"There is no best. It's a rainbow and you get a shade in it if you're lucky." That's a great quote.

His appearance on married with children will always be one of my favorite Christmas specials

My writing partner and I used to hang out with him at the Comedy Store and watched him freak out one night when Mitzi switched his spot with someone named Andrew Dice Clay. One of those times I met his mom and found out that, as a young preacher, he had been through my hometown. Much later he and his crew came to my Off-Line editing facility in Hollywood to put together a video he would show at his last Vegas show... which can be heard at the end of his "Live from Hell" album. He was incredibly cool and one of the best. Thank you for this.

His role in Back to School is probably the hardest I've ever seen my dad laugh in my life. One of the funniest bits ever!

Sam had wayyyy more years to offer this world. Fucking tragic losing him so young to a drunk driver. RIP Sam, you beautiful maniac. Excellent vid as always, Joe

Sam Kinison was also the voice of Marty's conscience in the Tales From The Crypt episode titled "For Cryin' Out Loud." One of my all time favorites.

I find it absolutely amazing how Sam Kinison was the person to give Jim Carrey that necessary push to go all out with his comedy. Being a life long Jim Carrey fan, I now have a much greater appreciation for what Mr. Kinison brought to the comedy world. Thanks to this video. Keep up the phenomenal work!!!

I love that Atuk is it almost this urban legend in the comedy world where almost every comedian that died too soon was offered the role

Also when he died he had been married for less than a week, had beat drugs, and was in the midst of a huge comeback (all while on the way to his sold out show). When he was hit head on - he looked fine, besides a mark on his head, and apparently talked to God - and then promptly died. SO FRICKIN SAD 😭!

I wasn't a good minister, wasn't raking in the bucks Sounds like he actually WAS a good minister

It shouldn't surprise me anymore by now, but Mr. Joe Ramoni videos are in a class of their own, always masterfully done 🙏

I've loved all your videos but this one is special. This man saved my life with his comedy. I have him a tattoo of the man and named my son Sam after him.

Sam Kiniston was like a supernova. A person such as him only comes around once in a lifetime. He is sorely missed.

Lifelong Kinison fan here. This was very well done.

I was fortunate enough to see Sam's live show (along with his friend, Carl LaBove, who was also brilliant; best take down of a heckler I ever saw), and it was epic. I remember getting the news of his death about a year later. So sad. RIP you wild man!

Sam Kinison’s cover of “Are You Lonesome Tonight” from the Tonight Show is genuinely one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life, especially when I saw it shortly after my break up with my ex. It was exactly what I needed to hear.

Wow, Mister Ramoni. Once again, it seems we are quite alike. As I am watching this and unpacking after a move, taking out books, what should I pull out but Brother Sam, same raucous cover and all. I love the line from his Arsenio interview about the annals of comedy history being a spectrum as opposed to some sort of lineage. "It's a rainbow, and you get a shade in it, IF you're lucky." Brilliant man. I was never surprised that he and the good reverend William Melvin Hicks were fast friends.

Fun fact: "Married... with Children" was originally developed for Fox as a starring vehicle for Sam and Roseanne Barr: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/idiffKaf0NmlfnU.html

Oooo I didn't know that Bill Hicks was in the same troupe as Sam. A mini-doc about Bill would be a great follow-up.

When I was a kid, I tried to build a time machine to stop John Denver from getting on his plane. Now at 35 I still want to build one to save Sam from the car.

Congrats on 200k!

Thank you, once again.

Kinison! Thank you so much, you always seem to post things that match to my own weird (early childhood) fascinations. You really do him justice.

Another great piece, from one of the most underrated channels on KZfaq.

I really enjoyed this video! I would love to see more documentaries like this on stand up comedians!

I remember buying Sam's "Louder Than Hell" album around 1989 when I was 16 years old. I had to play it at a low volume so that my parents wouldn't freak out. 😀

I’ve been mulling over his scene from Back to School lately… very timely indeed

Great work on this video!!!

Vice has a good show called “The Dark Side of Comedy” which recently did an episode on Kinison. It was a little jarring because every interview was like, “Sam was doing stuff nobody had ever seen before. He was taking comedy to bold new places,” and then they’d cut to the footage from his set and it would just be “I HATE MY BITCH OF AN EX-WIFE! AAAAAAAAAAAAHH!! AAAAAAAAAGGH!!!”

Thank you for your video. I loved Sam, he was the first stand up I was really into. The road to Laughlin where he passed into the next life is hallowed ground.

Dude was a road pirate. Thats why he dressed like one. RIP to a true entertainer.

Excellent overview of Sam's life. Thanks for producing this.

Sam Kinison is one of those comedians that no matter how much of him I see I can never understand how he got successful and what his fans found funny about him.

You always make the best and endearing videos about films and people that I loved so much growing up. Thank You so much for what you do.

Another great job. Thank you. Sam was the best. The best at what I have no Idea!

It's insane that he got his life cleaned up just for someone else to kill him due to the very thing that had been holding him back. A real gut punch. 😢 I knew him as a kid from Charlie Hoover and his Married... with Children episode as well as snippets of his stand up I saw in passing.

You really are one of the best content creators on KZfaq! I love your documentaries! You are informative, in-depth, unbiased and still sentimental! Keep up the good work!

When comedy didn’t hurt peoples feelings. He’d be rolling in his grave right now. Rip Sam.

The great thing about Sam Kinison was his larger than life energy he brought to everything

A total legend

This still breaks my heart. 💔

I have always had a soft spot for Sam Kinnison, something about his wild man attitude and cheerful confidence is timeless and always fun to enjoy

I heard him on the Howard Stern radio show. A few days later, he was dead. It was a shame and eerie.

Amazing video

First saw him when I rented "It's a Bundyful Life" at my local Palmer Video around 1998, and he was gut bustingly hilarious! Never heard a comedian that screamed that loud before. I think Mad did a gag on him during their "Milestones That We're Rapidly Approaching" where a Kinison like comedian is literally blowing the audience away due to how loud he is. He was referred to as "The 2,000 Decibel Comedian".

I really like that joke where he screams

At first glance I thought that was Anne Ramsey in the thumbnail 😂

Sam is so nostalgic to me. i remember my best friends dad playing all his standup for us. we quoted him endlessly

Very underrated by the young generation. Thank you for covering this and educating more people ❤

I put these videos on to wind down before bed… I wasn’t prepared to be jolted awake by Sam screeching every 4 minutes

He was one of a kind. Gone far too soon. Have you ever thought about doing a video on Rodney Dangerfield?

"there is no best. it's a rainbow and you get a shade in it if you're lucky." so true, however I'm color blind and Norm MacDonald is gray.

I miss you Joanie. We'll all see you eventually. Sam made his peace.

Love this guy, AGHHHHHHH!

instant classic

That tales from the crypt episode with Sam Kinison 😂😂😂 Goated. Forgot the name...

Damn, Joe, it gave me chills when you said his age when he died. Being less than two years away from turning 38, that type of stuff seems to hit just a tad bit heavier the older ya get. I had hoped I'd be completely cold and apathetic by this age. Where the mailman was my only human contact each and everyday as I yelled at him for being late....but oh well, great doc as always, man!!!!!

Over three decades later and he's still loved and his jokes still hit

Joe, this is Diego, from Argentina. I really dig your videos and your podcast with Ryan. I must say, though, that Sam was not the first comic hired just to do stand up in SNL. Andy Kaufman and Billy Crystal both did spots on SNL's first season, and there are also some sets by Steven Wright on the 80s era. Still, great video! Keep them comming!

Was lucky enough to see him live, back in the mid/late 80's in a 1500 seat venue..

Wow. Powerful

That is absolutely devastating that he got sober, and was killed by a drunk driver. I forgot all about that Wild Thing video, I added it to my headbanger's ball playlist.

Kinison also wasn't wearing his seatbelt when the crash happened. This resulted in him suffering from massive internal injuries which did not prevent him from exiting his car, but he died a few minutes later while sitting on the curb.

this guy is hillarious the desert joke was always my favorite

I met Sam in Penn Station in 1990 - He was awesome....

I saw Sam at a club in LaJolla, had to buy a couple drinks. Saw him 6 more times, driving 800 miles once. From a tiny club to 15k seats he was always funny. I miss you Sammy.

The idea from that Charlie Hoover show may have come from a Tales From the Crypt episode Sam Kinison was on, where he plays the conscience of a greedy rock promoter. I had heard of him from that Married with Children episode, and found him really charismatic, and preferred his observational comedy and quieter voice instead of the screaming punchlines. His upbringing as a preacher's son makes a lot of sense, as he knew how to perform with oratory skills to keep an audience following his words, and build anticipation with a story. He seemed very much a product of his time with the 80s hair metal and hard partying and being on Fox shows, but it is sad that he died young, and ironically was sober when a drunk teenage driver killed him.

send this to Joe, he would love this

Sam was an absolute Dynamo. Brilliants like his never stays with us long enough. The Great Ones always die it seems.

Legend says that Sam's last words were "Jesus, don't let me die", yet we don't know if he was screaming it or not. JESUS, DON'T LET ME DIE!! OOOOH!

I turned 16 in 1985, so I remember Sam’s career very well. He was the hottest comic working from 86-until his death. His albums were played often while cruising around my little hometown.

Theres also a full documentary about him somewhere, and a short documentary on the Dark Side of Comedy series.

his death was true tragic irony. he gets clean cause he doesn't want drinking or drugs to kill him, but then gets killed by a drunk driver. so in the end, drinking still got him.

Kinison, Carlin , and Chappell, the best 3 ever to do it .

Thank you for this. Love you brother.

I loved Kinison! I used to love it when him and Dice were on Stern all of the time.

I thought from the thumbnail this was a video about Anne Ramsey from The Goonies and Throw Momma From The Train.

Impressive vocal ability. I mean screaming that much and still have a steady voice is impressive. Not really my cup of tea. Not because of the screaming but rather it seem to be very repetitive.

I discovered him in 1990 at the same time as discovering Andrew Dice Clay when I was 16. But I actually heard his trademark scream two years earlier sampled on an Anthrax song mistakenly thinking it was by a band member.

Excellent recap of Sam's life and impact on comedy. It is nice to run across his bits from time to time and be reminded how awesome he was.

I'm an 80s kid, so I definitely remembered him as a stand-up. My favorite performance of his was as a voice. Season 2 episode 8 of Tales From The Crypt: For Cryin' Out Loud. (Interestingly enough, it also stars Katey Sagal!) It was a role he was perfectly cast for: a rather ignored, nagging conscience suddenly breaking through and screaming so loud that the bad guy thinks everyone can hear the voice.

Very nice video. Sadly I got into him only a year or two before he died. I remember my mom showing me his obituary in the paper. RIP Sam 🤘😎🤘

I did use to confuse him with Bobcat Goldthwait as a kid.

Have you considered doing a deep dive video about the infamous "cursed" Atuk script? That is the stuff of legends!

Sam: *Dying in the desert* “Sand?”

As a fan of the band Anthrax his yell is forever linked to their song I'm the Man

he is also featured prominentley in part 2 of the history of howard stern. if you love sam kinison its a must listen.

Sam definitely wasn't the first comedian hired to do his bits on SNL. Andy Kaufman was featured many times, as far back as the first season, 1975. I remember there being others as well.

Kinison got his trademark look from Mama Fratelli in The Goonies.

One of my favorite Sam kinison references is in the office when Michael and Pam are driving together for his presentation. When asked if they can put on the radio, Michael replies, “no music, I need silence or sam kinison to prepare”

I learned about him back when one those documentaries about comedians and their tragedies came in the mid 2000s. Something like the Dark side of comedy. This before I ever watched Back to School

I dont know if he was doing a bit in his final minutes, but it really hit me in the feels. (I dont think he was doing a bit)

I've been waiting for this and glad it finally showed up. Sam was one of the first Comedians I saw when I was growing up. I got to see some of his shows on cable and he always had me in stitches. The day he died I cried all day, it was like I lost a friend (I was still young back then) but some of my memories of my childhood was of him

Sam is one of the best comic’s literally ever. Can’t even count the amount of times I’ve screamed “STILL LOVE YOU HONEY”

One of the best books I’ve ever read. The other one? The Chris Farley Show. Both books written by one of their brothers who adored and truly loved them both.

Only yesterday I was wondering when your next release would be.

From the thumbnail I thought this was going to be a video on Mama Fratelli from The Goonies 😂

I was a big fan of Sam and missed an opportunity to see him live. I still remember how i found out he died, it was on the tv news. They said "He was known as screaming Sam, tonight he is dead" the video clip showed Sam performing and bowing at the end to cheering fans.

2:05 “… Tommy CHUNG?!” 😂 That is AWESOME. Wonder if it was intentional dig at Chong. Either way 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I think he was around for precisely the right amount of time - I don't think that he would have learned that SHOUTING IS NOT A PUNCHLINE!!! It might be good for a few laughs but boy does it get old fast.