Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

Bill Hicks Biography

14:03 / 05.02.02

If you’re a fan of the work of the late comedian Bill Hicks – and if you’re not, shame on you – then you might want to check out the book ‘American Scream : The Bill Hicks Story’ by Cynthia True.

(Sorry no link, can’t get onto Amazon right now – use one of Tom’s flags above, eh ?)

I’ve read it, and it’s not bad; interesting – but I’m biased towards the subject matter – and informative (Hicks was, apparently, very annoyed at Denis Leary for nicking great chunks of his act), but unfortunately not very insightful, if you see what I mean. True seems to appreciate and like and enjoy Hicks’ work, but it’s not very often that the book comes close to uncovering any of the reasons and motives behind his comedy… a book which does something like this, to my mind, would be Harry Thompson’s biography of Peter Cook.

I like to kid myself that I’m posting this here solely to alert people to the existence of the book, but a part of me was also aching to start a ‘book review’ thread, like a series of shop-window postings where you could alert people to stuff you’ve recently enjoyed. Dunno how feasible that would be, but… well, whatever.

Anyway, a not-bad book on Hicks. And as the first of its kind, as far as I know, it’s good to have so many salient facts about the man in one place…

DBC

The Return Of Rothkoid

14:14 / 05.02.02

Amazon.co.uk have it for a tenner.
US link here.

16:49 / 05.02.02

Is it just a paste job, or does she interview people herself?

Hicks was, apparently, very annoyed at Denis Leary for nicking great chunks of his act

Didn't he say, IIRC, something like: "Yeah, Denis Leary. I'll let you into a secret. I stole his act, camoflaged it with punchlines - and to really get the beat on him, I did it three years before him."

May well check it out. I love Bill.

20:08 / 05.02.02

quote:Originally posted by Not Me Again:

Didn't he say, IIRC, something like: "Yeah, Denis Leary. I'll let you into a secret. I stole his act, camoflaged it with punchlines - and to really get the beat on him, I did it three years before him."

That sounds like Bill.

I knew a friend of Bill's (and I don't mean in the AA sense). Apparently he was the demure geek off-stage we all suspected him to be.

10:12 / 06.02.02

There seems to be a degree of interviewing – particularly with some people who knew Bill in the later stages of his life – though I’m sure a lot of it is culled from files and the like. True is, as the back of the book says, a journalist… intrigued to see Garth Ennis listed as one of the people she thanks; I know he put Bill into Preacher – in fact, you might argue he’s the catalyst for the whole series – but he’s not referred to in the text, as far as I recall.

And that line about Leary is just priceless; made my day…

DBC

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

10:42 / 06.02.02

That's "Bill". And "Grant". Amazing how, if you spend enough money consuming somebody's product you get to be their friend...

Or, to put it another way, this is my problem with modern biography in a nutshell. It fosters a sense of community without really contributing much. Why is it "good to have all these facts in one place"? What possible interest could be found in the biographical details of a man who made his fame by being rude and funny on TV?

11:01 / 06.02.02

quote:Originally posted by Floats With Spider:
Apparently he was the demure geek off-stage we all suspected him to be.

The "i am a superstar now" interview he gave Channel 4 (as part of just for laughs) was very, very funny, the thing that got me into Hicks' work in the first place. Don't have a copy of it unfortunately.

Why have the facts in one place? Saves a web search I suppose. What would I do with the facts? Well unless I wanted to put Hicks into a short story or something, entertainment.

11:04 / 06.02.02

Originally posted by Haus:

That's "Bill". And "Grant". Amazing how, if you spend enough money consuming somebody's product you get to be their friend...

Or alternatively, I refer to people I like by their first name sometimes, even if I haven't met them and they are obviously not my friend.

That's why I've never referred to you via the 'D' word, Haus...

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

11:36 / 06.02.02

Edited because feeding the trolls is a bad, bad thing)

[ 06-02-2002: Message edited by: He said he had a horrible Haus ]

12:00 / 06.02.02

quote:Originally posted by He said he had a horrible Haus:
That's "Bill". And "Grant". Amazing how, if you spend enough money consuming somebody's product you get to be their friend...

Or, to put it another way, this is my problem with modern biography in a nutshell. It fosters a sense of community without really contributing much. Why is it "good to have all these facts in one place"? What possible interest could be found in the biographical details of a man who made his fame by being rude and funny on TV?

You're right that I call him Bill, and I call him Grant, and the like - I tend to refer to people in a casual conversational way, because it seems a bit forced not to. This isn't an academic essay, after all.

And on a daft practical level, as a fan of Hicks I find it useful to have all the salient info on him in one book, rather than in dozens of scattered magazine/newspaper articles. For the same reason I want to have info on anyone I admire.

You're right, of course, all Hicks did was be rude and funny (some might even aver he made important points, but that's another issue). Just like Shakespeare wrote some plays, the Beatles made noises with voices and instruments, Einstein and Feynmann had a couple of ideas, and the like. God only knows why I might want to know more about these people and the things that made them who they were.

DBC

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

12:14 / 06.02.02

Well, actually, yes. Whether Einstein was a happy child really doesn't affect my interest in or understanding of his work, any nmore than my enjoyment of the Tempest is affected by whether or not Shakespeare was gay.

Nelson Evergreen

01:08 / 27.02.02

quote:Originally posted by He said he had a horrible Haus:
Whether Einstein was a happy child really doesn't affect my interest in or understanding of his work, any nmore than my enjoyment of the Tempest is affected by whether or not Shakespeare was gay.

A perfectly good point. Probably. 'Can't be sure until I find out what colour socks you wear and who your favourite member of Steps was.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

10:59 / 27.02.02

Surely knowledge of the life that made a person what they are/were gives their sentiments/comments some kind of context? In the same way that every utterance made my anyone EVER is understood ever-so-slightly differently by everyone who hears it? I mean, deconstruction CAN go too far, but- if one of your mates calls you a cunt, surely that's different to a stranger saying the same thing? And part of that is to do with your relationship with them, but part of it is to do with what you KNOW about them... if a hardcore fundamentalist Xtian (who you KNOW never swears) calls you a cunt, then surely that's a factor that should be taken into account?
I'd like to know more about (Pope) Bill (The Divine) Hicks. Of course I would.
(Speaking as someone who found Deborah Curtis' biography of her late husband Ian fascinating- even though it did take one of my idols, cover his feet in clay and lead and chuck him into the sea. Of course it wasn't unbiased- but it made me at least look a bit harder at my childhood hero, and conclude- "perhaps he was just as much a prick as the rest of us, if not a lot more so".)

11:03 / 27.02.02

sometimes i'm too mean

[ 27-02-2002: Message edited by: little brained brain surgeon ]

gozer the destructor

13:22 / 27.02.02

I heard that when Bill Hicks quit smoking and they asked him why he said, "I wanna see if Dennis Leary will."

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

14:12 / 08.03.02

I'm halfway through the book now... and, boy, I so wish I'd met the guy even MORE than I already did... and yes, I have got as far as him being an unpleasant drunk... (think I kind of sympathised with that part)...
Not brilliantly written... but I'm 100 pages in and I've cried twice.

04:42 / 09.03.02

[off]i know a bunch of comediands from boston and they all fucking hate leary cuz he swept through and took ALL their jokes. much bitterness.[/off]

11:40 / 13.03.02

Longish article about Hicks in salon today:
http://www.salon.com/people/feature/2002/03/13/hicks/index.html

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

11:56 / 15.03.02

Just finished it... and crying out loud on a packed bus is almost as much of a no-no as laughing, let me tell you...
(Hey, I did it to myself. I already knew the ending... this is why I don't read too many posthumous biographies- you just KNOW they ain't gonna end well.)
Unlike the Ian Curtis one, (which, to restate, is fucking brilliant and I read it often) this one did reaffirm my sense that he was probably a really cool guy.

06:31 / 19.03.02

Thanks for that link, Invix, the article's pretty good...

Anyone see the Tribute to Hicks in London last week ? The author of the biography, Cynthia True, showed the footage of Bill at Igby's and read from the book. Worth £3 of my money... despite some of the meatheads shouting stupid questions at the end of the night.

DBC