Reddit reviews Bill Hicks: Agent of Evolution

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0007198299

A very good read. One I've enjoyed about 25 times.

"Bill had a guardian angel. There is no other explanation. The way he mixed chemicals and cars, Bill cheated death. That sounds like the shittiest, most insensitive thing to say about someone so talented who was victimized by cancer at such an appallingly young age.

Bill didn't get to live long enough as it was - but save for a guardian angel or some force that can't be explained by probability, Bill could have, maybe should have, been a traffic statistic at a young age. Something was watching out for that guy.

Maybe the scariest escape - or at-least the scariest that I can actually remember from not being as fucked up as Bill - was when we were on the 610 loop near the Astrodome. I was driving one car, bill was driving another.We both had passengers and were moving side by side, closing close to 90 mph, weaving through traffic. We were on our way to the next bar.

Bill rolled down his window, looked over to us, and started shouting something. What he was saying I have no idea. It wasn't important. What was important were the things Bill was paying no attention to: the road and what was ahead of him. In his lane was a car going maybe 40 mph. Less than half of speed. Bill was closing fast.

We started screaming frantically and signaling him. "Look, Bill! Oh my God! Look Up!" He had milliseconds to react - I felt for sure he was a dead man - and missed what was likely a fatal or severely debilitating accident by milometers. He swerved and slammed on the breaks and it was so fucking close."


Pg. 128 - 129 from "Bill Hicks: Agent of Evolution" by Kevin Booth & Michael Bertin

What are your sources?

> One of the real problems, is that very few comedians stand up for what's right. They might talk about it privately, but very few step up and take a stand. I have before, especially on the subject of Dennis Leary stealing from one of my favorite comedians, the late, great Bill Hicks. It's commonly known amongst stand ups that Dennis stole a big chunk of Bills act, but amongst the general population it's actually a surprise to a lot of people. Why? Pretty much because no one that anyone would listen to on the subject stood up and said something about it publicly.
No one defended the integrity of this great art form. They just let a pretender and a hack steal ideas from a great mind. He pretty much got away with it too. He went on to have success in films, and unfortunately, Bill Hicks died of cancer before most people knew who he was or what he had to say.
It really killed me, because I started out a Dennis Leary fan. I remember watching him in Boston, laughing hysterically at his act, thinking it was all his. I was really impressed. For a few months, he was actually my favorite comedian. His jokes on Jim Fix dying while jogging, and how ironic that was, and about how John Lennon was dead, but Barry Manilow continued to pump out albums made me howl.
Then, I saw Hicks, and I really got confused. He was doing the same material, almost word for word that Leary was doing.
I didn't get it. Something was wrong. I was only doing stand up for a few months at the time, so I asked some of the local pros, and they all had the same answer: "Leary is a thief."
I couldn't fucking believe it. How could this be? How could a guy stealing ideas be allowed to perform in these clubs?
The club owners just didn't seem to care. They turned a blind eye, and profited off their hired performer pilfering material from others.
It was a horrible feeling, and it set a terrible precedent.
If he could get away with it, what would stop people from stealing my shit someday?
It turns out nothing and no one would stop them unless I stood up and said something myself. ~ Joe Rogan

Kevin Booth, one of Hicks' best friends, wrote about it in Bill Hicks: Agent for Evolution

> He most certainly influenced Denis Leary. Leary not only lifted Bill's persona and attitude (Leary was at best an average comic in Boston before he adopted the "new" style) but his "No Cure for Cancer" book/album has some of Bill's material verbatim in them. An inside joke among comics is that the only reason Leary's a star instead of Bill is because there's no cure for cancer." ~ Friend of Bill, Tim McIntire

Fact is, Bill Hicks did go on record about Leary.

https://youtu.be/YRJhzcj9cpQ?t=7m59s Hicks did not like Leary anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBGKqmfNyII Its common knowledge among comics.