“Warrior of Comedy” Charlie Hill Has Walked On at 62
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“Warrior of Comedy” Charlie Hill has walked on at 61.
PHOTO Courtesy: Thosh Collins
ONEIDA INDIAN RESERVATION — Oneida comedian Charlie Hill walked on early Monday morning, December 30, after a courageous year-long fight with cancer at the Anna John Nursing Home in Oneida, Wisconsin, which near his Wisconsin home. He was 62.
Hill is one of the Indian country’s favorite comedians. He went to Hollywood after attending the University of Wisconsin to make it in show business. He had the good fortune to meet comedians Richard Pryor and David Letterman while performing at The Comedy Store in Hollywood. Hill became the first American Indian comedy to appear on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” He later became a writer for the “Roseanne” comedy hit show.
“His comedy will be sorely missed,” commented his brother, Rick Hill, to the Native News Online on Monday afternoon. “He healed a lot of hearts with his comedy by telling people the truth in a humorous way.”
“Charlie Hill left us today. This is a sentence I never wanted to write or say. He was a mountain of a man. He was unafraid to strike down the many obstacles that prevented Native Americans from enjoying human dignity. With humor, he made us laugh. With his courage, he made us stand tall. He was a mountain that we so often speak about. I shall miss Charlie and I will keep his memory alive,”
commented Dennis Banks, the co-founder of the American Indian Movement, who is currently in Japan.
American Indian actress Kateri Walker, a tribal citizen of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, issued these comments upon hearing the news of Hill’s death: “Charlie Hill was the trailblazer for American Indians in mainstream comedy. Not only did he stick his foot in the door, he opened it for all Native comedians to follow. I will miss my dear friend, Charlie Hill: His soft laughter, rolling into a strong thunder, as something funny crossed his mind. I will also miss his incredible harmonica playing.”
“Today, tears fall for our Warrior of Comedy. I extend my sincere condolences to the entire Hill family, and all of Charlie Hill’s friends. We have lost an American Indian icon,”
- Kateri Walker
He is survived by his wife, Lenora, two daughters, two sons and a grandchild.
A funeral ceremony will be held on Friday, January 3, 2014, at 10:00 am – CST at the Ryan Funeral Home, located at 305 North Tenth Street, De Pere, Wisconsin.
There will be no public showing prior to the ceremony.
UPDATED: Monday, December 30, 2013, 6:20 pm – EST
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Levi Rickert, a tribal citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, is the publisher and editor of Native News Online. Previously, he served as editor of the Native News Network. He is a resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Condolences to the family of Charley Hill.I had the privilege of meeting him a long time ago when his career was just starting. He performed at an educational conference at the Outlaw Inn in Kalispell, Montana. He was a perfect gentleman and very intelligent and handsome with a good sense of humor. My husband and I took a special trip to California to watch him perform at the comedy store there and he let us in free. It eas a great performance and he was performing with all the rest of the comedians and that was inspirational for us…He will always be remembered for his good humor and for being outspoken and telling it like it is…May he rest in peace….he left behind lots of good memories…
I have not seen Charlie in many years but I knew the world was a better place because he walked in it. Now he is in the Summerland and it will be a better place as well. Bright blessings to him and his family. I will miss you always Charlie.
i can’t say enough about Charlie. Floyd Westerman, Charlie and i did many performances together through the years, with Buffy, John Trudell and Max Gail, Ulali…and many others. My heart is sad because of his passing, but i know he’s in a better place now, relieved of his suffering. He was a wise and great man, and the world will be a poorer place without him and his humor. We were friends for many years, and i could tell stories for days about him. i will share only this one; We were walking down Hollywood boulevard one evening, complaining to each other about the lack of gigs and money. Both of us were flat broke, and had no performances forthcoming. As we walked together, we heard music, and on the street was a young black man, with no legs below the knee, and only one arm, dancing to the sounds of a boom box, and smiling widely. We stopped for a minute, and Charlie said, “Look at us crying, because we’re broke, and look at this man dancing and happy…we should be ashamed of ourselves.” We both quit whining and walked away feeling lucky to be alive.
Oh no! Not Charlie!! I will miss him greatly too. He was/is my sister Theresa’s best friend. She met him first long ago. They were always & will be just friends. I know she is hurting today. We just lost Carter Camp & my little sister Marion F. “Shwuggy,” (Halsey) Eagle walked on 11/12/2013. It’s really hard to take all of these deaths of Native people from Cancer. My parents & brothers all died from it. I wish they would let the Cancer cure come to America. It is here. Charlie was as funny as he was on stage. I love his NDN sense of humor! I will miss him. I got to meet him everytime he & Theresa got together as friends & hung out. I too haven’t seen him for years. He was a wonderful husband, father, grand father. Sympathies to his wife & Family & his friends. I just comforted Theresa.
So very sad. Love you Charlie & I will miss you! RIP Charlie! (I will see you again in the next life).