Bill Hicks

He lived hard and died young, but little about Bill Hicks could be considered cliché. Relatively obscure in America during his lifetime, Hicks still, somehow, became one of the most influential stand-up comedians ever to seize the mic. Hicks would transcend the foul-mouthed "angry comic" shtick, articulating an oft-venomous smashing of sacred icons and institutions. Largely shunned by network television for his ideas, Hicks did make 10 appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" (NBC, 1982-1993) and found real celebrity in the U.K. Hicks died of cancer at just 32 years old. After his passing, a chorus of artists and intellectuals hailed Hicks as once-in-a-generation talent, who pushed his art relentlessly against the envelope of America's sanitized commercial culture. His legacy grew as his struggles to be heard transformed him into a patron saint of iconoclasm and speaking truth to power.