\jeff{krimmel}

Belated Goodbye to Mitch Hedberg

I don’t know how I missed this, but the comedian Mitch Hedberg passed away almost four months ago, March 30, 2005. You may have seen one of Mitch’s performances on Comedy Central in the past. He would generally sit on a stool in the center of the stage, hanging his head a bit. He had shoulder-length hair that would cover his face and colored shades on. His set consisted of a series of one liners (some were slightly longer), and his delivery was very slow, the stereotypical delivery of someone who was high.

It turns out Mitch died as a result of heart failure; he was heavily into drugs, e.g. heroin, and alcohol for at least several months before his death. He was 37 years old. I’ve copied and pasted my favorite bit of his that I had remembered seeing on Comedy Central. It’s longer than most any other joke he would tell. It’s unfortunate, too, that it’s not quite as funny to read as it is to see him actually do it, because of his timing, inflection, and enunciation. And I have chosen not to edit the language, because then it wouldn’t be Mitch’s bit.

When you go to a restaurant on the weekends and it’s busy they start a waiting list. They start calling out names, they say “Dufrane, party of two. Dufrane, party of two.” And if no one answers they’ll say their name again. “Dufrane, party of two, Dufrane, party of two.” But then if no one answers they’ll just go right on to the next name. “Bush, party of three.” Yeah, but what happened to the Dufranes? No one seems to give a shit. Who can eat at a time like this - people are missing. You fuckers are selfish… the Dufranes are in someone’s trunk right now, with duct tape over their mouths. And they’re hungry! That’s a double whammy. We need help. Bush, search party of three! You can eat when you find the Dufranes.

I found that quote amongst a vast collection of Mitch’s jokes at Wikipedia.