Only recently have I heard that Denis Leary allegedly "stole" from the late comedian Bill Hicks. What is ironic is that Hicks stayed out of the spotlight until his death, and now that Leary has become more popular Hicks is, in essence, becoming more famous AFTER his death due to the "Leary/Hicks" controversy.
I haven't heard enough Hicks to be able to intelligently debate whether or not one "stole" from the other - all I know is that Denis Leary makes me laugh. And whether or not he stole from Hicks, he's since gone on to do his own acts and form his own style and appear in films - "The Ref," for example (one of the most underrated comedies ever), is great largely due to Leary. His fierce attitude and energy and rough attitude are all him. He may have stolen some tricks from Hicks but Hicks is dead now, and he's been dead for a while, and Leary's continued on churning out stuff that I think is very funny - and which is NOT stolen from anyone.
On the IMDb message boards a user named Tom Myers writes: "Hicks didn't write any of Leary's material. Sure, they talk about similar things, but I own all of Leary's and Hicks' albums and there is no blatant ripping-off of a joke. Yes, there are similarities in personalities, but given that the two men did not emerge until the early 1990s, there is no way to figure out which comedian originally came up with which piece of material. There is even a possibility that Hicks could have used some of Leary's material (Jim Fixx, voice boxes) as Leary mentions in his book, also titled "No Cure For Cancer," that he was doing bits about drugs and smoking as early as the 1980s. According to many Hicks biographies, Hicks did not take up smoking until he gave up drugs in 1984/85, long after Leary started doing bits about smoking." Anyway, this comedy standup act is classic. It contains some of the best rants of all time and Leary goes from one to the next like a madman. I really enjoy listening to it and watching it from time to time, and a lot of the stuff he talks about I can find myself relating to.
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to laugh. Ignore the controversy, see it for yourself and if you like it, go get some Bill Hicks and compare.
I haven't heard enough Hicks to be able to intelligently debate whether or not one "stole" from the other - all I know is that Denis Leary makes me laugh. And whether or not he stole from Hicks, he's since gone on to do his own acts and form his own style and appear in films - "The Ref," for example (one of the most underrated comedies ever), is great largely due to Leary. His fierce attitude and energy and rough attitude are all him. He may have stolen some tricks from Hicks but Hicks is dead now, and he's been dead for a while, and Leary's continued on churning out stuff that I think is very funny - and which is NOT stolen from anyone.
On the IMDb message boards a user named Tom Myers writes: "Hicks didn't write any of Leary's material. Sure, they talk about similar things, but I own all of Leary's and Hicks' albums and there is no blatant ripping-off of a joke. Yes, there are similarities in personalities, but given that the two men did not emerge until the early 1990s, there is no way to figure out which comedian originally came up with which piece of material. There is even a possibility that Hicks could have used some of Leary's material (Jim Fixx, voice boxes) as Leary mentions in his book, also titled "No Cure For Cancer," that he was doing bits about drugs and smoking as early as the 1980s. According to many Hicks biographies, Hicks did not take up smoking until he gave up drugs in 1984/85, long after Leary started doing bits about smoking." Anyway, this comedy standup act is classic. It contains some of the best rants of all time and Leary goes from one to the next like a madman. I really enjoy listening to it and watching it from time to time, and a lot of the stuff he talks about I can find myself relating to.
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to laugh. Ignore the controversy, see it for yourself and if you like it, go get some Bill Hicks and compare.