Travelling or based outside United States? Video availability outside of United States varies. Sign in to see videos available to you. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 7 days to finish once started. Close Menu. I Am Sam Kinison is a feature documentary exploring the life and legacy of shock comic Sam Kinison, a former Pentecostal preacher who repurposed his pulpit-honed chops for a wild career that shattered the status quo and changed comedy forever.

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Known for his crass humor and trademark scream, Sam Kinison received his first break from comedian Rodney Dangerfield. In Kinison received a Grammy nomination for his comedy album. He died in a car accident on April 10, at the age of Kinison stunned and amazed audiences with his intense comedic performances. No topic was off limits for this controversial comic, and his sharp barbs were often punctuated with his trademark primal scream. Obviously I'm not a role model for impressionable youth," Kinison once told People magazine. The son of a preacher, Kinison spent much of his childhood in Peoria, Illinois. Kinison was only three years old when he was hit by a truck, which left him with some brain damage. At the age of 12, he experienced another type of trauma when his parents divorced. Sam and younger brother Kevin stayed with their mother while older brothers Richard and Bill went to live with their father.
Who Was Sam Kinison?
Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. A brother recalls the excessive and flamboyant life of the late comedian who died in an April car crash, portraying Kinison's checkered early years, his road to fame and fortune, and his personal struggles. Read more Read less. Kindle Cloud Reader Read instantly in your browser. Customers who viewed this item also viewed. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Steve Lamar.
A former Pentecostal preacher , he performed stand-up routines that were characterized by an intense style, similar to charismatic preachers, punctuated by his distinctive scream. Kinison had two older brothers, Richard and Bill, and a younger brother, Kevin. His parents divorced when he was 11 and his brother Bill went to live with his father while Sam stayed with the rest of his family against his protestations. Bill described this as the root of much of Sam's anger. Kinison and his brothers emulated their father by becoming Pentecostal preachers. He preached from the age of 17 to 24 and recordings of his sermons reveal that he used a " fire and brimstone " style, punctuated with shouts similar to the ones he would later use in his stand-up routines. His brother Bill, however, noted that "ironically, he had no stage presence" and he was not very successful at making money from preaching. Kinison began his career in Houston, Texas , where he performed in small clubs. He soon developed a cocaine habit, quickly progressing to the freebase form, and struggled to make a foothold in the business until his brother Bill moved to Los Angeles to help manage his career. Kinison specializes in a grotesque animalist howl that might be described as the primal scream of the married man.