On April 10, 1992, the comedian Sam Kinisondied in a car crash when his car was hit by a pickup truck in California. Kinison, who had just married his girlfriend five days earlier, was 38 years old.
Although Kinison started out like his father as a Pentecostal preacher he eventually changed careers and began appearing in comedy clubs. His first national break came when he was in his early 30s in 1984 when he appeared on an HBO comedy special devoted to young comedians. His 1984 breakthrough performance on the HBO Rodney Dangerfield’s Ninth Annual Young Comedians Special introduced him to much of the world. Then, the following year, he had another big break with his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. The world of comedy was never the same.
Rodney Dangerfield introduces the new comedian Sam Kinison to the world in the following video. Check it out.
Robert Hegyes, who played Sweathog Juan Epstein on Welcome Back Kotter passed away. I hope he has a note to get into heaven. In other death news, Ian Abercrombie, who played “Mr. Pitt” on Seinfeld, passed away. RIP.
