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  • Man....to think I gave Letterman more credit than Leno. I'm disappointed in Letterman for cutting this from his show....then again, I prefer Letterman over that big chinned, fruity career killer. This stand-up was too "raw" for national TV. Genius!!!! Why is this fucker dead?????? DAMN IT!!!!!

  • It took him 15 fucking years to "see the light"??? SUCK MY COCK, LETTERMAN!

  • is it possible that letterman has a soul?!

  • for some great bill hicks stories told by ron shock, type in "the bill hicks chronicles" here on you tube.

  • Obviously the "pro-life" material was considered to be too controversial for network tv at the time. Everyone makes mistakes and it takes true courage to admit you've made one and try to rectify the situation the best you can. I'm reminded of the controversy surrounding the recently censored South Park episode. In 15 years who will apologize for that? No one. Thanks for trying to make it right Dave.

  • Dave Letterman may have made a mistake of judgement (obviously one of a few), but he had the graciousness to apologize several times to the world and Bill's Mom. The pity is that it's too late, Bill Hicks will never know, and that's a shame.

  • NOW you apologize? after he's been dead for so many years?

  • letermans apiece o shit bills to over the top but wen he dead u can make money nratings off him ur a hippacrit sell out

  • And this was cut why? Really Dave. Why?

  • fuck you Letterman!!!

    fuck the FCC and government. I agree with viloencedefined. The elites are slowing down social and technological evolution by wasting resources on waging wars so they can live up to their standards in this life. Our passion should be bettering humanity and educating to ensure a fair and self efficient society so we can move forward faster. We should create new ideas not for war but for health and exploration.

  • The stand up's amazing, and they finished it with Foo Fighters. Fucking A.

  • Skip to 1:59 for the actual stand up. :)

  • he was so ahead of his time they couldn't play him on TV until 2009! RIP

  • @Praying4tidalWaves

    LOL ain't that the truth!

  • Say what you will at least Dave had the balls to admit in front of millions of people watching and Bill's mother that he was wrong to edit Bill's performance. Lets see all you haters do that.

  • @jettadude736 Haters? I have a right to be angry. I don't want people dictating their taste to me and telling me what I can and cannot handle when it comes to the exchange of words and ideas. If CBS and Letterman had a problem with his act, they should have said so during rehearsals instead of backing out last minute like some greasy coward.

  • While I don't like Letterman, he did the right thing. He should have at least came clean as to the real reason he pulled the segment. That would have shown some genuine remorse.

  • I don't know why so many of you worship Hick's words like he's some kind of prophet. I have met many people that thought like him. You may too. Maybe that neighbor you never bothered talking to.

  • @jdt917 Pretty simple, really. Bill had the courage to say what may people (who do think like him) don't or won't say. And he had the courage to say it loudly, in front of the world.

    My neighbor may think like Bill, but my neighbor isn't out there shouting it from the rooftops every day.

  • hes better on other gigs... he gets a lot more vulgar usually... he went light this time

  • Stand-up comedian Bill Hicks. Never heard of him until this Letterman apology made the news. After watching this routine, I now know why I never heard of him. To even compare him to guys like Carlin, Hedburg or Kinison is (no pun intended) laughable.

  • @termsofusepolice I agree he doesnt compare with Carlin, Hedburg or Kinison but more with Watts and McKenna.

  • I didn't even know they finally aired this. This is a masterpiece. I thought his Mom was dead.

  • I saw this show back when it aired. Seeing his mom it's easy to see him becoming the man and comedian he was. I can easily picture him in Heaven now doing his irreverent humor for the Holy Trinity with them in tears of laughter. "Hey, St Peter..yeah, Pete! Take a break for couple of minutes and listen to this guy. He's fuckin' funny! Yeah, no-they can wait."

  • letterman is a fucking face. letterman say's

    "i had taken out of our program"

    i highly doubt letterman has ANY say so in what goes onto his program. he is a face to blame. the people who dictate what goes on his show want to hide behind letterman (ESPECIALLY in the case of hicks and his honest material).

    but i get the feeling most people watching this already know this.

    WHO is in charge of what letterman says? (maybe that could be a new tv show)

  • What the fuck was so "controversial" about THIS, that letterman had to CENSOR it??? Doesn't make ANY fucking sense whatsoever

  • Kinda makes you wonder why he waited FIFTEEN FUCKING YEARS to show it

  • Modern women take a cue from Mary Hicks. This is what it means to be not just a woman, but a lady. She has a grace that is so lacking today. She gave us a gift in Bill. Thank you Mary. You are a gilf as well. Bill, we love you!

  • There's no censorship in Heaven Bill. RIP

  • Dave, that was somehting Jay Leno's untalented ass would

    have done. You're older now and hopefully a freer spirit. don't

    make the mistake of allowing the corporate f**ks to silence you.

    The only reason people like you is because they think you are

    your own man. Bill Hicks was his own man, with the little time

    you have left, show some balls.

  • Too little, too late, Dave. Bill's dead now. Douche.

  • Bill Hicks remains one of the most pertinent comedians ever!

  • Hah, Letterman gets owned by Bill Hicks's mom!

  • wow. took me long enough to see this. toned-down would be a severe understatement, still a real good performance tho. very odd without the cussing and more elaborate acting-out of bits, very differently timed i think on account of this and with the missing profanity comprising i'd say a solid half of that.

    pax.

  • I just wish Bill had lived. I feel really like crying I guess. Bill hicks dies and Dane Cook will live to be  fucking a hundred.

  • @hemotomaniac77 I agree with ya, Bill Hicks was (and is) far far more talented than other comedians. He truly was a special dude.

    Kinda makes you wonder what he'd say about todays society.

  • Bill hicks is my hero

  • Letterman. class act for the apology.Bill was Incredible

  • bill hicks was one of my heros, def way ahead of his time

  • @Freenetnow- You got fucking owned by that christian hater dude, and it took you a month to think of that shitty of a response, when dude fucking spanked you like he knew your momma from the inside out. Man you must eat shit for a living, because bringing it sure ain't your game.

  • I am a huge Bill Hicks fan and pro-life. Anyone else? Or does everyone here worship Hick's words as if he were a deity?

  • CBS is a bunch of suckers of satan's cock

  • @votejello hahaha love it

  • His mom is so sweet!

  • it wasnt david censoring him, it was cbs, at least i think

  • the cia did not kill hicks, cmon people. he died of pancreatic cancer, and remember we was so against the establishment he never went to the hospital for most of his life, until he was in so much pain he went in to find he had this cancer in stage 3, which is like 90+% mortality at that point

  • You know what? Letterman's a dick for having pulled it in the first place, but it's cool that he can own up to that fact.

  • my god, this was awesome! Dave should have nutted up and left it on the show. it was awesome! Bill, we really need you now.

  • Letterman was a douche. 15 years late but better than never.

  • I love his bit on pro-life people, I showed my cousin it, and he found it hilarious.

  • a GREAT man murdered bye the CIA.

  • Its tough to figure who it was, pancreatic cancer killing a fucking 32 year old? id just like to know when they hit him with the microwaves

  • Wonderful stand-up, of course, and it took a lot for Dave to get over himself enough to admit he was wrong. Bless his heart.

  • wow 9:43 - 9:50 gave me goosebumps.

  • turns out i did come back as a bunny

  • it's sad how successful all the people he hated became. we really do reward the phony and vacant.

  • Dave is an old horn dog. He probably took in her in the back and spanked her.

  • I have no idea how he could continue to do comedy after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He had to know his chances were minimal. I guess that's why he started smoking again. We love you and miss you, Bill.

  • Hello. I have two domain names and hosting that I do not use. They expire in 7 months if you have good ideas for a website email me fast. Peace

  • suck a dick letterman

  • I tell ya...at least Letterman had the balls to say that it was He himself that decided not to air Bills segment. That being said, I still think he was a dick head for not airing it.!!

  • i think its good that cbs finally showed this segment but it took them 15 years? thats kind of weak. there was absolutely nothing wrong with bills set.

    RIP bill hicks

  • Bill Hicks was GOD......

    Good on 'ya, Dave.

    If anyone is curious about the history of this piece and Bill's career, look up the Bill Hicks "Outlaw Comic" documentary. It should be on here somewhere.

  • dave is so full of shit

  • i have so much more respect for dave now...that was huge.

  • Dave is a class act. Nothing more needs to be said.

  • Nice for Letterman to man up to his mistake, he's far more of a man than Leno will ever be. RIP Bill Hicks NO ONE has taken your spot yet, I doubt any new comedians will rise to occasion without being completely buried and things will get worse til our demise just like you said. Rock on

  • Fuckin' A. 

    +1

  • It takes a big man to admit he was wrong , kudos Dave. God bless Bill Hicks !!!

  • CBS, you're are nothing more than a legion of hellspawned tools for the real controllers of this world, you anonymous scumfucks are slowing down the progress of all mankind, you make me sick, kill your fucking selves.

  • You said it..Fully backed.

  • @Violencedefined666 NBC isn't much better. owned by General Electric which owns one of the largest corporate credit companies in the world.

  • @damnationbegins they are all untrustworthy. This is the only truth left.

  • Control yourself man! You sound like a lunatic! Fight back intelligently, what would Bill Hicks do if he were alive?

  • @TheJoker7682 Well, judging from alot of his material, he prolly wouldve done the same =p, lol.

  • @Violencedefined666 really? cbs is stunting the progress of mankind? thats giving them a bit much credit dont you think? oh.&thanks for mimicking hicks outrage at things more significant than this ....real good....douchebag

  • @christonx88 The point of mimicking Bill's outrage was to pay homage to him while at the same time expressing my discontent for the capitalist scumbags and corporations that run this world. Try using your brain for opening your ignorant mouth. If you're gonna try to "call someone out" on something, at least make sure you know what you're talking about...douchebag

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  • im glad i saw this i am glad david letterman was kind

  • he is not funny, he is f. serious, retard! you should go to jail for what you did in the past to Bill Hicks!

  • The main thing is that they said is act was fine as it was, but then censored it without even asking him to remove or tone down the offending bits.

    If you ever watched "The Larry Sanders Show," this proves just how realistic it was-- Larry Sanders is a perfect clone of Letterman, Leno etc.

  • you hit that right on the head Dan. fuck this corporate monkey. never should have been censored in the first place.

  • Anyone know what song the band was playing at the end?

  • The beginning of the Pretender by Foo Fighters.

  • Thanx

  • Geez, Letterman is a hypocrite too-- he's saying "gee, why didn't I put him on?"

    Because he was ALIVE, that's why! And now that he's dead, he's harmless, and so Letterman acts all "brave" and "hip" and "edgy" and "daring" for putting a DEAD man on his show!

    Letterman's so lame that he makes Larry Sanders look like Merv Griffin.

  • You're right.

  • He had a feeling that St. Peter was gonna ask him for a light?

    Well he found out.

  • I agree that Dave's move to CBS turned him from a bad-ass into a suck-ass.

    On NBC he was biting the hand that fed him, saying "G.E. Sucks" constantly because of what assholes they were to him; then on CBS he was a complete lame corporatepussy-whore in their conglomerate pocket.

  • Agreed one hundred percent. I loved Dave in the 80s. When he went to CBS it all changed. He lost all of his edge that made him great.

  • @Freenetnow-your class of idiocy and misunderstanding is so funny I don't know whether to laugh or hope a dead monkey collapsed on your keyboard and spewed out that nonsense.

    You want to conscript a guy now who has been dead for 16 years because youre afraid of what, an f-in joke, the truth, what? Go have your period you little fascist bitch, while Jesus over here finishes sucking my dick. He swallows, like your mom.

  • @christianitymustfall WOW - in one comment you managed to be hateful, juevenile, illogical, and most of all boring - which is the biggest sin of all.

    Have a great day.

  • @Freenetnow, shut the the fuck up, you moron, just stop posting your idiocy on youtube.

  • It's a shame about Hicks, tragic.

    But Dave saying "there was nothing wrong about this" - yeah right.

    But just substitutue prolife for prochoice, and mohammed for christ - that would still be so deep in the vault it would decay.

    C'mon Dave - at least be honest.

  • @Freenetnow mohammed was just a prophet but an excellent, intelligent response (im suprised i found one on youtube comments) regardless.

    suck it letterman!

  • god my stomach hurts from laughing so hard!!!!the part about standing in the corner at a club was hilarious.

  • Yeah, I'm sure Letterman really gives a shit about Hicks' routine getting cut. Fuck you, Dave, you disingenuous turd.

  • BILL TALKS ABOUT GETTING BUMPED

    SEARCH THIS VIDEO TITLE HERE

    "Bill Hicks on David Letterman censorship"

  • what do you mean seeohhdee bill wasn't reclusive - for crying out loud he talks about not going out in his routines because he can't stand people

    right on to mary hicks for putting dave in his place and upstaging him on his own show - you can see how bill turned out the way he did with her cutting right to the chase.

    dave it's a little too fuckin late

  • "Let's hunt and kill Billy Ray Cyrus"

    Hicks was a fucking prophet.

  • Right on , fellow geniuses

  • read 'Love All the People' about Hicks for the full story about this Letterman fiasco. Great book; contains word-for-word transcripts of many of his shows, letters, interviews, etc.

    Namaste, Bill!

    'he had a lot to say; we'll miss him!'

  • Fuck dave , Bill was sick , and he prob knew this would be one the last bits of exposure he would get before he got reclusive . I'm so sorry he died , and so quick , and no thanks to whatever channel this was on , i dont care , thanks to bill. Thank you mr hicks

  • he was never reclusive... he accelerated his stand up the sicker he got, but youre right fuck dave

  • Love Mr. Hicks. Dave was scared by the "gay" content of bill's act ,originally.Nice of Big D to have Moms on..if "classy" were an actual word he'd be it here...,his humility and regrets were clear.

  • making right is important, but it was the religious stuff that scared him... dave is pro gay, but against polarizing his religious base

  • For some reason, The Pretender by Foo Fighters seems to fit very well at the end.

  • Well I give Dave credit for bringing Mrs. Hicks on. Bill has done many interviews where he was stunned and was livid at Dave over this. Glad they played it. Its 2010 and Bill is still amazing! "Revalations" the H.B.O special from London is Bill's best show

  • i thought it was funny, though the 1st couple of mins. of his act is kinda graphic...if i had any kids they woudn't hear that

  • i can see why letterman didnt air this, he never had any balls to begin with and the fact he made fun of pro-life idiots, well i aint surprised lets just say.

  • One of the best ways to truth is through humor. he was censored b/c his comedy opens peoples eyes and in the land of the sheep who follow, that is dangerous.....

  • Something awfully fitting about 'The Pretender' in the end there.

  • That was probably the worst i've seen of bill hicks.

  • @ErikEdge the actual act is not the issue. He was censored on a broadcast that is played in a "free" society....yea free for them to shovel what they want you to watch down your throat......

  • I realize that, i was just merely stating that it wasn't that great of an act for bill hicks.

  • Bill Hicks is definitely one of the greatest of all time, and this appearance, even cleaned-up for television, is no exception.

    And I think that Dave showed tremendous class in admitting that he was wrong. Kudos to Dave.

  • I always thought Bill Hicks was so so funny!!!!!!!! Do you think this was the toughest decision Dave ever had to make in his life? I feel like it was and I am glad Dave finally aired the clip and apologized to Bill Hicks' mother.

  • Wow! Homophobic AND pro-choice!

  • Nice save "I cross bowed him right in the aa...bs."

  • Wow....talk about ahead of his time....

    who knew the spawn of Billy Ray Sirus would become the most overrated, untalented, in your face around every god-damned corner exploitation of American consumerism that has ever existed!!!

    God fuck Billy Ray SIrus and Hanna fucking Montana!!!

    Its like Hicks knew.....

    Bill is the man and his ride was waaaay too fuckin short!!

  • Genius.

  • why did they cut this? it was extremely tame as far as bill hicks goes

  • probably because of the violence and blatant threats to kill in his first 2 minutes

  • @LandofDoAsYouPlease It was 1993, way too early for mass amounts of people to see or hear this type of thing back then.

  • Man, I miss Bill!

  • He really cleaned up his act for this appearance

  • The end sounded kinda like a Pink Floyd song..I think from the Wall, am I right?

  • @JJgamer93 It was the Foo Fighters.

  • Oh, what song? It sounded a lot like the middle of "Is There Anybody Out There?" by Pink Floyd.

  • @JJgamer93 The Pretender I think

  • @JJgamer93 yea it did

  • I can see why the first joke could have alarmed Letterman and NBC at first... it's pretty violent... but otherwise the religious stuff isn't that racy at all in my opinion... thoughts?

  • *sigh*. How did Letterman get a show again?

  • Lets Hunt and Kill Dane Cook would be a great show that Bill would have loved doing, considering what Bill thinks of fevered egos

  • I would tune in to every episode. Although I guess there would only be one.

  • One is all you need for a classic everytime it's on TV. That SUFI cracker asshole fratboy sucking down a shotgun like a big black cock of death. Hysterical.

  • Dave: "ME ME ME ME"

  • jesus let her talk

  • letterman is tool

  • Lettermen didnt have to do it, he said he was wrong and showed Bill's routine. Standup guy.

  • Letterman asked 'what was I thinking?' He was thinking that there was a Pro-Life spot running on the program that night and he didn't want to lose any ad revenue.

    Read what Bill wrote about this experience and judge for yourself whether he would see this as anything other than an empty gesture.

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  • Dave is a cocksucker..

  • Wow...Im glad they did this..Bill was real upset about this. He was cut because the show had a pro life comercial/sponsor at the time. Im really surprised they did this..it's amazing.

  • Long live Bill Hicks!!! A true comedy legend in a crazy world!!!

  • I think Bill's legend will continue to grow and grow...He WAS too far ahead of his time, but that makes him relevant forever.

  • i hope that when i die, footage of me in slow motion is played somewhere. it seems like in order to be shown in slow motion, you either have to be an athlete or dead.

  • it takes a big man to admit how wrong they were. letterman has really become reflective since 9-11. his opposition to the iraq war for one. being a father probably helps as well. hicks was the best....

  • He was truly one of the greats. Long live his talent.

  • that WHOLE set was pure brilliance. his last work was some of his most real and thats a lot when talking about Bill. legend cut before his time.

  • SHOWS that dave is a good guy

  • He died from pancreatic cancer. Not lung cancer.

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  • It's about time!

  • Bill was one funny friggin guy. We all will miss his humor and the way he made us laugh. RIP billmiester, till we meet in that comedy club in the sky...

  • Bill killed em with that show. Letterman pulled it because their sponsors were conservative tools and Bill's pro-life stance wouldn't have gone over well. Corporate shill at the capitalist gang bang!

  • Good for you, Letterman. Bill's mom is one cool lady. Bill would be pleased. You owed him this, Letterman. And yes, it's symbolic. On with the show! ;)

  • Could anyone tell me why this is blocked in Germany?

  • CBS hates Germans ;)

  • That must be it ;-)

    Still, I don't get it. When music videos are blocked here, I at least understand the principle behind it, even if I disagree with it. But with stuff that isn't even available in any other way here in Germany, it just baffles me.

    Not that it's a real problem, mind you, it's just a minor annoyance. It's very easy to circumvent all of these blocks - which is why I'm able to comment here :-D

  • David Letterman lost his credibility many years ago.

  • What an incredibly tame performance... QUICK! CENSOR IT! REMOVE IT FROM THE SHOW!! What a free country...

  • bleh he was offended by that? That was a disgustingly tame and castrated bill hicks routine and he still pulled it off though

  • letterman you need to spend more time with acting lessons. you fool noone. you didnt make that decision, and free4801 is right, you can see right through it.

  • too bad bill died, because if we really had engaged in the man hunt of billy ray cyrus, we would've never had hannah montana.

  • Can we confirm that? She may have already been born by then, and her mother would have exploited her with or without Billy Ray.

  • Letterman doesnt give a shit

  • LMAO that was hilarious as hell, his mother seems great too, man I wish bill hicks where still alive to talk about how the world is today.

  • bill would shit a brick if he could see the world today.

  • @mastodonowns69 In a way it is sad that Bill's performances are as relevant now as they were when he performed them. It means we have not really used the 16 years since he died to improve our species.

  • Actually, I like to ponder what kind of routines he would be doing in this post 9-11 USA. I think that they would be much more energetic and disenfranchised.

  • I missed this. Wow, old Dave sure had to eat a lot of crow in 2009.

    This was a powerful performance, articulate, funny, true... Letterman was right when he castigated himself at the end; he should have never banned it. Glad to see after all these years, he was willing to show it, and apologize to the man's mother...