Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh? (1998) (TV)

Director:

Larry Carroll

Writer:

Larry Carroll
(more)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Tagline:

A Film About The Man

Plot:

An examination of the career of the late comedian Sam Kinison.

Plot Keywords:

Question In Title | Punctuation In Title | Character Name In Title

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Beverly D'Angelo	...	Herself
Rodney Dangerfield	...	Himself
Larry King	...	Himself
Bill Kinison	...	Himself
Sam Kinison	...	Himself (archive footage)
Carl LaBove	...	Himself
Jay Leno	...	Himself
Tim Matheson	...	Himself
Dennis Miller	...	Himself
Richard Pryor	...	Himself
Judy Tenuta	...	Herself

Directed by
Larry Carroll

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Larry Carroll
Sam Kinison		uncredited

Produced by
Linda Agnelli	....	associate producer
Larry Carroll	....	executive producer
Stuart Garret	....	executive producer
Bill Kinison	....	executive producer
Arnold H. Orgolini	....	producer

Original Music by
Frank Floyd
Paul Hoffman
Bill Lane

Cinematography by
John Crawford

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Heather Holliday	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Chuck Fitzpatrick	....	sound mixer

Production Companies

• Pacific Sundog Productions

Distributors

• Fox Lorber (video)
• S'more Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Pacific Sundog Productions

Movie Connections:

Features Back to School (1986)

The real "scream"

Sam Kinison was brilliant. He was not vulgar, nor was he obscene. Rather, he used X-Rated material and verbiage to express comedic commentary on a variety of topics. And the funny thing about it was that he told the truth. He was superb at it. And that's why we laughed. This film won awards for "best direction" and "best documentary" and deservedly so. Larry Carroll did a commendable job interweaving live performances with peer commentary and narrative. Beverly D'Angelo and Richard Pryor are particularly effective with brother Bill Kinison as Executive Producer and partial host. This is an insightful film of a man who finally found his place and "let it rip".