5 Best Comic Entertainers Who Battled Addiction

It's often said that most comedians have a dark side, and often some of the best comedy treads a fine line between humor and pathos. Many of our finest comedians have struggled with alcohol and drug addictions, shielding themselves from pain with a combination of humor and substance abuse. Below are five of the best comics who were also addicts.

Lenny Bruce

Lenny Bruce shook up the 1950s and early 1960s with comedy that deal with previously taboo subjects like religion, sex and politics to a degree that had never been done before. Unfortunately, he struggled with addiction throughout his career and was found dead in his home in 1966 from a morphine overdose.

Why He Was One of the Best: Bruce was a groundbreaking comic by any estimation due not only to the subject of his comedy but his landmark obscenity trial. It was widely protested by a number of artists, and his conviction was overturned after his death.

John Belushi

As part of the original cast of "Saturday Night Live" and iconic for his work in films like "The Blues Brothers" and "Animal House," Belushi was a beloved comic whose talent was overshadowed by his addiction. He died at the age of 33 in 1982 from an overdose of of heroin and cocaine.

Why He Was One of the Best: Belushi's film work, his work with Second City in Chicago and his "Saturday Night Live" appearances all solidified him as one of the greatest American comics.

Richard Pryor

Pryor was a stand-up comedian whose boldness in dealing with racial issues was unprecedented. He was in a number of popular films and co-wrote the Mel Brooks-directed "Blazing Saddles." He struggled with addiction, however, including a famous incident in which he was found running down the street on fire near his home in a drug-induced psychosis.

Why He Was One of the Best: Many of his peers consider him one of the best or the best comedian of his time, and he changed the way comedians talked about race.

Sam Kinison

Kinison was known for his abrasiveness and a jarring scream dating from his days as a Pentecostal preacher, and in the 1980s and up until his death in a car accident in 1992, he appeared on a number of talk shows and was a regular on the radio with "The Howard Stern Show." His career was marked by struggles with addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Why He Was One of the Best: Kinison blended social satire and dark humor in his edgy, confrontational comedy that last to this day.

Mitch Hedburg

Hedburg's star rose higher after his death than it ever did while he was alive. His style was deadpan and absurd humor that was often observational. He made no secret of his drug use, sometimes mentioning it during comedy routines, and he died from an overdose of heroin and cocaine in 2005.

Why He Was One of the Best: Hedburg's comedy was smart and original and generates a fevered cult following to this day.

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Dana Reynolds is an addiction counselor and columnist who regularly writes about online addiction counseling degrees.

Tupac Vs. Eminem, Who's The Best Rapper?

The talk of which rap artist is the best of all time always lingers with arguments. The battle of who is the best rapper of all time usually comes down to Tupac and Eminem. If you don't know who these two rappers are, then you need to continue living under that heavy rock elsewhere.

The reason why these two rap artists are usually considered to be the two best rappers is due to their music portfolio, music ability, and their power of popular music. You can't really deny these two the fact of not being in the top five rappers of all time at bare minimum.

Why Would Eminem be Better than Tupac?

Lets look into the minds of those that think Eminem is the best rapper of all time ahead of Tupac. Eminem has more music for one. That can't hold much weight though, due to the fact of Tupac being murdered. This would disable him of having more music then he does. A bit of a pity appeal to that topic.. Though it holds weight.

Eminem has a larger fan base with more mainstream sounds in his music. This is a genuine argument as well. I do believe it to be completely true, but with Tupac's limited time alive.. Maybe he would have the same thing with the same amount of time in which Eminem has had. Still a tough one to push weight to.

Tupac Is The Best Rapper, Ahead of Eminem

The crowd of individuals that feel Tupac is the best rapper of all time is very prevalent with confidence. I understand the power in which he took rap music over was deceiving but I'm not sure that's enough evidence for me. The most common weight people push around is the idea of how he shaped rap music as a whole.

He brought new things to mainstream rap and hip hop. He was the most popular thing since sliced bread. Yes we're aware of that but does that make him the best of all time? It's a strong argument to push but I want more.

I'm a believer in the fact that Tupac's murder also pulls a pity roll in people remembering him during his era of popular spotlight. I like to compare or to Princess Diana's death. Everyone remembers that and how beautiful of a person we all remember her of being.

Still No Conclusion.. What the Heck

Long story short, there isn't going to be a right answer. Due to the argument being very opinionated, there will never be a correct answer. Hopefully we can just all argue violence free. Sometimes we all get pretty caught up in some of our very strong opinions. Keep thinking of valid points and we actually moght get somewhere with this arguement.

Stop the battling and start the loving. Alright, that's pushing it a little bit too far. We still love to battle about who is the best. Author Chris Weber is obsessed with rap battles like this one.

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