# Are there any comedians like Mitch Hedberg, or was he one of a kind **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986 "2016-06-10T00:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/21 "2016-06-10T18:08:27Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I saw him live, and he was obviously _waaaay high_, and he sucked… I’ve seen Zach Galifianakis when he was blasted drunk and it wasn’t funny either. Just a kinda funny drunk guy taking jokes way too far. He came out in the crowd and made fun of people but it wasn’t funny and went on forever. They really owe money back when they do that. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/22 "2016-06-10T18:32:55Z")
I saw Hedberg at a comedy club once. He was so strung out he was reading his jokes from a three-ring binder. I wanted to tell him, “Mitch, you’re confused on the concept here! A comic’s material is funnier when the **audience** is stoned!” Still, he got a lot of laughs, and what other measure of a successful performance is there in this business? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/23 "2016-06-10T18:37:22Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I saw him live, and he was obviously _waaaay high_, and he sucked. I was disappointed, 'cause I thought he was hilarious. (on TV) Same here. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/24 "2016-06-10T20:34:56Z")
Certain comics, like Galifinakis, Dimitri Martin, Bo Burnham and Reggie Watts I think of being experimental comics. As far as I know, this is not recognized as a genre per se. But they don’t just stand up and tell jokes, they seem to be experimenting with the boundaries of comedic stage performance. I don’t put Mitch Hedberg in that category. He has a strong comic persona, and he plays a lot with conceptual absurdity, which is also a feature of the experimental type comics I refer to, but otherwise he does straight stand up. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/25 "2016-06-11T02:43:02Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I’d never compare Tosh to Hedberg. Tosh reminds me of immature teen boys who think gross-out humor and humiliation is funny. It’s the same outline though, he doesn’t tell stories, it’s just a list of unrelated jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/26 "2016-06-11T02:46:37Z")
I think of Mitch every time I eat rice. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/27 "2016-06-11T05:20:39Z")
Emo Phillips did a lot of odd one liners in his stand-up. “You know what I hate? Indian givers…no, I take that back.” “Well, my brother says ‘hello’. So, horray for speech therapy.” ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/28 "2016-06-11T05:21:25Z")
Ah, yes, I remember Emo. “They said I broke the mold. Some of it grew back.” ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/29 "2016-06-11T06:08:04Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I think of Mitch every time I eat rice. There are just too many. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/30 "2016-06-11T12:40:14Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Emo Phillips did a lot of odd one liners in his stand-up. > “You know what I hate? Indian givers…no, I take that back.” > “Well, my brother says ‘hello’. So, horray for speech therapy.” That’s who led me to the Wikipedia page for paraprosdokians in the first place, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/31 "2016-06-12T04:44:57Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I saw Hedberg at a comedy club once. He was so strung out he was reading his jokes from a three-ring binder. I wanted to tell him, “Mitch, you’re confused on the concept here! A comic’s material is funnier when the **audience** is stoned!” Are you sure he was strung out and not just working out new material? Don’t know what level of show you were at but working from cards/notebooks isn’t unheard of for early runs of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/32 "2016-06-12T05:02:24Z")
Never heard of him until now. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/33 "2016-06-12T22:31:38Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Never heard of him until now. I used to love Mitch Hedberg. Oh, I still love him, but I used to, too. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/34 "2016-06-12T22:57:26Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I used to love Mitch Hedberg. > Oh, I still love him, but I used to, too. Plus one! My sorta angry and snide comment above is because I only discovered Mitch after he died. This made me angry and resentful. Stop doing drugs and dying before I discover you, comics! Or don’t stop doing drugs-- learn moderation. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/35 "2016-06-12T23:31:18Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I used to love Mitch Hedberg. > Oh, I still love him, but I used to, too. People either loved him, or they hated him. Or they thought he was okay. ---
**Author:** ![Hairy\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecc23a/32.png) [@Hairy\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hairy_Bob)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/36 "2016-06-13T09:38:30Z")
Thanks, ZipperJJ, for reminding me to watch more Milton Jones! “Some people say firefighters deserve more money, but apparently, a poll was taken and they all fell through a hole in the floor!” His delivery cracks me up, the way he often looks lost or confused makes a nice change from most comedians IMO. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/37 "2016-06-13T18:04:28Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > People either loved him, or they hated him. Or they thought he was okay. 🙂 Biggirl, I totally agree. Perhaps it’s selfish of us to hope our favorite artists take care of themselves and not die so they can keep giving us their art, but I think it may not be selfish, really. Presumably in most cases a part of them (or all of them) wants to live, too. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/38 "2016-06-13T18:34:16Z")
With a guy like Hedberg, I hate to say, the worst thing that could’ve happened to him was success. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986/39 "2016-06-13T18:41:06Z")
I had a neighbor, and whenever he would knock on the wall, I knew he wanted me to turn my music down… When he knocked on the wall, I would mess with his head. I’d say, ‘Go around.’ His next door neighbor was Nick Dipaolo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-comedians-like-mitch-hedberg-or-was-he-one-of-a-kind/756986.md?page=1)