Bill Hicks

Bill Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and musician born William Melvin Hicks on December 16, 1961, in Valdosta, Georgia. He grew up in Houston, Texas, where as a teenager he began performing at the Comedy Workshop with his friend Dwight Slade. He continued working clubs through high school and into the early 1980s, eventually moving to New York and Los Angeles to expand his touring schedule.

His material drew on philosophy, politics, religion, drug policy, consumer culture, and the American media landscape. He recorded the albums Dangerous in 1990, Relentless in 1992, and Arizona Bay and Rant in E-Minor, both released after his death. He gained a particularly strong following in the United Kingdom and Ireland after touring there in the early 1990s, and his concert film Revelations was recorded at the Dominion Theatre in London in 1992 for Channel 4.

In October 1993 he taped a set for Late Show with David Letterman on CBS, but the segment was cut from the broadcast before air. The full performance was finally shown on the program in January 2009 by host David Letterman, who apologized to Hicks's mother, Mary, on air.

He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June 1993 and continued performing while undergoing treatment. He died on February 26, 1994, at age 32. His comedy has been cited as an influence by performers including Joe Rogan, Doug Stanhope, and David Cross, and his life was the subject of the 2009 documentary American: The Bill Hicks Story.

Their name Bill derives from the Germanic elements wil meaning will or desire and helm meaning helmet, as a short form of William. Bill was one of the most common American nicknames for boys named William during the twentieth century.