Charlie Hill obit

Groundbreaking Oneida comedian Charlie Hill dies at 62

 He was not on the list.

Comedian Charlie Hill, who grew up in Oneida and became a groundbreaking influence for Native American comedians and other Native Americans in the entertainment industry, died Monday. He was 62.

Hill attended the University of Wisconsin before moving to California to pursue show business. He made his debut on "The Richard Pryor Show" in October 1977 (seen in the video above) and went on to become the first Native American comedian to be on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson."

He was a regular at the famed Comedy Store in Los Angeles and forged friendships that led to appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and "Late Show with David Letterman" throughout his career. He also wrote for the TV sitcom "Roseanne."

Hill had been battling lymphoma, according to Indian Country Today. News of his death sparked condolences and tributes on Twitter:

» From Roseanne Barr: "Charlie Hill revolutionary stand up comic /wordsmith vagenius has vac8d ths realm."

» From comedian Louie Anderson: "RIP Charlie Hill "Hi, How are ya! Hi, How are ya" Hi, How are ya! love you Charlie, I'm better for knowing you!"

» From Canadian electronic group A Tribe Called Red: "A hero has passed. Charlie Hill will forever be an inspiration to us. He was hilarious."

Hill received the Screen Actors Guild's Ivy Bethune Tri-Union Diversity Award in 2009 for work and activism that fosters diversity within the entertainment and news media industries. That award also has been given to Cheryl Burke, Debbie Allen, Kal Penn and Edward James Olmos.

In 2010, the organization Native America on the Web honored Hill for his "lifetime of promoting positive images of Native Peoples and bridging cultural differences through the healing power of humor."

Hill's stand-up material was a part of the documentary "Reel Injun: On the Trail of the Hollywood Indian," which was adapted for PBS. He was also an executive producer and host of the Showtime special "Goin' Native: The Indian Comedy Slam." In 2001, Wisconsin Public Television premiered his biography, "On & Off the Res' with Charlie Hill."

He performed throughout Northeastern Wisconsin during his career, including the annual Family Carnival in Oneida and at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Hill talked with Press-Gazette Media in February 2011 about being back home and spending Christmas in Oneida for the first time in 37 years and how little things like the smell of cow manure is "like nostalgia."

"What I found walking around in the snow or just being outside - I think your whole body's a sense memory," he said. "It will remind me of things I used to do, or certain smells. I love that part. It evokes a lot of memories and thoughts and maybe not even about being in the snow, just about certain times in my life. ... It's kind of full circle for me. I remember being here as a kid having my dreams, and it's time to just go back there again and plug into that.

Funeral arrangements for Hill are pending with Ryan Funeral Home & Crematory in De Pere.

 

Selected film and television credits

2010: A Good Day to Die (Hill is interviewed about Dennis Banks)

2009: Reel Injun (documentary; comedy routine by Hill)

2009: Goin' Native: The Indian Comedy Slam – No Reservations Needed (television film

2004–2006: Late Show with David Letterman

2005: CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival (television series)

2004: City Confidential (television documentary)

1999: On and Off the Res with Charlie Hill (documentary)

1996: White Shamans and Plastic Medicine Men (documentary short)

1996: Moesha (television series)

1995: Roseanne

1993: North of 60 (television series)

1992: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

1986: Impure Thoughts

1985: MacGruder and Loud (television series)

1985: Late Night with David Letterman

1984: Earthlings (television film)

1984: Harold of Orange (short film)

1980: The Big Show (television series)

1978: The Bionic Woman (television series)

1977: The Richard Pryor Show