In about 1997 I was introduced to the works of both Bill Hicks and Alex Jones at the same time by the same friend and as entres to Austin Community Television.
Shortly thereafter I started joking with people that:
A - Bill faked his own death and resurrected himself as Alex
B - Bill's spirit (or a part of it anyway) went into Alex upon Bill's passing such that Alex is basically a Walk-In featuring Bill Hicks
As I told this to people jokingly, over and over again folks would get this look on their face and then tell me, "ya know, I've always thought they kinda looked alike and well..."
I'd heard that Bill knew he was dying and that basically he just soldiered on and tried not to let people know and tried to just be the great and wonderful person he was.
I knew that he was good friends with Kevin Booth and that Kevin had, in the years after Bill's death, become quite close to Alex. The one time I got to hang out with Alex about the only direct question I really asked him was, "did you ever meet Bill Hicks face to face" and he said "only once or twice." The one time I briefly met and hung out with Kevin wasn't a good time to inquire about anything.
But the meme has taken root and spread.
I've seen Alex actually DO bits of Bill's shtick, verbatim and approximations. But hell, NPR has ripped off Bill Hicks' "Iraq/Desert Storm Receipt" joke for this most recent "Gulf War 2" ...
But I don't really believe the meme. It's a besmirching of Bill Hicks' memory and liberal spirit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt64VrgY5qIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DhxGtr1MC4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb1QjFk_jRshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPeRbJeO7tQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0jmPHmTu0ghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1fBDRrHOQUThe guy who posted those videos though, seems a wee bit obsessed.
- smiles