R.I.P.

Mitch Hedberg has died. He was 37. While the official word says the cause is unclear, the unofficial word say overdose. Considering his rep, the latter is quite believable. (I talked to a friend who saw him perform in Ann Arbor--then saw him in the bathroom at the club doing drugs.)

Hedberg was perhaps my favorite under-40 comedian. I only saw him a few times on TV, but I always felt his take on things, along with his semi-stoner delivery, made him unique.

He didn't actually do a lot of drug humor. If anything, he seemed more obsessed with food. The druggie persona was more of a springboard for his odd observations. Let me quote a few of his lines:

"I think foosball is a combination of soccer and shishkabob."

"My friend asked me if I wanted a frozen banana, I said 'No, but I want a regular banana later, so, yeah.' "

"A waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap."

"Why are there no during pictures?"

"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."

Perhaps his signature bit is about buying a doughnut:

"I bought a doughnut and they gave me a receipt for the doughnut... I don't need a receipt for the doughnut. I give you money and you give me the doughnut, end of transaction. We don't need to bring ink and paper into this. I can't imagine a scenario that I would have to prove that I bought a doughnut. To some skeptical friend, Don't even act like I didn't buy a doughnut, I've got the documentation right here... It's in my file at home. ...Under D."

It would have been interesting to see how he developed.