Sam Kinison

Samuel Burl Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. A former Pentecostal preacher, he performed stand-up routines that were characterized by intense sudden tirades, punctuated with his distinctive scream, similar to charismatic preachers. Initially performing for free, Kinison became a regular fixture at The Comedy Store where he met and eventually befriended such comics as Robin Williams and Jim Carrey. Kinison's comedy was crass observational humor, especially towards women and dating, and his popularity grew quickly, earning him appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Late Night with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live. At the peak of his career in early 1992, he was killed in a car crash, aged 38.

8 December 1953

Born on the same birth date (8 December 1953): Kim Basinger • Norman Finkelstein • Roy Firestone • Steve Yates (footballer, born 1953) • Władysław Kozakiewicz

Born on the same birth day (8 December): Anita Weyermann • Chrisette Michele • Concha Piquer • Georges Feydeau • Greg Howe • Jakov Ignjatović • Matthew Labyorteaux • Maximilian Schell • Wang Anshi

Born in the same month (December 1953): Bess Armstrong • Betty Wright • Bill Pullman • Gerrit W. Gong • Graham Vick • Gwen Lister • Rebecca Forstadt • Robert Charles Wilson • Tatsumi Fujinami • Toomas Hendrik Ilves • Vangelis Meimarakis • Władysław Kozakiewicz