Sam Kinison was a popular comedian born on 8 December 1953 in Yakima, Washington, United States of America. He was given the birth name Samuel Burl Kinison. Sam also tried his acting skills as he performed in some movies. Unfortunately, a car accident resulted in the death of Sam Kinison and his wife being injured. Check out more about Sam’s early life, his wife, his career, and his death.

Key Highlights:

• Sam made his jokes on topics like marriage, world hunger despite the criticism from women and homosexuals.
• Sam Kinison was best friends with Robin Williams and Jim Carrey.
• The Comedian married Malaika who was his third wife before their car accident resulted in death of Sam Kinison at the age of 38.

Early Life & Setbacks

Kinison was one of the most popular comedians at that time, and no topic was shy of his reach. His jokes and his scream were famous as his audience was amused by his on-stage jokes. Sam Kinison was the son of a preacher, and he spent most of his childhood in Peoria, Illinois. At just 3 years old, he was hit by a truck which caused him some brain damage. When Sam was 12 years old, his parents filed for divorce. Sam and his younger brother Kevin stayed with her mother while his older brothers, Bill and Richard stayed with their dad.

When Sam was 15 years old, he was sent to a religious boarding school. This was the time that Kinison observed his interest in music, and he taught himself the skills of using a guitar. After some time, Sam went on his own journey. However, after the death of his father in 1972, he decided to become a preacher. Although he still obtained a great sense of humor. His greatest admirer at the time was Richard Pryor.

At the age of 21 years, Sam married a woman, but this marriage was very brief and unhappy. In 1978, Sam went to a comedy workshop in Houston. By the year 1979, he was one of the most successful comedians among the city’s top performers. He became a prominent performer in the Comedy Annex. He once said:

I don’t worry about terrorism. I was married for two years.

Performing On Big Stages

After being named the funniest man in Texas twice, Sam moved towards Los Angeles in 1990. After gaining some fame, he quickly became friends with fellow comedians Robin Williams and Jim Carrey. Sam also married Terry Marrs during the same time, but again their marriage did not last long.

The biggest success for Sam at the time was when Dangerfield gave him a spot on the HBO comedy show. Kinison received several minutes on air, while his rants on marriage and world hunger were widely received by the audience. Sam also released his comedy album, ‘Louder than Hell,’ which was a huge success. He also performed in small roles, like a Dangerfield comedy called ‘Back to School.’ Sam also performed on Saturday Night Live during the later stages of the 1980s. Kinison once said:

You don’t know what a rough crowd is. If all I have to do is go make people laugh, that’s nothing. Let me tell you what a tough crowd is. A tough crowd is going to a morning service and you got six people there and you gotta pay your house payment. That’s a tough crowd.

Although Sam was quite liked by his audience, his jokes were sometimes considered harsh. He spoke on topics like women, and world hunger which provoked some of the audience. He received some criticism from women and homosexuals as they considered Sam’s jokes to be more hateful rather than funny. Sam replied back to the critic saying:

Every generation has someone who steps outside the norm and offers a voice for the unspeakable attitudes of that time. I represent everything that’s supposed to be wrong, everything that’s forbidden.

Comedian Sam Kinison Dies At 38

On 5 April 1992, Kinison married his girlfriend Malaika Souiri in Las Vegas. They celebrated their honeymoon for a few days and then returned to California. On 12 April 1992, Sam was traveling to perform at Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino in Laughlin. On his way, he met a very unfortunate car accident where his sports car collided with a pickup truck on US Highway 95. He was also accompanied by his third wife, Malaika. He had only married her last Sunday. The car accident resulted in the death of the Comedian Sam and his wife being injured.  

Sam Kinison’s wife was taken to the Needles Desert Community Hospital which was in a very serious condition.

The driver of the pickup truck was just 17 years old, and he was soon under arrest for vehicle manslaughter. After the accident, the road was littered with lots of beer cans which was denied by the spokeswomen of Sam that they were not in the possession of the comedian.

Kinison was also struggling with health problems due to drug and alcohol abuse. He was considered overweight but according to him, he had left drugs and was dieting.