My writing partner and I used to hang out with him at the Comedy Store and watched him freak out one night when Mitzi switched his spot with someone named Andrew Dice Clay. One of those times I met his mom and found out that, as a young preacher, he had been through my hometown. Much later he and his crew came to my Off-Line editing facility in Hollywood to put together a video he would show at his last Vegas show... which can be heard at the end of his "Live from Hell" album. He was incredibly cool and one of the best. Thank you for this.
🤔 man that musta been so awesome being around that era of comedy and getting to meet them people … i kinda wonder if he would be heartbroken to know how comedy acts r being censored in today time
@@ClockworkGFX Thanks! There is so much to tell, like the time Sam Kinson tested his "violated corpse" routine in front of us on the ground behind the Comedy Store.
What was it with casting Sam as unreal figures that only one person could see or hear? Seems like Hollywood executives couldn't picture him in normal human situations where his style of comedy didn't just make him look like a maniac.
Sam had wayyyy more years to offer this world. Fucking tragic losing him so young to a drunk driver. RIP Sam, you beautiful maniac. Excellent vid as always, Joe
I find it absolutely amazing how Sam Kinison was the person to give Jim Carrey that necessary push to go all out with his comedy. Being a life long Jim Carrey fan, I now have a much greater appreciation for what Mr. Kinison brought to the comedy world. Thanks to this video. Keep up the phenomenal work!!!
Also when he died he had been married for less than a week, had beat drugs, and was in the midst of a huge comeback (all while on the way to his sold out show). When he was hit head on - he looked fine, besides a mark on his head, and apparently talked to God - and then promptly died. SO FRICKIN SAD 😭!
I've heard that too. And that would be so just like Sam. He's up there, where ever that may be, giving the Heavenly Hosts concerts about the humans. Ooohhh. Up there with Mom and Dad, she's sewing baby blankets and he's snoozin in front of the Heavenly TV, watching the Angels play the Devils on HNIC.
@@loginregional The man beats his demons, gets his life straightened out and had just gotten married, only to have God kill him off because that's God's will. Proof that there either is no god, or god isn't all he's cracked up to be. What lost talent.
@@PhantomFilmAustralia God didn't get drunk and crash into him... Some person did. It's called free will. God doesn't make zombie slaves. Do you punish the father for crimes of his children?
I was fortunate enough to see Sam's live show (along with his friend, Carl LaBove, who was also brilliant; best take down of a heckler I ever saw), and it was epic. I remember getting the news of his death about a year later. So sad. RIP you wild man!
Fun fact: "Married... with Children" was originally developed for Fox as a starring vehicle for Sam and Roseanne Barr: ua-cam.com/video/SroICnksANA/v-deo.html
I've loved all your videos but this one is special. This man saved my life with his comedy. I have him a tattoo of the man and named my son Sam after him.
Wow, Mister Ramoni. Once again, it seems we are quite alike. As I am watching this and unpacking after a move, taking out books, what should I pull out but Brother Sam, same raucous cover and all. I love the line from his Arsenio interview about the annals of comedy history being a spectrum as opposed to some sort of lineage. "It's a rainbow, and you get a shade in it, IF you're lucky." Brilliant man. I was never surprised that he and the good reverend William Melvin Hicks were fast friends.
Sam Kinison’s cover of “Are You Lonesome Tonight” from the Tonight Show is genuinely one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life, especially when I saw it shortly after my break up with my ex. It was exactly what I needed to hear.
When I was a kid, I tried to build a time machine to stop John Denver from getting on his plane. Now at 35 I still want to build one to save Sam from the car.
I remember buying Sam's "Louder Than Hell" album around 1989 when I was 16 years old. I had to play it at a low volume so that my parents wouldn't freak out. 😀
Vice has a good show called “The Dark Side of Comedy” which recently did an episode on Kinison. It was a little jarring because every interview was like, “Sam was doing stuff nobody had ever seen before. He was taking comedy to bold new places,” and then they’d cut to the footage from his set and it would just be “I HATE MY BITCH OF AN EX-WIFE! AAAAAAAAAAAAHH!! AAAAAAAAAGGH!!!”
"When comedy didn't hurt people's feelings." I grew up during that time. I swear this world is not the one I was born into, like serious dimensional slippage. Sam is/was a crusader for comedy, thus free speech. May he live long in our memories, and may his act be forever studied at 'Comedy U. '
First saw him when I rented "It's a Bundyful Life" at my local Palmer Video around 1998, and he was gut bustingly hilarious! Never heard a comedian that screamed that loud before. I think Mad did a gag on him during their "Milestones That We're Rapidly Approaching" where a Kinison like comedian is literally blowing the audience away due to how loud he is. He was referred to as "The 2,000 Decibel Comedian".
I saw Sam at a club in LaJolla, had to buy a couple drinks. Saw him 6 more times, driving 800 miles once. From a tiny club to 15k seats he was always funny. I miss you Sammy.
It's insane that he got his life cleaned up just for someone else to kill him due to the very thing that had been holding him back. A real gut punch. 😢 I knew him as a kid from Charlie Hoover and his Married... with Children episode as well as snippets of his stand up I saw in passing.
Thank you for your video. I loved Sam, he was the first stand up I was really into. The road to Laughlin where he passed into the next life is hallowed ground.
Damn, Joe, it gave me chills when you said his age when he died. Being less than two years away from turning 38, that type of stuff seems to hit just a tad bit heavier the older ya get. I had hoped I'd be completely cold and apathetic by this age. Where the mailman was my only human contact each and everyday as I yelled at him for being late....but oh well, great doc as always, man!!!!!
Kinison also wasn't wearing his seatbelt when the crash happened. This resulted in him suffering from massive internal injuries which did not prevent him from exiting his car, but he died a few minutes later while sitting on the curb.
I turned 16 in 1985, so I remember Sam’s career very well. He was the hottest comic working from 86-until his death. His albums were played often while cruising around my little hometown.
his death was true tragic irony. he gets clean cause he doesn't want drinking or drugs to kill him, but then gets killed by a drunk driver. so in the end, drinking still got him.
Yeah I used to have it during standard def DVD's early days. It was called "Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh?" as I remember. I watched it a lot over the 2002 Christmas season on my original PlayStation 2.
Joe, this is Diego, from Argentina. I really dig your videos and your podcast with Ryan. I must say, though, that Sam was not the first comic hired just to do stand up in SNL. Andy Kaufman and Billy Crystal both did spots on SNL's first season, and there are also some sets by Steven Wright on the 80s era. Still, great video! Keep them comming!
That is absolutely devastating that he got sober, and was killed by a drunk driver. I forgot all about that Wild Thing video, I added it to my headbanger's ball playlist.
Sam Kinison is one of those comedians that no matter how much of him I see I can never understand how he got successful and what his fans found funny about him.
The idea from that Charlie Hoover show may have come from a Tales From the Crypt episode Sam Kinison was on, where he plays the conscience of a greedy rock promoter. I had heard of him from that Married with Children episode, and found him really charismatic, and preferred his observational comedy and quieter voice instead of the screaming punchlines. His upbringing as a preacher's son makes a lot of sense, as he knew how to perform with oratory skills to keep an audience following his words, and build anticipation with a story. He seemed very much a product of his time with the 80s hair metal and hard partying and being on Fox shows, but it is sad that he died young, and ironically was sober when a drunk teenage driver killed him.
You really are one of the best content creators on UA-cam! I love your documentaries! You are informative, in-depth, unbiased and still sentimental! Keep up the good work!
I'm an 80s kid, so I definitely remembered him as a stand-up. My favorite performance of his was as a voice. Season 2 episode 8 of Tales From The Crypt: For Cryin' Out Loud. (Interestingly enough, it also stars Katey Sagal!) It was a role he was perfectly cast for: a rather ignored, nagging conscience suddenly breaking through and screaming so loud that the bad guy thinks everyone can hear the voice.
Sam definitely wasn't the first comedian hired to do his bits on SNL. Andy Kaufman was featured many times, as far back as the first season, 1975. I remember there being others as well.
I've been waiting for this and glad it finally showed up. Sam was one of the first Comedians I saw when I was growing up. I got to see some of his shows on cable and he always had me in stitches. The day he died I cried all day, it was like I lost a friend (I was still young back then) but some of my memories of my childhood was of him
I first saw him on Married...With Children, and I wasn't sure what to make of him since I was a kid and all. I remember my father enjoying his appearance, which is kinda twisted given how his relationship with my mother ended. Recently, I learned of an article in Hustler of all places recounting Sam's time on set. Assuming it was accurate, he was indeed every bit the rock star, right down to being late, offering everyone drugs, and making the female stars uncomfortable.
I discovered him in 1990 at the same time as discovering Andrew Dice Clay when I was 16. But I actually heard his trademark scream two years earlier sampled on an Anthrax song mistakenly thinking it was by a band member.
I was a big fan of Sam and missed an opportunity to see him live. I still remember how i found out he died, it was on the tv news. They said "He was known as screaming Sam, tonight he is dead" the video clip showed Sam performing and bowing at the end to cheering fans.
I think he was around for precisely the right amount of time - I don't think that he would have learned that SHOUTING IS NOT A PUNCHLINE!!! It might be good for a few laughs but boy does it get old fast.
Been seeing clips and videos of Sam Kinnison for thirty years and I always try to skip through his fucking screaming because to me there is nothing more baffling and obnoxious and unfunny than someone shouting at the top of their fucking voice. How gimmicky and obnoxious.
My mom and I were (are?) fans of Sam. She and I saw him on his Rodney Dangerfield special not too long after it came out (I think we had HBO for a few months back then, and it was rerun), and we saw his "Breakin' the Rules" special a few years later. Both she and I laughed quite a bit, and it showed me that she was open to different types of comedians, and not just the "clean" acts you saw on regular TV (which my father has always been more into). After learning this, she and I got to share laughs over jokes and skits from all kinds of comedians, both cleaner and cruder, over the years until she passed away. Robin Williams, Gallagher, Richard Jeni, Eddie Griffin's earlier stuff, she introduced me to Don Rickles... lots of other comedians too. It's shame she was already gone when I learned of Bill Burr, because I think she would have enjoyed him. But Sam was the one who kicked off that comedy journey for her and I to share, and for that, I'll always give a "thanks" to Sam.
Impressive vocal ability. I mean screaming that much and still have a steady voice is impressive. Not really my cup of tea. Not because of the screaming but rather it seem to be very repetitive.
I learned about him back when one those documentaries about comedians and their tragedies came in the mid 2000s. Something like the Dark side of comedy. This before I ever watched Back to School
"There is no best. It's a rainbow and you get a shade in it if you're lucky." That's a great quote.
And accurate!
That's loser mid mediocre talk!!! Nah I'm kidding he's right
That's the best way I've ever heard anyone sum up comedy.
His appearance on married with children will always be one of my favorite Christmas specials
My writing partner and I used to hang out with him at the Comedy Store and watched him freak out one night when Mitzi switched his spot with someone named Andrew Dice Clay. One of those times I met his mom and found out that, as a young preacher, he had been through my hometown. Much later he and his crew came to my Off-Line editing facility in Hollywood to put together a video he would show at his last Vegas show... which can be heard at the end of his "Live from Hell" album. He was incredibly cool and one of the best. Thank you for this.
Thanks for sharing the super cool story.
🤔 man that musta been so awesome being around that era of comedy and getting to meet them people … i kinda wonder if he would be heartbroken to know how comedy acts r being censored in today time
@@ClockworkGFX Thanks! There is so much to tell, like the time Sam Kinson tested his "violated corpse" routine in front of us on the ground behind the Comedy Store.
@@Iam-still-noone He would be PISSED, then do an X-rated routine about it.!
@@SirSmoldham that's so cool. My dad has always loved Sam, and I'm just finding him as I'm getting older.
His role in Back to School is probably the hardest I've ever seen my dad laugh in my life. One of the funniest bits ever!
Definitely, that was one of the best scenes in the film!
"I didn't realize that you wanted to be part of the discussion, Mister Helper!"
I still use "Say it! Say it!" to this day.
Sam Kinison was also the voice of Marty's conscience in the Tales From The Crypt episode titled "For Cryin' Out Loud." One of my all time favorites.
I can't believe this role wasn't even mentioned, that episode is amazing.
What was it with casting Sam as unreal figures that only one person could see or hear? Seems like Hollywood executives couldn't picture him in normal human situations where his style of comedy didn't just make him look like a maniac.
@@HeartyArtieHerman's Head
I love that Atuk is it almost this urban legend in the comedy world where almost every comedian that died too soon was offered the role
Sam had wayyyy more years to offer this world.
Fucking tragic losing him so young to a drunk driver.
RIP Sam, you beautiful maniac.
Excellent vid as always, Joe
It's especially tragic that he got cleaned up, but addiction still killed him, just not his own. That's not how most stories end.
I find it absolutely amazing how Sam Kinison was the person to give Jim Carrey that necessary push to go all out with his comedy. Being a life long Jim Carrey fan, I now have a much greater appreciation for what Mr. Kinison brought to the comedy world. Thanks to this video. Keep up the phenomenal work!!!
Also when he died he had been married for less than a week, had beat drugs, and was in the midst of a huge comeback (all while on the way to his sold out show). When he was hit head on - he looked fine, besides a mark on his head, and apparently talked to God - and then promptly died. SO FRICKIN SAD 😭!
Yeah, because he could do at least a half-hour's worth of material from it.
I've heard that too. And that would be so just like Sam. He's up there, where ever that may be, giving the Heavenly Hosts concerts about the humans. Ooohhh.
Up there with Mom and Dad, she's sewing baby blankets and he's snoozin in front of the Heavenly TV, watching the Angels play the Devils on HNIC.
@@loginregional The man beats his demons, gets his life straightened out and had just gotten married, only to have God kill him off because that's God's will. Proof that there either is no god, or god isn't all he's cracked up to be. What lost talent.
He cocaine, tranquilizers and other drugs in his system at the time of his death. It's a myth he was clean.
@@PhantomFilmAustralia God didn't get drunk and crash into him... Some person did. It's called free will. God doesn't make zombie slaves. Do you punish the father for crimes of his children?
I wasn't a good minister, wasn't raking in the bucks
Sounds like he actually WAS a good minister
Dude was a road pirate. Thats why he dressed like one. RIP to a true entertainer.
Oooo I didn't know that Bill Hicks was in the same troupe as Sam. A mini-doc about Bill would be a great follow-up.
I was fortunate enough to see Sam's live show (along with his friend, Carl LaBove, who was also brilliant; best take down of a heckler I ever saw), and it was epic. I remember getting the news of his death about a year later. So sad. RIP you wild man!
Fun fact: "Married... with Children" was originally developed for Fox as a starring vehicle for Sam and Roseanne Barr: ua-cam.com/video/SroICnksANA/v-deo.html
I've loved all your videos but this one is special. This man saved my life with his comedy. I have him a tattoo of the man and named my son Sam after him.
Wow, Mister Ramoni. Once again, it seems we are quite alike. As I am watching this and unpacking after a move, taking out books, what should I pull out but Brother Sam, same raucous cover and all.
I love the line from his Arsenio interview about the annals of comedy history being a spectrum as opposed to some sort of lineage. "It's a rainbow, and you get a shade in it, IF you're lucky." Brilliant man. I was never surprised that he and the good reverend William Melvin Hicks were fast friends.
Sam Kiniston was like a supernova. A person such as him only comes around once in a lifetime. He is sorely missed.
Sam Kinison’s cover of “Are You Lonesome Tonight” from the Tonight Show is genuinely one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life, especially when I saw it shortly after my break up with my ex. It was exactly what I needed to hear.
It shouldn't surprise me anymore by now, but Mr. Joe Ramoni videos are in a class of their own, always masterfully done 🙏
When I was a kid, I tried to build a time machine to stop John Denver from getting on his plane. Now at 35 I still want to build one to save Sam from the car.
I, too, am fascinated with time travel.
At 41 years old.. I wanna build me a time machine so I can go back to 2022 and stay there.. I was happy for once
I remember buying Sam's "Louder Than Hell" album around 1989 when I was 16 years old. I had to play it at a low volume so that my parents wouldn't freak out. 😀
I’ve been mulling over his scene from Back to School lately… very timely indeed
Lifelong Kinison fan here. This was very well done.
I met Sam in Penn Station in 1990 - He was awesome....
Vice has a good show called “The Dark Side of Comedy” which recently did an episode on Kinison. It was a little jarring because every interview was like, “Sam was doing stuff nobody had ever seen before. He was taking comedy to bold new places,” and then they’d cut to the footage from his set and it would just be “I HATE MY BITCH OF AN EX-WIFE! AAAAAAAAAAAAHH!! AAAAAAAAAGGH!!!”
I really enjoyed this video! I would love to see more documentaries like this on stand up comedians!
What all the videos on this channel then
I really like that joke where he screams
That _was_ a good one.
When comedy didn’t hurt peoples feelings. He’d be rolling in his grave right now.
Rip Sam.
"When comedy didn't hurt people's feelings."
I grew up during that time. I swear this world is not the one I was born into, like serious dimensional slippage. Sam is/was a crusader for comedy, thus free speech. May he live long in our memories, and may his act be forever studied at 'Comedy U. '
Congrats on 200k!
Great work on this video!!!
First saw him when I rented "It's a Bundyful Life" at my local Palmer Video around 1998, and he was gut bustingly hilarious! Never heard a comedian that screamed that loud before. I think Mad did a gag on him during their "Milestones That We're Rapidly Approaching" where a Kinison like comedian is literally blowing the audience away due to how loud he is. He was referred to as "The 2,000 Decibel Comedian".
Thank you, once again.
I saw Sam at a club in LaJolla, had to buy a couple drinks. Saw him 6 more times, driving 800 miles once. From a tiny club to 15k seats he was always funny. I miss you Sammy.
Another great piece, from one of the most underrated channels on UA-cam.
It's insane that he got his life cleaned up just for someone else to kill him due to the very thing that had been holding him back. A real gut punch. 😢 I knew him as a kid from Charlie Hoover and his Married... with Children episode as well as snippets of his stand up I saw in passing.
Kinison! Thank you so much, you always seem to post things that match to my own weird (early childhood) fascinations. You really do him justice.
PS: I discovered Rodney through Sam. Interesting, huh? 😂
Thank you for your video. I loved Sam, he was the first stand up I was really into. The road to Laughlin where he passed into the next life is hallowed ground.
Excellent overview of Sam's life. Thanks for producing this.
You always make the best and endearing videos about films and people that I loved so much growing up.
Thank You so much for what you do.
Amazing video
That tales from the crypt episode with Sam Kinison 😂😂😂 Goated. Forgot the name...
For cryin out loud was the episode name....He also did the sketch on In Living Color sketch
ua-cam.com/video/W1dJ6mCkw_s/v-deo.html
@@littletom1978 in living color one was funny also.
instant classic
I heard him on the Howard Stern radio show. A few days later, he was dead. It was a shame and eerie.
Sam is so nostalgic to me. i remember my best friends dad playing all his standup for us. we quoted him endlessly
Was lucky enough to see him live, back in the mid/late 80's in a 1500 seat venue..
Very cool
Another great job. Thank you. Sam was the best. The best at what I have no Idea!
Damn, Joe, it gave me chills when you said his age when he died. Being less than two years away from turning 38, that type of stuff seems to hit just a tad bit heavier the older ya get. I had hoped I'd be completely cold and apathetic by this age. Where the mailman was my only human contact each and everyday as I yelled at him for being late....but oh well, great doc as always, man!!!!!
The weirdest part of getting older is that you never feel as old as you thought you would at any given age.
@@ronfroehlich4697 that's a damn good quote to live by
I have always had a soft spot for Sam Kinnison, something about his wild man attitude and cheerful confidence is timeless and always fun to enjoy
At first glance I thought that was Anne Ramsey in the thumbnail 😂
Kinison also wasn't wearing his seatbelt when the crash happened. This resulted in him suffering from massive internal injuries which did not prevent him from exiting his car, but he died a few minutes later while sitting on the curb.
A total legend
I turned 16 in 1985, so I remember Sam’s career very well. He was the hottest comic working from 86-until his death. His albums were played often while cruising around my little hometown.
"there is no best. it's a rainbow and you get a shade in it if you're lucky." so true, however I'm color blind and Norm MacDonald is gray.
No one, will ever be as good as Norm
@@vincesalas5486colin jost is better
@@Ottophildude...... SHUT UP
This still breaks my heart. 💔
his death was true tragic irony. he gets clean cause he doesn't want drinking or drugs to kill him, but then gets killed by a drunk driver. so in the end, drinking still got him.
Was it a underage driver
Over three decades later and he's still loved and his jokes still hit
Theres also a full documentary about him somewhere, and a short documentary on the Dark Side of Comedy series.
Yeah I used to have it during standard def DVD's early days. It was called "Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh?" as I remember. I watched it a lot over the 2002 Christmas season on my original PlayStation 2.
I put these videos on to wind down before bed… I wasn’t prepared to be jolted awake by Sam screeching every 4 minutes
Joe, this is Diego, from Argentina. I really dig your videos and your podcast with Ryan. I must say, though, that Sam was not the first comic hired just to do stand up in SNL. Andy Kaufman and Billy Crystal both did spots on SNL's first season, and there are also some sets by Steven Wright on the 80s era. Still, great video! Keep them comming!
That is absolutely devastating that he got sober, and was killed by a drunk driver. I forgot all about that Wild Thing video, I added it to my headbanger's ball playlist.
Ha ha! The ball! I just wore my Headbangers ball shirt today! 🤘🏼
The great thing about Sam Kinison was his larger than life energy he brought to everything
Aka cocaine
Kinison got his trademark look from Mama Fratelli in The Goonies.
I miss you Joanie. We'll all see you eventually.
Sam made his peace.
Sam Kinison is one of those comedians that no matter how much of him I see I can never understand how he got successful and what his fans found funny about him.
Wow. Then I guess you're just wasting your time here.
The idea from that Charlie Hoover show may have come from a Tales From the Crypt episode Sam Kinison was on, where he plays the conscience of a greedy rock promoter.
I had heard of him from that Married with Children episode, and found him really charismatic, and preferred his observational comedy and quieter voice instead of the screaming punchlines. His upbringing as a preacher's son makes a lot of sense, as he knew how to perform with oratory skills to keep an audience following his words, and build anticipation with a story. He seemed very much a product of his time with the 80s hair metal and hard partying and being on Fox shows, but it is sad that he died young, and ironically was sober when a drunk teenage driver killed him.
Love this guy, AGHHHHHHH!
Wow. Powerful
Sam was once a man of God, but he became a God himself.
You really are one of the best content creators on UA-cam! I love your documentaries! You are informative, in-depth, unbiased and still sentimental! Keep up the good work!
send this to Joe, he would love this
Very underrated by the young generation. Thank you for covering this and educating more people ❤
Sam triggers the fuck out of most people under 30.
Legend says that Sam's last words were "Jesus, don't let me die", yet we don't know if he was screaming it or not. JESUS, DON'T LET ME DIE!! OOOOH!
I heard that his last words were "No, I'm not ready....Okay, I'll go."
I'm an 80s kid, so I definitely remembered him as a stand-up. My favorite performance of his was as a voice. Season 2 episode 8 of Tales From The Crypt: For Cryin' Out Loud. (Interestingly enough, it also stars Katey Sagal!) It was a role he was perfectly cast for: a rather ignored, nagging conscience suddenly breaking through and screaming so loud that the bad guy thinks everyone can hear the voice.
It seems Sam Kinison was the Flea before Flea. Always playing that small roll in cool movies.
00:43; Reverend Jim: 'Thanks'
Very nice video. Sadly I got into him only a year or two before he died. I remember my mom showing me his obituary in the paper.
RIP Sam 🤘😎🤘
Sam: *Dying in the desert*
“Sand?”
2:05 “… Tommy CHUNG?!” 😂 That is AWESOME. Wonder if it was intentional dig at Chong. Either way 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
He was one of a kind. Gone far too soon.
Have you ever thought about doing a video on Rodney Dangerfield?
I thought from the thumbnail this was a video about Anne Ramsey from The Goonies and Throw Momma From The Train.
I loved Kinison! I used to love it when him and Dice were on Stern all of the time.
Only yesterday I was wondering when your next release would be.
this guy is hillarious the desert joke was always my favorite
Sam definitely wasn't the first comedian hired to do his bits on SNL. Andy Kaufman was featured many times, as far back as the first season, 1975.
I remember there being others as well.
Carlin did the first show
@@therealwilfreddierkes9980Carlin was the host of that episode so doesn't count.
The two other comedians I remember on SNL doing stand up around the same time are Harry Anderson and Joel Hodges.
Excellent recap of Sam's life and impact on comedy. It is nice to run across his bits from time to time and be reminded how awesome he was.
The brightest stars are the ones that burn the briefest
I've been waiting for this and glad it finally showed up. Sam was one of the first Comedians I saw when I was growing up. I got to see some of his shows on cable and he always had me in stitches. The day he died I cried all day, it was like I lost a friend (I was still young back then) but some of my memories of my childhood was of him
I first saw him on Married...With Children, and I wasn't sure what to make of him since I was a kid and all. I remember my father enjoying his appearance, which is kinda twisted given how his relationship with my mother ended. Recently, I learned of an article in Hustler of all places recounting Sam's time on set. Assuming it was accurate, he was indeed every bit the rock star, right down to being late, offering everyone drugs, and making the female stars uncomfortable.
I discovered him in 1990 at the same time as discovering Andrew Dice Clay when I was 16.
But I actually heard his trademark scream two years earlier sampled on an Anthrax song mistakenly thinking it was by a band member.
He didn't turn the dile to 11 he turned to 20
He broke off the dial.
I was a big fan of Sam and missed an opportunity to see him live. I still remember how i found out he died, it was on the tv news. They said "He was known as screaming Sam, tonight he is dead" the video clip showed Sam performing and bowing at the end to cheering fans.
Have you considered doing a deep dive video about the infamous "cursed" Atuk script? That is the stuff of legends!
I think he was around for precisely the right amount of time - I don't think that he would have learned that SHOUTING IS NOT A PUNCHLINE!!!
It might be good for a few laughs but boy does it get old fast.
Been seeing clips and videos of Sam Kinnison for thirty years and I always try to skip through his fucking screaming because to me there is nothing more baffling and obnoxious and unfunny than someone shouting at the top of their fucking voice. How gimmicky and obnoxious.
I still listen to his Live from hell album to this day, it's still funny now as it was then.
You know what I remember Kinison from is his episode of Tales from the Crypt.
My mom and I were (are?) fans of Sam. She and I saw him on his Rodney Dangerfield special not too long after it came out (I think we had HBO for a few months back then, and it was rerun), and we saw his "Breakin' the Rules" special a few years later. Both she and I laughed quite a bit, and it showed me that she was open to different types of comedians, and not just the "clean" acts you saw on regular TV (which my father has always been more into). After learning this, she and I got to share laughs over jokes and skits from all kinds of comedians, both cleaner and cruder, over the years until she passed away. Robin Williams, Gallagher, Richard Jeni, Eddie Griffin's earlier stuff, she introduced me to Don Rickles... lots of other comedians too. It's shame she was already gone when I learned of Bill Burr, because I think she would have enjoyed him. But Sam was the one who kicked off that comedy journey for her and I to share, and for that, I'll always give a "thanks" to Sam.
Are fans. Unless you stopped being fans of his work. I am still a huge Bill Hicks fan even though he has been dead for decades.
Impressive vocal ability. I mean screaming that much and still have a steady voice is impressive. Not really my cup of tea. Not because of the screaming but rather it seem to be very repetitive.
Try actually watching his stand up before you brush him off. He has a lot of interesting bits.
I learned about him back when one those documentaries about comedians and their tragedies came in the mid 2000s. Something like the Dark side of comedy. This before I ever watched Back to School
Geez, this guy was so funny. There is not a person who can yell like Sam Kinison.
Thank you for this. Love you brother.