Sam Kinison
Who Sam Kinison is
Sam Kinison was a stand-up comedian and actor, and a former Pentecostal preacher, whose routines were built on sudden tirades punctuated by his trademark scream. After starting in Houston with the Texas Outlaw Comics and becoming a fixture at The Comedy Store, he broke through in 1985 on HBO's Rodney Dangerfield Young Comedians special and Late Night with David Letterman, and hosted Saturday Night Live in 1986. He died in a car crash in 1992 at 38, and his album Live from Hell won a posthumous Grammy in 1994.
At a glance
- Born
- 1953
- Died
- 1992
- Style
- Scream and release
- Came up through
- The Comedy Store
- Stand-up specials
- Rodney Dangerfield's Ninth Annual Young Comedians Special and Breaking the Rules
- Albums
- Louder Than Hell, Breaking The Rules, Have You Seen Me Lately? and 2 more
- On screen
- Late Night with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, Married... with Children and 4 more
- Official site
- samkinison.org ↗
Specials, shows and podcasts
Stand-up specials
- Rodney Dangerfield's Ninth Annual Young Comedians Special 1985, HBO
- Breaking the Rules 1987, HBO
Albums
- Louder Than Hell 1986
- Breaking The Rules 1987
- Have You Seen Me Lately? 1988
- Leader of the Banned 1990
- Live from Hell 1993
On screen
- Late Night with David Letterman TV debut, 1985
- Saturday Night Live guest performer 1985–1986; host 1986
- Married... with Children guest star, 1989
- Tales from the Crypt guest star, 1990
- Charlie Hoover Hugh, 1991
- Fox New Year's Eve Live: 1992 co-host, 1991–1992
- Back to School 1986
Where they got their start
- The Comedy Store a fixture there before his 1985 breakthrough
Came up the same way
Other comedians in SUCDb who came through The Comedy Store:
Comedians like Sam Kinison
Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town.
- Ritch Shydner also in Late Night with David Letterman
- Andy Kaufman also in Late Night with David Letterman
- David Letterman also in Late Night with David Letterman
- Jon Stewart also in Late Night with David Letterman
- Paula Poundstone also in Late Night with David Letterman
- Rodney Dangerfield also in Back to School
- The Amazing Johnathan also in Late Night with David Letterman
- Bill Scheft also in Late Night with David Letterman
Career timeline
- 1953Born
- 1985Rodney Dangerfield's Ninth Annual Young Comedians Special (1985, HBO) Special
- 1985Late Night with David Letterman (TV debut, 1985) On screen
- 1985Saturday Night Live (guest performer 1985–1986; host 1986) On screen
- 1986Back to School (1986) On screen
- 1986Louder Than Hell (1986) Album
- 1987Breaking the Rules (1987, HBO) Special
- 1987Breaking The Rules (1987) Album
- 1988Have You Seen Me Lately? (1988) Album
- 1989Married... with Children (guest star, 1989) On screen
- 1990Tales from the Crypt (guest star, 1990) On screen
- 1990Leader of the Banned (1990) Album
- 1991Charlie Hoover (Hugh, 1991) On screen
- 1992Fox New Year's Eve Live: 1992 (co-host, 1991–1992) On screen
- 1992Died
- 1993Live from Hell (1993) Album
Questions about Sam Kinison
What stand-up specials has Sam Kinison released?
Rodney Dangerfield's Ninth Annual Young Comedians Special and Breaking the Rules.
What TV shows and films are they in?
Late Night with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, Married... with Children, Tales from the Crypt, Charlie Hoover and Fox New Year's Eve Live: 1992, among 7 credits.
Where did they get their start?
The Comedy Store (a fixture there before his 1985 breakthrough).
Who are some comedians like them?
Ritch Shydner (also in Late Night with David Letterman), Andy Kaufman (also in Late Night with David Letterman), David Letterman (also in Late Night with David Letterman), Jon Stewart (also in Late Night with David Letterman) and Paula Poundstone (also in Late Night with David Letterman).
The full SUCDb record
The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with their place on the Legends ballots.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Sam Kinison ↗ Birth and death years, preaching, Texas Outlaw Comics, The Comedy Store, 1985 HBO special and Letterman debut, SNL, death, Grammy for Live from Hell, albums,…
- samkinison.org ↗ Official site listed on Wikipedia ('New website coming soon' page, 27 September 2026)
Updated 5 October 2026 · the record checked 27 September 2026