He
was a comedian for the times: a man whose sense of humor was considered by some
to be out-of-bounds, harsh and politically incorrect. For others, Sam Kinison was known as the
“Wild Thing of Comedy" with a worldwide reputation as a party animal.
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| A Young Sam Kinison |
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| Kinison with His Brothers and Mother |
Samuel
Burl Kinison was born on December 8, 1953 to Samuel E. and Marie Kinison and
grew up in Peoria, Illinois. Kinison’s
father was a Pentecostal minister who continually moved from church to church.
Sam was the youngest of four brothers, all who followed in their father’s
footsteps and became Pentecostal preachers.
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| The Young Preacher |
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| Young Comedian |
Kinison
began his fire and brimstone style of preaching when he was 17 and continued
until he was 24. It took a divorce to make him realize that he was not cut out
for the ministry, but would be much happier as a stand up comedian. He took to
the stage in Houston, Texas and then moved on to L.A. where he developed a
cocaine habit that would plague him most of his life.
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| Sam & Rodney |
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| Kinison On Stage |
In
the summer of 1985, Kinison got his big break on HBO’s Rodney Dangerfield’s Ninth
Annual Young Comedians Special. His
irreverent style and screaming outbursts on religion, relationships and drugs
was always punctuated with his primal scream. Kinison’s brand of comedy was more
intense and in-your-face than most comedians were willing to go, but Sam didn’t
appear to care if the audience liked him or not, which is why audience’s loved
him.
Kinison
had appeared in several films, television specials, and MTV videos, and had
been a guest on “Late Night with David Letterman” and a host for “Saturday
Night Live.” He also appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine.
Kinison
was married three times; the third marriage had taken place just six days
before his death. Most of his stand up material about relationships came from
the ups and downs of his first two marriages. Kinison had just reached the peak
of his celebrity when his life was cut short.
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| Milika and Sam |
On
April 10, 1992, Kinison and his new wife, Milika Sourir, were headed from
California to Laughlin, Nevada where he was scheduled to perform at a sold-out
show. Kinison was driving on U.S. Route 95 when his 1989 Trans Am was struck
head-on by a pick-up driven by 17-year-old Troy Pierson, who reportedly had
been drinking.
Kinison
died within moments of the collision. According to his brother, Bill who was
following behind Kinison’s car with a van-load of equipment, Sam didn’t appear
to be seriously hurt: he was able to get out of the car and lie down on the
pavement. Then in what appeared to bystanders as a conversation with someone,
Sam began asking, "Why now? I don't want to
die. Why?" After a few seconds
Kinison was heard to reply, “Okay, okay,
okay …” He died moments later. |
| Sam Kinison |
Sam
Kinison was 38 years old. He is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa,
Oklahoma. On his grave marker is the inscription, "In another time and place he would have been called prophet."
~
Joy
Most photos
from the web site: SamKinison.org
