Last month--February 26th actually-- marked the twelfth anniversary of outlaw commedian Bill Hicks' death from pancreatic cancer. I live in Dennis Leary country, so you can imagine how much it was touched upon here.
For those who don't know about him, check out the Sacred Cow site here. In case, you're going "huh?" over my comment about Leary, there's a really good synopsis about the Hicks/Leary contraversy here. For me, listening to the more gruelling passages to Lock and Load, Leary's first album after Hicks' death, puts me on the side of calling Leary a thief.
I read a joke on a web site once: Why is Dennis Leary famous? Because there's no cure for cancer (again, look at the links).
Around the time I was contemplating this, the monthly alumni magazine from my graduate alma matter, Emerson College, came out. Incidentally, the college actually address it to Freak Machine Press under my name. Proof positive: colleges will do everything to squeeze every red cent out of you. Hey, at least Emerson tries hard. Framingham State College still think I live with my parents.
Anyway, the magazine's cover story concerns the string of commedians to have graduated from Emerson, including Anthony Clark, Jay Leno, David Cross (who never graduated), Steven Wright and--most notable in my mind--Doug Herzog, former president of Fox TV and current president of Comedy Central, who admits that it was him who gave Leary his first break with a job at MTV's Remote Control.
I think a round of sorries all around are in order. Especially for Clark, who was in Boston Common, that lame show that made all my fellow graduate students want to crowd in that dammed rabbbit hole Crossroads, because it was in the show somehow.
I know that the Leary contraversy is not as cut and dry, but with Leary's friends in high places, it's no wonder Hicks' side ever got a fair shake.
More importantly, the article mentions the creation of the Comedy Archives at Emerson. Later this week, I'll be emailing Kevin Booth, head of Sacred Cow, the company started by him and Bill Hicks, to see if he might be interested in making a contribution. It would be interesting to see if Emerson would throw up any roadblocks if Booth were to submit any material that put Learly in any other light other than Patron Saint of Emerson.
Also, when I get my money issues straightened away, I'll be getting the Sane Man DVD straight from Booth. You should too.
No comments:
Post a Comment