Finally, some good news.
Beloved stand-up Mitch Hedberg’s career was tragically cut short when he died of a drug overdose in 2005. Now the comedian’s widow, Lynn Shawcroft, writes that there’s a wealth of unreleased material that could be compiled into a new special or even a documentary narrated by Hedberg himself.
Mitch was constantly jotting ideas onto paper. I have boxes and boxes of his notebooks, envelopes stuffed with hotel pads and scribbled-on napkins. I even found an airplane barf bag covered with notes. When he wasn’t writing, he was talking into a microcassette recorder, so I also have boxes of microtapes of him practicing and perfecting his material — material that’s never been heard.
And then there’s the footage. Mitch and I shot four of his shows on 16mm. That’s enough for a brand-new concert film. And there’s other film Mitch shot himself, with his voiceover. Enough for a documentary. A documentary that he could narrate himself!”
She added that the decision to release content will be solely hers.
I’ve been approached by directors who ask me to hand over everything. But I can’t do that. Whatever I do, I’ve got to do myself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVTLFoB6yHk
Shawcroft also praised her late husband’s innovative voice and joke writing.
He’s often referred to as a ‘one-liner comedian’ — and I’ll fist fight anyone who says that! To me, Mitch was a wordsmith and he was really silly, which I love. He chose subjects that were timeless. He’d do a joke about bananas or pancakes or cars — things that aren’t going away. He didn’t do jokes about sex, pop culture or politics, but admired others who did.
He searched for an original voice of his own. In this way, Mitch was able to take an audience to a place where our world is looked at in a different, more magical way.…all of you will be hearing and seeing Mitch again. And I’m betting he’ll still make you look at the world in a slightly different way.
See Hedberg’s voice in action by watching some of his greatest bits in the compilation video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVceIdoWf5o
h/t: Vulture