Entertainment Industry Mourns Loss Of Groundbreaking Native American Comedian
Charlie Hill, a pioneering Native American comedian, died on Dec. 30. Indian Country Today Media Network had reported in early December that Hill had been battling lymphoma.
From an NPR profile last year:
In many ways, Hill's comedy is about how native people weren't even allowed to have an American dream. Hill, from the Oneida tribe of Wisconsin, quips in one of his routines: "We used to be from New York. We had a little real estate problem."
Hill made his TV debut on The Richard Pryor Show in the 1970s, and has been on Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show. While he may not be very well known to the general public, to Native Americans, he's a hero.
Wisconsin Public Radio reports that Hill worked mostly in Los Angeles, but considered the Oneida Reservation in Wisconsin to be his home.
Two weeks before his death a benefit was held at The Laugh Factory in Hollywood featuring comedians Roseanne Barr, Jay Leno and Paul Rodriguez, among others.
News of his passing brought out many tributes on social media, including one from comedian Don Kelly:
When you're First Nations, it's all about being first. And Charlie Hill was the first. RIP & respect to a legend http://t.co/ucrAqiPzU6
— Don Kelly (@thedonkelly) December 30, 2013
Indian Country Today Media Network put together a list of eight video clips of Hill's performances, including his 1977 appearance on The Richard Pryor Show:
