Bill Hicks: On Letterman (1993) (The Cut Set)

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Hicks constantly faced problems with censorship. In 1984, Hicks was invited to appear on Late Night with David Letterman for the first time. He had a joke that he used frequently in comedy clubs about how he caused a serious accident that left a classmate confined to a wheelchair. NBC had a policy that no handicapped jokes could be aired on the show, making his stand-up routine difficult to perform without mentioning words such as "wheelchair". Hicks was disappointed that the TV audience didn't get to experience the uncensored Bill Hicks that people saw in clubs.

On October 1, 1993, about five months before his death, Hicks was scheduled to appear on Late Show with David Letterman, his twelfth appearance on a Letterman late night show but his entire performance was removed from the broadcast — then the only occasion where a comedian's entire routine was cut after taping. Hicks' stand-up routine was removed from the show allegedly because Letterman and his producer were nervous about Hicks' anti-religious jokes. Hicks said he believed it was due to a pro-life commercial aired during a commercial break. Both the show's producers and CBS denied responsibility. Hicks expressed his feelings of betrayal in a letter to John Lahr of The New Yorker. Although Letterman later expressed regret at the way Hicks had been handled, Hicks did not appear on the show again. The full account of this incident was featured in a New Yorker profile by Lahr, which was later published as a chapter in Lahr's book, Light Fantastic.
Hicks' mother, Mary, appeared on the January 30, 2009, episode of Late Show. Letterman played the routine in its entirety. Letterman took full responsibility for the original censorship and apologized to Mrs. Hicks. Letterman also declared he did not know what he was thinking when he pulled the routine from the original show in 1993. Letterman said, "It says more about me as a guy than it says about Bill because there was absolutely nothing wrong with that."

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[stairs021]

He was on the right path with his topics. He died because of the repercussions of his cancer treatment. Do you think it was deliberate to kill him early so he couldn't mature into a rights activist?

[BillHicksArchive]

@stairs021 No.

[BillHicksArchive]

@VeliusTD This set was banned from TV and only shown a year ago...so no, they couldn't. Hence (The Cut Set) in the title.

[tazmankb26]

Hicks is greatness- pick up any of his CD's and they are very funny

[MyGwendel]

@achickensandwich you forgot the ultimate karmic fuck-off. Bill gets cancer and dies, a bitter little hack like leary steals his material and gets a lifetime career to annoy the fuck out of us with his ugly mentality and uglier voice. gross.

[Recluse253]

Do kids today know Mark Walberg is Marky Mark?

[achickensandwich]

Billy Ray Cyrus - alive. Micheal Bolton - alive. Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, Marky Mark - all alive.

Bill Hicks - dead.

Fuck this planet

[jimijackson]

he looks like eric clapton in unplugged

[TheOrtaparmak]

Hendrix is on harp tonite )))

[Kalanag01]

I think the Billy Ray Cyrus bit is possibly still a bit too graphic for most audiences these days.

The whole set was pretty unfunny. Maybe it was banned for being crap.

[bikermann42]

Good on Letterman for finally airing this.

[Bobofjudia]

@7RadicalDreamers But...he supported the war in Vietnam. Before becoming a musician he was an army paratrooper, but he had to quit because he injured his ankle. I'm not saying that that meant he HAD to support the war in Vietnam but...what the fuck are you going on about?

[MrWeedman123456]

United States of Advertising lol - Letterman is a sell out to his producers

Bill we miss you dearly.

Your message is stronger than ever but more relevant than ever.

Remember its just a ride....