What was Mitch Hedberg's Net Worth?
Mitch Hedberg was an American stand-up comedian who had a net worth of $500 thousand at the time of his death in 2005. Mitch Hedberg was known for his surreal, absurdist humor and deadpan delivery style. His comedy and onstage persona garnered him a cult following, with members of the audience often shouting out the punchlines to his jokes before he got to them. Hedberg made a number of appearances on television, and wrote, directed, and starred in the 1999 independent film "Los Enchiladas!"
Early Life and Education
Mitch Hedberg was born on February 24, 1968 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Mary and Arne. He was of Finnish-Swedish, German, and Czech descent. As a teenager, he attended Harding High School, but took little interest in his education.
Stand-up Comedy
Hedberg launched his stand-up comedy career in Florida. Eventually, he moved to Seattle, Washington and started touring. In 1996, Hedberg had his big break when he performed on the "Late Show with David Letterman"; he would go on to make several more appearances on the show over the years. In 1997, Hedberg won the grand prize at the Seattle Comedy Competition. Over the final two years of the decade, he performed on "Premium Blend," "Comedy Central Presents," and "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn," and released the live comedy album "Strategic Grill Locations," which was recorded at the Laff Stop comedy club in Houston, Texas. Hedberg released his second comedy album, "Mitch All Together," in 2003; it was recorded at the Acme Comedy Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A third comedy album, "Do You Believe in Gosh?," was released posthumously in 2008, having been recorded two months prior to Hedberg's death in 2005.
In his stand-up, Hedberg was known for his surreal, absurdist humor, non sequiturs, wordplay, and deadpan delivery. His jokes were typically short and often in the form of pithy one-liners. Sometimes, he added disclaimers to the end of a joke if it was poorly received, such as "that joke's dumb, I'm aware of that." During recordings for his comedy albums, Hedberg would often state that he would find a way to edit a failed joke in postproduction to make it seem like it was better received by the audience. Over the years, his comedy and unique onstage persona garnered him a cult following, with audience members sometimes shouting out the punchlines to his jokes before he could get to them himself.
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Film Career
Beyond his stand-up career, Hedberg wrote, directed, and starred in the independent film "Los Enchiladas!," which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Shot and set in Hedberg's home state of Minnesota, the film focuses on a chain Mexican restaurant in suburban St. Paul on the busy day before Cinco de Mayo. The cast consists of many of Hedberg's comedian friends, as well as some local Minnesota actors. "Los Enchiladas!" has only screened a handful of times publicly since its premiere, and has never been officially released for purchase or download.
In 2000, Hedberg appeared briefly in Cameron Crowe's period dramedy film "Almost Famous," playing the Eagles Road Manager. His only film credit after that was the biographical skateboarding drama "Lords of Dogtown," in which he played Urethane Wheels Guy. The film was released in 2005, a few months after Hedberg's passing.
Voice Appearances
Hedberg made some voice appearances on television during his career. In 1999, he appeared on the animated sitcoms "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist" and "Home Movies." Later, in the early 00s, Hedberg lent his voice to the adult puppet comedy show "Crank Yankers" and the adult animated comedy series "Shorties Watchin' Shorties."
Personal Life and Death
From 1999 until his passing in 2005, Hedberg was married to fellow comedian Lynn Shawcroft.
On March 30, 2005, Hedberg was found dead in his hotel room in Livingston, New Jersey. Later in the year, it was revealed that his death was caused by multiple drug toxicity, including the use of heroin and cocaine. In a Penthouse interview published three years before his death, Hedberg had responded to the question "If you could choose, how would you end your life?" with the answer, "First, I'd want to get famous, and then I'd overdose."
