Jim Fixx died jogging
Denis Leary , compared with Bill Hicks
A defiant smoker points out that Jim Fixx, the jogging guru, died while running, as proof that clean living doesn't save you.
In his chain-smoking rant against health culture, Leary cites Fixx's death while jogging. (paraphrase)
No Cure for Cancer, 1993find on YouTube ↗
“Jim Ficks is there, we're comparing our lives; … "Jim, what about you?" "Ww, one night I ate too much tofu and then went jogging…"”
Relentless, 1992quote source ↗find on YouTube ↗
Both smokers wield Jim Fixx's death against health nuts inside the same persona; Hicks's specific Keith Richards and tofu lines aren't shown in Leary's.
- Premise 36/40
- Structure 20/30
- Punchline 16/30
- Premise36/40Both smokers use jogging guru Jim Fixx's death as proof clean living won't save you.
- Structure20/30Both drop Fixx into an anti-health-culture smoking rant; Hicks frames it via Keith Richards.
- Punchline16/30Same point about Fixx dying while running; Hicks's afterlife tofu line isn't matched on record.
Setup
A chain-smoker rants against health culture.
Setup
Smoking onstage, he defends his habit against health nuts.
Turn
He cites jogging guru Jim Fixx dying while running.
Turn
Keith Richards has outlived Jim Fixx, the runner.
Punchline
Fixx's death proves clean living won't save you; wording not on record.
Punchline
Fixx explains he ate too much tofu and went jogging.
Scores and beats are our editorial reading of the public record, not a ruling.
Context
When and where
Hicks's Jim Fixx material was a long-running part of his act and appears in Relentless (Just for Laughs, Montreal, 1991; released 1992). Leary invoked Fixx on No Cure for Cancer (1993). Austin Comedy News (April 1993) wrote 'Leary even invokes Jim Fixx.'
What followed
Hicks ended their friendship after hearing the album and joked he had stolen Leary's act and "did it before he did." Leary has always denied stealing.
Receipts
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Denis Leary by Dominick D, CC BY-SA 2.0; Bill Hicks by Angela Davis (Angela D.) from Austin, TX, USA, CC BY 2.0