Comedian Sam Kinison, known for his screaming, politically incorrect stand-up routines, died at age 38 in a car crash just six days after getting married. The crash happened on April 10, 1992, while Kinison was driving from his home in California to a gig in Laughlin, Nevada. His 1989 Pontiac Trans Am was struck by a pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old. Kinison was thrown into the windshield because he wasn’t wearing a seat belt, and died at the scene from internal injuries.
Witnesses said that after pulling himself out of the car, he lay on the ground and seemed to speak to someone who wasn’t there, saying “I don’t want to die,” then listening, then saying “okay, okay, okay,” moments before he passed. . . Kinison was born on December 8, 1953, in Yakima, Washington, and spent most of his childhood in Peoria, Illinois, where his father was a preacher.
At age three, Kinison was hit by a truck and suffered some brain damage, an event his family later said shaped his intense personality. His parents divorced when he was 12; he and his younger brother stayed with their mother, while his older brothers lived with their father. As a teenager, he was sent to a Bible training center in New York state at age 15. After his father died, Kinison decided to become a Pentecostal preacher, following in the footsteps of his older brothers.
During his sermons, he sometimes screamed with passion—a style that would later become his trademark in stand-up comedy,. Kinison married briefly in his early 20s, but that marriage didn’t last long. In 1977, he decided to try stand-up comedy. A few years later, Rodney Dangerfield saw him perform and encouraged him to keep at it.
By 1980, Kinison had moved to Los Angeles, became a regular at The Comedy Store, and formed friendships with Jim Carrey and Robin Williams. His second marriage, to Terry Mars, ended in separation after two years. His big break came in 1985, when Dangerfield gave him a spot on his HBO Comedy Showcase during. Kinison’s wild rants on topics like marriage, world hunger, and religion made him a popular act on albums and shows, including Late Night with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, and The Howard Stern Show.
He also appeared in a couple of films, including Dangerfield’s “Back to School,” but a major film career never materialized. His act, which often pushed limits, drew both passionate fans and protesters at some appearances. He also released music videos for”Mississippi Queen” and”Wild Thing,” the latter featuring model Jessica Hahn. Kinison married his longtime girlfriend, Malika Souiri, in Las Vegas just six days before he died.
After a brief honeymoon in Hawaii, the couple returned to California in time for him to make a gig in Laughlin. On the way, the collision occurred. He was buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Kinison remained a defining figure of politically incorrect comedy—beloved by many, criticized by others,, and remembered for a style that was unmistakably his own.
