comedy show most would walk out. However on one occasion (after a peice about war) two Vietnam Veterans came up to Bill after the show. Unhappy with what he said a fight ensued and they broke his leg.

Yet Bill's following grew, especially in England. Where he mounted two very successful tours of comedy clubs and larger theatres. On the streets of London fans mobbed him. Channel 4 signed Bill and another comic to create a T.V. show called " Counts of the Netherworld".

In America though Bill's comedy was in a slump, though he kept appearing on Late Night with David Letterman, a popular T.V. show with fifteen million veiwers. Yet he still remained outside of the mainstream audience, partly to do with his veiws on Abortion, Racism, Drugs, The Gulf War and most of all his favourite topic Pornography. The fact that all the main television networks think of their veiwers as stupid didn't help either.

In Mid-June 1993 Bill was diagnosed with cancer. A heavy smoker from the end of his teens and an almost religious drugs taker, had all taken its toll on Bills body. Ironically he had given up smoking 18 months before learning about the cancer.

Bill began chemothreapy, told only his family and fiancee of his illness and continued to play live. Bill was at his happiest with the work that he was doing, and the seamlessness of his live show that he had finally achived. He felt loved and appreciated, completely happy for the first time in his life.

On October 1st 1993 Bills' material was cut from the transmitted David Letterman Programme. More controversial than usual, Bill had run through has act before hand and had got the green light. Still they felt the material had too many "hot spots" His act contained the following jokes:

"Y'know what I find strange about these Prolifers, if your so prolife do me a favour don't lock arms and block med clinics, lock arms and block cemeteries, let's see how committed you are to this premise:"

"She can't come in"

"She was 86 she was hit by a bus"

"There's options"

"What are you talking about, do we have to get here stuffed?"

"Get her out of that casket, there'll be no death on this planet"

"You know I consider myself a fairly open minded person, but have you heard about these two new grade school books. One's called Heather Has Two Mommies. The other one is called Daddys' New Roommate. I gotta draw the line here and say this is absolutley disgusting. Grotesque."

" I'm talking of course, about Daddys' New Roommate."

" Heather Has Two Mommies on the other hand is quite fetching. You know, they kiss in chapter 4. Oooh go mommies go."

" I was in Austraila over Easter they commemorate the same way we do, by celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus by telling our children a giant bunny left chocolate eggs in the night. I wonder why we're messed up as a race."

Having been on the show eleven times before this gave him all the more evidence for his belief, that the media are used to keep people stupid. to stop them questioning what their governments are really up to.

In February 1994 Bill began calling all his friends and gave his advice said his goodbyes. On Valentines Day 1994 he finally got in touch with his first love Laurie Morgan, Now a pathologist in New York.

Then he stopped speaking "I've said all I have to say" Bill told Colleen and his family. Though he lived for two more weeks going for walks around the house or out for drives with Steve or his folks, those were his last words.

Bill Hicks Died at 11:20PM on February 26 1994 He was just 32 Years old.