Yesterday would’ve been the late Mitch Hedberg’s 48th birthday. Still hard to believe the world lost the comedy legend well before his time, at just 37-years-old when he passed away in 2005.
Much like a handful of other heralded and genius comedians, Hedberg dealt with the demons of drugs for much of his professional life, ultimately succumbing to an overdose of heroin and cocaine in a New Jersey hotel bedroom.
While his comedic genius was taken from us far too soon, his endearing and witty one-liners continue to live on today, often heard being recited now and then in some form of pop culture.
Among his talents were the use of abrupt contradictions and non sequiturs to catch audience members off guard and send them into fits of laughter. Here’s a look at just what it was that made Mitch Hedberg’s one-liners so damn funny.