Is it possible to erase a date from the calendar? I mean, an actual day? Is it possible for humanity — at my request — to simply jump from February 23rd to February 25th moving forward?
I ask this because two men whose work I’ve adored in my lifetime died on this date.
One of these men you know from film & TV: Harold Ramis. He died very early this morning surrounded by his family in Chicago.
Harold Ramis was the creative force around some of the funniest entertainment of my childhood. One of my favorites, that I’ve only seen once or twice as an adult — though, scores of times in the early days of cable TV when there was hardly any programming — was the film ‘Meatballs.’ He was also in, wrote or directed what seems to be hundreds of films & TV shows that have resonated with me — Ghostbusters, Animal House, Caddyshack & National Lampooon’s: Vacation…and so much more. His humor will be missed. That said, from everything his friends said about him today, his humanity will be missed all the more.
The other passing was 20 years ago, today. William Melvin Hicks, also known as Goat Boy or comedian Bill Hicks, died 20 ago years today of pancreatic cancer. Bill Hicks, in my and many others’ estimation, was the greatest stand-up comedian of his generation. He was not just a comic. He was a soothsayer, he was an iconoclast. Anyone who knows his material knows what a lightning rod he was. He was our generation’s Lenny Bruce.
There were two upsides of my sister dating this sad excuse for a boyfriend the one year I lived in Austin in May of ‘91 — May of ‘92. He brought me to see a new band called ‘Soul Hat’ — yes, they’re still legends in Austin & on the hippie band circuit — and he brought me to see William Melvin Hicks at the Laff Stop in North Austin. I had seen Bill on TV over the years on Letterman, HBO and other outlets. But, this was the one time I’d seen him live. It was electric, simply put.
I shall leave you with two items of Bill’s that you should take note of:
1) A quote: After regaling an audience in the Deep South on a variety of “Christian Values,” a few guys came up to him and said:
Them: “Hey buddy! We’re Christians. We don’t like what you said!”
Hicks: “Well…then…forgive me.”
That is Hicks’ material in a nutshell.
2) The link below is to the trailer of the documentary that was produced a few years back about Bill Hicks. If you’ve got nothing on the docket this evening, it’s a fitting way to celebrate a remarkable talent an otherwise shitty Monday.
So, I ask again, can we erase this day next year? I am henceforth genuinely afraid of February 24th…