Samuel Burl Kinison ( ; December 8, 1953 – April 10, 1992) was an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

and actor. A former

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movement preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

, he performed stand-up routines that were characterized by intense sudden tirades, punctuated with his distinctive scream, similar to

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

preachers. Initially performing for free, Kinison became a regular fixture at

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

where he met and eventually befriended such comics as

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

and

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...

. Kinison's comedy was crass observational humor, especially towards women and dating, and his popularity grew quickly, earning him appearances on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'', ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production compa ...

'' and ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

''. At the peak of his career, Kinison was killed in a car crash. Kinison received a Grammy nomination in 1988 for the single " Wild Thing" from his '' Have You Seen Me Lately?'' album, and a posthumous win in 1994 for Best Spoken Comedy Album, '' Live from Hell''.

Early life

Samuel Burl Kinison was born in

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninc ...

, on December 8, 1953, the son of Marie Florence (''née'' Morrow) and Samuel Earl Kinison, a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movement The family moved to

East Peoria, Illinois East Peoria is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,402 at the 2010 census. East Peoria is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, located across the Illinois Ri ...

, when Kinison was three months old. At the age of three years, Kinison was hit by a truck, which left him with brain damage. His father pastored several churches around the country, receiving little income. Kinison had two older brothers, Richard and Bill, and a younger brother, Kevin. His parents divorced when Kinison was 11 after which his brother Bill went to live with his father while Kinison stayed with the rest of the family, against his protestations. Bill described this as the root of much of Sam's anger. Kinison later attended East Peoria Community High School in East Peoria. Kinison and his brothers emulated their father by becoming Pentecostal preachers. Between 1968 and 1969, Kinison attended Pinecrest Bible Training Center, an

interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by various ...

, unaccredited, three-year bible school located in

Salisbury Center, New York Salisbury Center is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the Town of Salisbury in Herkimer County, New York, United States. Salisbury Center has a post office with zip code 13454. New York State Route 29 and New York State Route 29 ...

. His mother married another preacher and moved to

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

, where Kinison lived for a while. He preached from the age of 17 to 24 and recordings of his sermons reveal that he used a " fire and brimstone" style, punctuated with shouts similar to the ones he would later use in his stand-up routines. His brother Bill, however, noted that "ironically, he had no stage presence" and he was not very successful at making money from preaching. After Kinison and his first wife were divorced, he abandoned preaching and took up comedy.

Career

Kinison began his career in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, where he performed in small clubs. He became a member of a comedic group at the Comedy Workshop, known as the Texas Outlaw Comics, that included

Bill Hicks William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material—encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy—wa ...

Ron Shock Howard Ronald "Ron" Shock (October 19, 1942 – May 17, 2012) was an American comedian and storyteller who was best known for his reenactments of stories that he extracted from newspapers. Early life Shock was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.Weat ...

, Riley Barber, Steve Epstein, Andy Huggins, John Farneti, and Jimmy Pineapple. Hicks cited Kinison as a major influence on his comedic style, noting that "He was the first guy I ever saw to go on stage and not in any way ask the audience to like him." In 1980, Kinison moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

hoping to find work at

, but was first employed as a doorman. He soon developed a cocaine and alcohol addiction, quickly progressing to freebasing cocaine, and struggled to gain a foothold in the business until his brother Bill moved to Los Angeles to help manage his career. His big break came on HBO's ''Rodney Dangerfield's Ninth Annual Young Comedians Special'' in August 1985. After noting the performance of Bob Nelson, reviewer

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "the most interesting of the other eight comedians is the savagely misogynistic Sam Kinison. Mr. Kinison specializes in a grotesque animalist howl that might be described as the primal scream of the married man." Kinison would later appear in Rodney Dangerfield's film '' Back to School'' in 1986. In Kinison's debut television appearance on ''

'' in 1985, Letterman's introduction of Kinison warned his audience, "Brace yourselves. I'm not kidding. Please welcome Sam Kinison." Kinison played on his former role as a Bible-preaching evangelist, taking satirical and sacrilegious shots at the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and famous Christian evangelist scandals of his day. Kinison's daring comedy helped shoot him to stardom. On several videos of his stand-up routines, a shot of the personalized license plate on his 1986

Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

reveals the words "EX REV." He was associated with the Los Angeles rock music scene and was occasionally accompanied by a touring band. Sam Kinison

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...

purchased the film rights to Kinison's biography, written by Kinison's brother, at one point (2008) reporting that HBO would make ''Brother Sam'' with Kinison being played by

Dan Fogler Daniel Kevin Fogler (born October 20, 1976) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He has appeared in films including '' Balls of Fury'', '' Good Luck Chuck'', ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'', '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Gr ...

. In an interview with Sam's brother and manager Bill Kinison, Bill mentioned film deals that were in development at the time of his death; one such deal was a film with

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

, and another with Rick Moranis.

Personal life

Kinison acquired much of his material from his first two marriages, to Patricia Adkins (1975–1980) and Terry Marze (1981–1989). He began a relationship with dancer Malika Souiri toward the end of his marriage with Marze. In 1990, Souiri alleged she was raped by a man Kinison had hired as a bodyguard while Kinison was asleep in the house. The bodyguard stated that the sex was consensual; the jury deadlocked in the subsequent trial, and the charges were later dropped. On April 4, 1992, six days before his death, Kinison married Souiri at the Candlelight Chapel in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

. They honeymooned in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

for five days before returning home to

on April 10 to prepare for a show that night at the Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino in

Laughlin, Nevada Laughlin is an unincorporated resort town and census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is located on the Colorado River, directly across from the much larger Bullhead City, Arizona. Laughlin lies south of Las Vegas, in ...

. Souiri sued Kinison's brother Bill in 1995 for allegedly defaming her in his book ''Brother Sam: The Short Spectacular Life of Sam Kinison'', and then again in 2009 for allegedly forging Sam's will. In February 2011, the ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Postmedia Place in ...

'' reported that Kinison had fathered a child with the wife of his best friend and opening act, Carl LaBove, who had been paying child support for the girl for nearly 13 years. LaBove filed legal papers claiming the girl was Kinison's and

DNA tests Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

taken from Kinison's brother Bill show a 99.8% likelihood that Kinison was the father of the unnamed woman.

Death

On April 10, 1992, Kinison was driving his Pontiac Turbo Trans Am when it was struck head-on on Needles Highway (34.896180 N, 114.644944 W), north of

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

(Exit 141), and around northwest of

Needles, California Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the Californian border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is ...

, by a

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...

driven by 17-year-old Troy Pierson. Prior to the crash, Pierson had been drinking alcohol. The pickup truck crossed the center line of the roadway while trying to pass another vehicle and moved into Kinison's lane. Kinison and his wife were on their way to

, to perform at a sold-out show at the Riverside Casino. After the crash, Kinison appeared fine, with only minor visible facial wounds. He got out of his vehicle and sat down on the side of the road, where he soon died from internal injuries. His head smashed the windshield, as he was not wearing his seat belt. He was 38 years old. His wife was also injured in the collision but later recovered after being taken directly to a hospital in Needles for treatment. An autopsy found that Kinison sustained multiple traumatic injuries, including a dislocation in the cervical spine, a torn

aorta The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes o ...

, and torn blood vessels in his abdominal cavity, which resulted in his death within a few minutes of the crash. Pierson pled guilty to one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. He was sentenced to one year of probation and 300 hours of community service. Pierson also had his driver's license suspended for two years in connection with the collision. Kinison reportedly said to no one in particular at the time: “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”, then paused, asked, “But why?”, and after another pause said, “Okay, okay, okay.” A friend who was with him said, “Whatever voice was talking to him gave him the right answer and he just relaxed with it.” Kinison's body was buried in a family grave plot at Memorial Park Cemetery in

. His gravestone is inscribed with the unattributed quote: "In another time and place he would have been called prophet."

Legacy

Comedian

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

's eighth HBO stand-up comedy special, '' Jammin' in New York'', was dedicated to Kinison's memory. At the beginning of the broadcast, the words: "This show is for SAM" appeared on the screen. After his death, Kinison was fondly remembered by his friends and costars.

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

: On May 23, 1993, FOX aired a special, ''A Tribute to Sam Kinison''. The special contained archival footage of Kinison and stand-up comedy performances by comedians including

Rodney Dangerfield Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Rodney Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004) was an American Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-line joke, one-liner humor, his c ...

, and

. Between 2008 and 2013, there were some press releases regarding a possible dramatic film to be based on the memoir ''Brother Sam: The Short, Spectacular Life of Sam Kinison'', by Kinison's brother Bill Kinison and Steve Delsohn. Kinison's comedy was at times accused of containing

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practice ...

and

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, ...

, according to a retrospective on Kinison's career in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

''. For example, the group Queer Nation Nebraska demonstrated on a sidewalk in front of a Kinison show in Lincoln in February 1991, chanting "Anti-woman, anti-gay, Sam Kinison go away!" His ''Have You Seen Me Lately?'' album carried a disclaimer sticker stating "The Material On This Album Does Not Reflect The Views Or Opinions Of Warner Bros. Records." Employees at Warner Brothers requested that their bosses not release it due to the controversial material on Kinison's first album. In a 2016 article by John Hugar in ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'', Hugar contended that the comedy of past comedians, including Kinison was not positively embraced by younger generations, perhaps because their material has come to be viewed as anachronistically sexist and misogynistic with time. Hugar noted that a modern reevaluation was complicated by the possibility that Kinison could be considered as playing an intentionally shocking character rather than speaking as himself.

Discography

Albums

*'' Louder Than Hell'' (1986) *''Breaking The Rules'' (1987) *'' Have You Seen Me Lately?'' (1988) *'' Leader of the Banned'' (1990) *'' Live from Hell'' (1993)

Singles

Filmography

Film

*''Savage Dawn'' (1985) *'' Back to School'' (1986) *''

Three Amigos ''Three Amigos'' (stylized as ''¡Three Amigos!'') is a 1986 American Western comedy film directed by John Landis, written by Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, and Randy Newman (who also wrote the film's songs), and starring Chevy Chase, Steve ...

'' (1986) (scenes deleted) *'' Pauly Shore Is Dead'' (2004) (archive footage) *''I Am Sam Kinison'' (2017) (Documentary)

Television

*''Rodney Dangerfield Hosts the 9th Annual Young Comedians Special'' (1985) *''

'' (1985–1986, guest performer; 1986, host) *''Rodney Dangerfield: It's Not Easy Bein' Me'' (1986) *''Rodney Dangerfield: Opening Night at Rodney's Place'' (1989, guest star) *'' Married... with Children'' (1989, guest star) *''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'' (1990, guest star) *'' Charlie Hoover'' (1991, as Hugh) *''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in ...

'' (Season 3, Episode 7, closing skit, Sunday, Nov. 3, 1991) *'' Fox New Year's Eve Live: 1992'' (1991–1992, co-host)

References

External links

* * *
Interview with Bill KinisonA Multimedia Tribute to the Life and Comedy of Sam KinisonClip featuring an example of Kinison's stand up routine
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinison, Sam 1953 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Washington (state) American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American stand-up comedians Burials in Oklahoma Comedians from Illinois Grammy Award winners People from East Peoria, Illinois People from Yakima, Washington People with traumatic brain injuries Road incident deaths in California Warner Records artists Las Vegas shows Male critics of feminism