"You wouldn't believe how dry it is backstage" [takes a slug of whiskey] CLASSIC Hitch. Although judging by how he looks/acts previous to that moment, backstage was in fact utterly soused.
He's an Oxford educated journalist, who writes with flawless prose, formulates utterly convincing arguments, is still the nemesis of all major religions (even though he is dead), AND he can do a witty stand up routine. I wouldn't be surprised if a video surfaced of him playing for Manchester United
Take heart he has inspired many. It is the duty of our species to evolve beyond our limits & constraints. That is all he really wanted in my opinion. He gave us a fun head start in this. Best wishes
This is great. I don't think a lot of people understand that his vehement stance on many things, was driven by natural born human kindness, or so I believe. He was a hedonist and polemic but his heart was pure gold.
I respectively disagree with your point about Hitchens being a hedonist. He was more than just a hedonist. Hitchens was a libertine, in the tradition of John Wilmot and William Hazlitt.
@@michaeldalscais2538yeah, he’s not a hedonist. in fact, that probably would be frowned upon in Trotskyist circles. he was against taking drugs, though he did seem to love women, whisky, and cigarettes. but he was almost always reading, writing, or speaking in some capacity. the man was a machine.
Here's a Hitchens-esque joke: A man has marriage problems as a result of heavy drinking every night, to the point at which she says 'if you go out drinking one more time'. Meh sneaks out the next night, telling his wife he's going to church. After hours of drinking he vomits all over himself and, in his drunken state panics. His friend tells him not to worry and says that he should keep his clothes as they are, but stuff a $20 in his pocket and tell her it was from a guy who throw up on him and gave him the money for the dry cleaning. He goes home covered in vomit to his wife's dismay. 'You went out drinking didn't you? You're covered in vomit' he stops her and takes the money out of his pocket saying 'no no... Another man threw up on me and gave me $20 for he dry cleaning'. She notices all the money in his hands and says 'then why are you holding $40?' To which he replies 'the other $20 is from the man who shat in my pants'
I once saw Christopher Hitchens at a debate in Cambridge years ago, and after the debate he done a similar thing and the audience a selection of his more risqué limericks....well it was so funny, he'd recite one then do it again and change the words I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. A great man with a plethora of human flaws who's sorely missed by many.
I never saw this before. OMG, if only I could have met this man. His timing, pacing, every single minute of that performance--perfect. After all his other talents, he could do a fair stand-up gig, at least once. Dang!
and then i said I'm proud you are a stalker of mine; I'll add you to my favorites and stalk you right back, since I've always enjoyed your posts on other topics. Take that!
tekobari hey man! It's been a while, i added you to my "circles" though a little while ago... I'm not sure what that means entirely, but yeah. You take that now!. Nobody is truly cool until they get a stalker haha
How many high-end intellectuals on the face of the planet can stand in front of a crowd and make the majority of them laugh with bad jokes? Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends there will never be another Christopher Hitchens, I miss him so dearly.
you're kind of a dumb fuck aren't you? His speech and appearance in this video is how it always was in every other video. how does he look drunk? then in your further post you state that "you did not watch that far" (to 7:00).....is your attention span unable to exceed 5 minutes? dude, you didn't survive the 60s. the pot and coke did you in.
Mr. Hitchens is one of the greats. I don't know why, but everything about him caught my attention when I first discovered him. His sentences are beautiful. People are right; he was a worthy celeb unlike today where we have losers famous for no reason. Mr. Hitchens, you are binded with the sands of time. Thank you.3
10:08 It's so subtle you can easily miss it, but you can see Hitch restraining himself from laughing here. Knowing what incredible people found personally funny, interesting, etc. is a really cool insight into dimensions of them we don't often think about. That's what makes this standup so special for Hitchens's fans.
As a Hitchens fan, I’m so happy to come across this treasure to save it to my archives! Love some of the one liners in this video. Thanks for uploading this. “All filth is local.”
Its hard to conceive of the confidence a person has to have to do standup. Its even more impressive that he does it when there's clearly so many in that room that dislike him.
Too true. I suppose our only consolation is that he lived in this lovely age of recording, where he's still well and alive on video, audio, and paper. We can at least give thanks for that.
If Hitchens hadn't have been a terrific author and writer he could have easily been a brilliant stand-up comedian, he's so naturally witty and erudite, I love him.
it must have been such a pleasure to have known Hitchens in real life....We are so lucky that his debates and moments like these are forever available to us online and to future generations also...he was such a brilliant, fascinating, and funny person
I love this clip. Boos and jeers in the beginning, but so much more applause for him at the end: even by those who booed and jeered. Pure intelligence and charisma. He is surely missed.
I don't know, but in all the very deserved praise about Christopher Hitchens and his quite astonishing intellect and reaction to religion, and the quite brilliant discussions he took part in that opened our minds, no-one actually seems to have thought it important to remark just what a very extraordinarily pleasant voice he had. Or is that just me? MsG
Miss you Hitch, you're greatly missed.. Not only funny as fuck, but told it as it was too. No fart arsing around, no beating around the bush, just straight to the truth.
He died of complications of oesophageal cancer. It was the continuous smoking that really did it. The whisky was probably not connected and certainly not the main factor. Throat cancer really is the realm of smokers as an experienced ENT surgeon I took one of my children too who had a persistent cough assured me. He didn't get cirrhosis or any related liver disorder. Nowadays it would probably be possible for someone like him, a heavy smoker, to have regular screening for throat cancer just as you can screen for abnormalities in the lungs, liver, cervix, bowel, prostate, breast etc. I should have thought it would have been possible then. Most cancers, caught early, are very treatable. It surprises me that no expensive US physician he saw, or who saw his videos, never suggested looking into that signature very persistent cough he had over quite some time before he was investigated for it. The drinking fed his type of creative and analytical brain, he will have otherwise had an affluent, comfortable lifestyle with a good diet and probably exercised to some extent. He looked fine before he got ill. What a pity he didn't request or wasn't recommended yearly blood tests and some sort of more suitable scan or biopsy for his obvious susceptible organs. Screening is a lifesaver even if our lifestyles don't suit some people. We all do things that some others would be angered by, and anyway, in the US he would have been paying for it all, and in his case, would surely have willingly done so because he was no fool and savoured life and could certainly have afforded to have regular checks. I wish people everywhere could access regular screening wherever it should clearly be available until they are really too old and otherwise infirm for it to be helpful.
You can find at least five people in that crowd who are completely unamused and almost contemptuous of him, rofl. It just made it even better. What a badass. Rest in peace you magnificent fuck, dammit I'll miss you.
Amazing testament to how much he has made a difference in the public discourse that Hitch strictly telling jokes has turned into a debate on religion reserved for just about any other one of his youtube videos except this one.That last joke, everyone knew what was coming...the delivery was masterful.
I just found this guy a few weeks ago while watching the Athiest Experience here on RUclips. I love this guy and recently learned he passed away, and it broke my heart. I'm not 100% Athiest yet, but with people like Dawkins, Hitchens and I think his name is Hall, I'm getting there. Hitchens is my favorite so far, cause he don't give a gram of fuck. He loved his alcohol!! HitchNation!! Peace my friend
Mark Moon You can also watch lectures and read books from Sam Harris, Lawrence Krauss and Neil DeGrass Tyson who isn't as openly atheist as the rest but is brilliant and gives fantastic lectures.
Same here: I first came across him and Dawkins less than a year ago and I have to say he has had a huge influence on me. He got me interested in history and politics, helped me build my confidence as an atheist, has helped make me develop a more critical way of thinking, and inspired me to speak my mind when it matters no matter how controversial the issue. I regret not knowing of him before he died: I would have loved to have attended one of his debates and possibly even have met him in person.
You didn't hear a word he said, did you? There is NO hell. WE ARE IT. Be a good person- because it's the right thing to do. There is NO afterlife. Enjoy your life, your family. Be kind & generous because time is short. RIP Christopher Hitchens
I know I'm not going to live forever, and neither are you! but until my furlough here on Earth is revoked, I should like to elbow aside the established pieties and raise my tumbler of JWB in memory of the beautiful intellect of Christopher Hitchens, his legacy ensures his immortality, sorely miss him. 💐
![Christopher Hitchens - Free Speech (2006) [HQ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zDap-K6GmL0/mqdefault.jpg)
Bad jokes, brilliantly told. That is a rare skill.
Jake Like Norm MacDonald.
***** I was just about to cite that name myself. Great men!
even this guy didn't get the Jokes XD.... Hitchbot cringe is real
Jake It's his voice and his presence.
@@IGEKT people here have no taste.
"You wouldn't believe how dry it is backstage" [takes a slug of whiskey]
CLASSIC Hitch. Although judging by how he looks/acts previous to that moment, backstage was in fact utterly soused.
He's an Oxford educated journalist, who writes with flawless prose, formulates utterly convincing arguments, is still the nemesis of all major religions (even though he is dead), AND he can do a witty stand up routine. I wouldn't be surprised if a video surfaced of him playing for Manchester United
Oh the more I hear of this man the more he's missed.
the more i hear from him, ,,the more I feel bored.... such an overrated guy XD
Take heart he has inspired many. It is the duty of our species to evolve beyond our limits & constraints. That is all he really wanted in my opinion. He gave us a fun head start in this. Best wishes
That's a reverse Norm McDonald joke 🤣
@@jonnysupreme +1 Norm fan
@@IGEKT so true!
I love how he speaks.
He is not rushed or worried
This is great. I don't think a lot of people understand that his vehement stance on many things, was driven by natural born human kindness, or so I believe. He was a hedonist and polemic but his heart was pure gold.
I respectively disagree with your point about Hitchens being a hedonist. He was more than just a hedonist. Hitchens was a libertine, in the tradition of John Wilmot and William Hazlitt.
@@michaeldalscais2538yeah, he’s not a hedonist. in fact, that probably would be frowned upon in Trotskyist circles. he was against taking drugs, though he did seem to love women, whisky, and cigarettes. but he was almost always reading, writing, or speaking in some capacity.
the man was a machine.
Here's a Hitchens-esque joke:
A man has marriage problems as a result of heavy drinking every night, to the point at which she says 'if you go out drinking one more time'. Meh sneaks out the next night, telling his wife he's going to church. After hours of drinking he vomits all over himself and, in his drunken state panics. His friend tells him not to worry and says that he should keep his clothes as they are, but stuff a $20 in his pocket and tell her it was from a guy who throw up on him and gave him the money for the dry cleaning. He goes home covered in vomit to his wife's dismay. 'You went out drinking didn't you? You're covered in vomit' he stops her and takes the money out of his pocket saying 'no no... Another man threw up on me and gave me $20 for he dry cleaning'. She notices all the money in his hands and says 'then why are you holding $40?' To which he replies 'the other $20 is from the man who shat in my pants'
+The Salty Spittoon Very good.
+The Salty Spittoon /watch?v=Px_Y00XfOLA
+The Salty Spittoon I actually laughed my tits off reading this joke. Well done sir.
UsinMeFables Tits, you say? ;)
lmfao, v good
I once saw Christopher Hitchens at a debate in Cambridge years ago, and after the debate he done a similar thing and the audience a selection of his more risqué limericks....well it was so funny, he'd recite one then do it again and change the words I don't think there was a dry eye in the house.
A great man with a plethora of human flaws who's sorely missed by many.
What were his flaws that you saw, im curious? I unfortunately discovered him when I was 17 about a year after he died so I never got to see him.
I miss this guy. We need him now more than ever...
This was the most literate piece of comedy I have ever seen. And a good one too. I really liked his rhythm and delivery.
His car phone/pool joke has made so many of my friends laugh because of me learning this joke from this very clip.
Well, he is probably the most literate man of our generation. He read A LOT.
I can't stop laughing at his delivery of the phrase "little cocktail onion".
Hitch at his best. Caught myself about to say that he missed his calling, but then realized that he didn't. He was just so good at doing it all.
That last joke was delivered so well.
That one blonde woman who doesn't laugh and shakes her head in disapproval after the last joke just makes me laugh even more.
LOL. She's either never sucked a dick in her life, or she sucks far too many. I can't tell.
...same here, and I am a woman
@@uyuyuy99 I thought the exact same thing. lol
She probably lived that joke in her real life 😂😂
He should have been sexiest man alive at least once!
Immanuel Kant He was still sexy
well, he's been dead, what? almost three years now? And I'm p. sure he's still sexier than I am.
Alexandre Bortolan lol same
He's the most sexiest man dead 💋
Yes! When he was young he was quite good looking. He was always brilliant which made him very sexy!!
I never saw this before. OMG, if only I could have met this man. His timing, pacing, every single minute of that performance--perfect. After all his other talents, he could do a fair stand-up gig, at least once. Dang!
lmao this was awesome! i know i stalked it out of you but thanks anyways lol i wish i would have met him, too.
and then i said
I'm proud you are a stalker of mine; I'll add you to my favorites and stalk you right back, since I've always enjoyed your posts on other topics. Take that!
tekobari hey man! It's been a while, i added you to my "circles" though a little while ago... I'm not sure what that means entirely, but yeah. You take that now!. Nobody is truly cool until they get a stalker haha
*****
Hitchens shouldn't be insulted like that! He was NEVER tipsy--he was always fucked-up drunk on his ass, and proud of it! :)
I come here from time to time when I think of Hitch. He's one of a kind. RIP
How many high-end intellectuals on the face of the planet can stand in front of a crowd and make the majority of them laugh with bad jokes?
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends there will never be another Christopher Hitchens, I miss him so dearly.
he looks drunk. He was twice as smart and articulate as his opposition debators if only half sober. How we need him today
+pinball1970 7:00
+iNuchalHead ha ha I didnt watch that far! Thanks- I will watch it all now.
Hitchens is dead, but his message is still here for us to hear. Pay it forward.
you're kind of a dumb fuck aren't you? His speech and appearance in this video is how it always was in every other video. how does he look drunk? then in your further post you state that "you did not watch that far" (to 7:00).....is your attention span unable to exceed 5 minutes? dude, you didn't survive the 60s. the pot and coke did you in.
chris westerfield
yes he does look drunk thats why I posted its quite simple.
Mr. Hitchens is one of the greats. I don't know why, but everything about him caught my attention when I first discovered him. His sentences are beautiful. People are right; he was a worthy celeb unlike today where we have losers famous for no reason. Mr. Hitchens, you are binded with the sands of time. Thank you.3
Been following Hitch's work for years and I've never seen him do standup! This is pure gold 😂
It’s fake chat gbt
From 12 years ago? Impressive!@@timdunn5691
@@timdunn5691 what?
@@jdkhaos4983 lol idk wtf i was commenting on. def not fake haha
10:08 It's so subtle you can easily miss it, but you can see Hitch restraining himself from laughing here. Knowing what incredible people found personally funny, interesting, etc. is a really cool insight into dimensions of them we don't often think about. That's what makes this standup so special for Hitchens's fans.
Love how CSPAN realizes what its gotten itself into and starts throwing up disclaimers every other minute.
As a Hitchens fan, I’m so happy to come across this treasure to save it to my archives!
Love some of the one liners in this video. Thanks for uploading this.
“All filth is local.”
I never imagined Hitchens doing stand up! This was great....I love how he still uses that dictionary of words in his noggin to deliver the jokes.
Whenever I watch Game of Thrones I often think of Hitchens when I see Tyrion Lannister
I hope he knew how many people loved him and to this day admire his work.
So much better than anything I have recently seen on the laugh factory
6:08 my new favourite thing about this is Hitch’s suggestion that this hospital has a CARPET
It was a private hospital….
Thanks for posting a slightly different look at Hitch.
The last one is the best one for a first date. Don't let anyone tell you any different!
Its hard to conceive of the confidence a person has to have to do standup. Its even more impressive that he does it when there's clearly so many in that room that dislike him.
Too true. I suppose our only consolation is that he lived in this lovely age of recording, where he's still well and alive on video, audio, and paper. We can at least give thanks for that.
If Hitchens hadn't have been a terrific author and writer he could have easily been a brilliant stand-up comedian, he's so naturally witty and erudite, I love him.
7:09 That tiny quarter-second flash of an unctuous grin he gives right after complimenting the audience gets me every time.
Whoo man !! What an observation . I had to scroll it real slow 😂😂 tx
it must have been such a pleasure to have known Hitchens in real life....We are so lucky that his debates and moments like these are forever available to us online and to future generations also...he was such a brilliant, fascinating, and funny person
“This program contains content that some viewers may find objectionable”
BAHAHAHAHAHA
I love this clip. Boos and jeers in the beginning, but so much more applause for him at the end: even by those who booed and jeered. Pure intelligence and charisma. He is surely missed.
That was just precious. Hitchens was always a witty guy. Miss him so much!!
I still miss him after more than 10 years. He was brilliant and he was bloody beautiful.
There's one life, one love and there can be on one Hitch.
hahah i fucking love Christopher hitchens
Hitchens: Bringing deeper meaning to the expression, "It's the way you tell 'em."
'you've been a great audience...even though you will laugh at anything'
Audience laughs
The onion joke had me in tears.
Hitchens, One of a kind! There's no one like him....
I don't know, but in all the very deserved praise about Christopher Hitchens and his quite astonishing intellect and reaction to religion, and the quite brilliant discussions he took part in that opened our minds, no-one actually seems to have thought it important to remark just what a very extraordinarily pleasant voice he had. Or is that just me?
MsG
6:52 What a fucking boss. RIP
Miss you Hitch, you're greatly missed.. Not only funny as fuck, but told it as it was too. No fart arsing around, no beating around the bush, just straight to the truth.
Its hard to believe he is gone. Brilliant person!!!
Yes he's pissed, but he's also fcuking brilliant.
Thanks to Hitch and the account sharing this, I’ve had a lovely time watching this and lmao!! Miss this guy badly!!
If God exists Hell is a better place for having Hitchens.
you are him because he denies your imaginary friends.
If God exists, and I go to hell. I'm going to shake Hitches hand when I get there no doubt.
This is hell your in now.
The best opening line ever to a comedy set - Hitch saying ‘a mullah, a rabbi, and a priest walk into a bar...’. It can only be comedy gold after that.
One of the best ripostes I've seen on youtube. Thanks for making me smile. :)
“We need a better electorate” no truer words have ever spoken
I didn't believe it was possible for Christopher Hitchens to drink too much.
Well he's dead now so
@@GayFrogsTho we'll all be dead soon enough, so drink up comrade.
@@GayFrogsTho and you have probably never lived.
@@GayFrogsTho and what a full and exciting life you must have
He died of complications of oesophageal cancer. It was the continuous smoking that really did it. The whisky was probably not connected and certainly not the main factor. Throat cancer really is the realm of smokers as an experienced ENT surgeon I took one of my children too who had a persistent cough assured me. He didn't get cirrhosis or any related liver disorder. Nowadays it would probably be possible for someone like him, a heavy smoker, to have regular screening for throat cancer just as you can screen for abnormalities in the lungs, liver, cervix, bowel, prostate, breast etc. I should have thought it would have been possible then. Most cancers, caught early, are very treatable. It surprises me that no expensive US physician he saw, or who saw his videos, never suggested looking into that signature very persistent cough he had over quite some time before he was investigated for it. The drinking fed his type of creative and analytical brain, he will have otherwise had an affluent, comfortable lifestyle with a good diet and probably exercised to some extent. He looked fine before he got ill. What a pity he didn't request or wasn't recommended yearly blood tests and some sort of more suitable scan or biopsy for his obvious susceptible organs. Screening is a lifesaver even if our lifestyles don't suit some people. We all do things that some others would be angered by, and anyway, in the US he would have been paying for it all, and in his case, would surely have willingly done so because he was no fool and savoured life and could certainly have afforded to have regular checks. I wish people everywhere could access regular screening wherever it should clearly be available until they are really too old and otherwise infirm for it to be helpful.
A master class in intellectual Dad Jokes ... goddamn it's hilarious 25+ years laters.
I did not know Christopher did anything like this but he's damn brilliant at it, no surprise.
You can find at least five people in that crowd who are completely unamused and almost contemptuous of him, rofl.
It just made it even better. What a badass. Rest in peace you magnificent fuck, dammit I'll miss you.
I really wish I had gotten a chance to meet him. Such an awesome guy
Amazing testament to how much he has made a difference in the public discourse that Hitch strictly telling jokes has turned into a debate on religion reserved for just about any other one of his youtube videos except this one.That last joke, everyone knew what was coming...the delivery was masterful.
I just found this guy a few weeks ago while watching the Athiest Experience here on RUclips. I love this guy and recently learned he passed away, and it broke my heart. I'm not 100% Athiest yet, but with people like Dawkins, Hitchens and I think his name is Hall, I'm getting there. Hitchens is my favorite so far, cause he don't give a gram of fuck. He loved his alcohol!! HitchNation!! Peace my friend
Mark Moon You can also watch lectures and read books from Sam Harris, Lawrence Krauss and Neil DeGrass Tyson who isn't as openly atheist as the rest but is brilliant and gives fantastic lectures.
You can add Daniel Dennett to the list also. Maybe look up the 4 horsemen of the anti-apocalypse.
Same here: I first came across him and Dawkins less than a year ago and I have to say he has had a huge influence on me. He got me interested in history and politics, helped me build my confidence as an atheist, has helped make me develop a more critical way of thinking, and inspired me to speak my mind when it matters no matter how controversial the issue. I regret not knowing of him before he died: I would have loved to have attended one of his debates and possibly even have met him in person.
Also watch Hamza Tsortsis, Ray Comfort and Ken Ham!!! They are much better than Hitch, Dawkins, Harris or Dennett at convincing you of Atheism.
@@zaprese I feel the need to tell you that 4 years later, that gave me a good chuckle lol.
'This program contains content that some viewers may find objectionable'.
Fantastic.
This man was better loaded than most are sober.
I know the punchline to the last joke after the first "no" but it was so worth waiting for!!
Something about the way he says 'It's been real' just seals the whole deal, for me anyway XD
I liked most of them. All quite original too.
I can't believe this great guy died so young. He was brilliant, funny, and dedicated to his beliefs. My absolute favorite atheist of all time.
I'm glad to say I was able to watch this without stopping to answer the phone.
genius... still my hero... never knew he did this standup.. thanks for uploading :)
can you imagine trying to keep a coversation between christopher hitchens and bill hicks quiet in your local . i miss em both. r.i.p .
Hitch takes a snort at 6:55
I can watch this man all day!
Hitchens, such an amazing man. The world is a little less bright without him. Can't say his stand up is as good as his debating skills though!
Pure gold.
Hahahahahaha the lady bottom right at 11:26.
SHE WAS NOT AMUSED.
Femenist spotted!
What couldn’t he do? He was pure intellectual gold.
man, how have i not seen this before!? remarkably well delivered!
That last punchline got me laughing so much 😂😂
Some of the guests sitting in that arena have no idea they are born. Great sketch Hitch.
He could stand there reading the phone book and be awesome :)
Christopher Hitchens. Amazing man spoke truth and funny as well
Cooler than the Fonze himself
Hilarious, I was smiling the whole time, could not laugh cause he's not with us anymore.. What a great person he was!
This is hilarious, a good way to remember Chris Hitchens.
Christopher not Chris
11:30 one woman shaking her head in disgust, prude af; another laughing and clapping like having a ball.
You didn't hear a word he said, did you? There is NO hell.
WE ARE IT. Be a good person- because it's the right thing to do. There is NO afterlife. Enjoy your life, your family. Be kind & generous because time is short.
RIP Christopher Hitchens
That last joke was so great hahaha
1,000... To Christopher Hitchens
That punchline would only work in an impeccable posh accent.
Not really, you dont appreciate the joke.
Wow. He was something. A great loss to this world.
at certain points during Christopher's delivery I caught glimpses of Eddie Izzard, bizarre.
Most would, miss this great mind, human being.
I bet he could have delivered a killer best man speech
Surprisingly awesome. Nice. RIP.
I know I'm not going to live forever, and neither are you! but until my furlough here on Earth is revoked, I should like to elbow aside the established pieties and raise my tumbler of JWB in memory of the beautiful intellect of Christopher Hitchens, his legacy ensures his immortality, sorely miss him. 💐
Gosh I wish he were still here :(
gotta love the latin maid accent, spot on!
So brilliant. I love you, Mister Hitchens.
Holy shit what a guy