1993 censored Bill Hicks segment from the ‘Late Show’ to be broadcast on Letterman tonight 1.30.09

~Disinfo

In 1993, “on October 1st, the comedian Bill Hicks, after doing his twelfth gig on the David Letterman show, became the first comedy act to be censored at CBS’s Ed Sullivan Theatre, where Letterman is now in residence, and where Elvis Presley was famously censored in 1956. Presley was not allowed to be shown from the waist down. Hicks was not allowed to be shown at all.” Bill Hicks was known as a comedian, but to me, and many others like me, he was a prophet. “He challenged mainstream beliefs, aiming to ‘enlighten people to think for themselves.’ Hicks used a ribald approach to express his material describing himself as ‘Chomsky with dick jokes.’ His jokes included general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy and personal issues. Bill’s material was often deliberately controversial. In both his stand-up performances, and during interviews, he often criticized Media and popular culture as oppressive tools of the ruling class, meant to “keep people stupid and apathetic.’”