Curiocity: Family, Friends Remember Hedberg With Golf Tourney

Comedian Mitch Hedberg, a Minnesota native, liked to play golf. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good at it.

"I never got a hole in one, but I did hit a guy in one," he once said during a stand-up bit. "And that's way more satisfying. You're supposed to yell, 'Fore!' but I was too busy mumbling, 'There ain't no way that's gonna hit him.'"

It was a joke based off a true story, his father Arne said.

"It happened out at the Gem Lake Golf Course," Arne said. "He so seldom hit a shot that really takes off, and all of a sudden -- zoom -- and it hit the guy right smack in the chest."

It seemed only fitting then that his family and friends put together a golf tournament to honor the late comedian who died in 2005 -- one that encourages golfers of all skill levels.

"We thought this might be something that might get a variety of people involved," said Mitch's mother Mary. "We have some people out there that don't golf, at all. But it doesn't matter."

The First Annual Mitch Hedberg Memorial Charity Golf Tournament begins Friday and features a four-person scramble format at Oak Marsh Golf Course in Oakdale, not far from where Mitch grew up.

"The theme is good fun for a great cause," Mary said. "Hopefully everyone out there will agree with that concept."

Proceeds of the tournament will benefit the Minnesota Teen Challenge and Adult Program, which helps those struggling with addiction find a solution and a path to recovery. Mitch died at the age of 37 of an accidental drug overdose -- an addiction he struggled with and was trying to overcome.

The Man Behind The Microphone

When Mitch was growing up, he was a very shy kid. A mischievous kid, sure, but a shy kid nonetheless, Arne said.

"He was certainly always a jokester," he said. "He was a tough kid to raise -- very tough. Challenging. Especially for me, and for what I was used to. I wish I could do it over again, I would've put him in some different things. Theater, things like that."

Mitch was a difficult kid to figure out, Arne said, but one thing's for sure, he was quite the introvert.

Even when Mitch would perform, Arne said he could see some of that shyness coming through.

"You could see it, when he was trying to do something like that, his cheeks would just balloon from embarrassment," he said. "It had to be a challenge for him."

After Mitch was invited to perform at the Montreal Comedy Festival, his parents said his stardom started to take off.

"When he came back from that festival, he was pretty well recognized," Arne said. Right after that event, "Time" Magazine called him the "next Jerry Seinfeld."

Arne and his son stopped at a local gas station that day in 1998 to see the article.

"There it was, 'Time' Magazine, he was right on the cover, one of the people on the cover," Arne said. "It was so great. So unbelievable."

Watching Mitch get his first taste of stardom was "very exhilarating," Mary said.

"It wasn't as big as some people are, but for Mitch and for our family, it was huge," Arne added.

Mitch won the grand prize at the Seattle Comedy Competition, had two national Comedy Central live tours and began appearing on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

Soon he was appearing in movies like, "Almost Famous" and "Lords of Dogtown."

The Hedbergs traveled all over the country to watch Mitch's shows and said it was a lot of fun.

"People were so receptive of him," Mary said. "But you know, his humor was just so down to earth."

Both his humor and his natural personality had a way of attracting fans -- loyal fans -- over the years and Mary said they still hear from his faithful followers from time to time.

"These people are going to be there for longer than we're going to be on this earth," she said. "He really got into their hearts. It wasn't just his comedy, it was his persona."

Honoring Hedberg

Mary said the family was approached a year after Mitch died to hold a memorial in his name. But at that moment, it was just too soon, she said.

"We were certainly not ready to embark on anything like this at that time," she said.

After a second approach earlier this year, the Hedbergs thought this could work and it could help support a great cause.

Arne and Mary had been invited to a luncheon at the Minnesota Teen Challenge to find out more about the program and hear the success stories straight from the sources -- the students who were enrolled in the program.

It seemed like the perfect cause for Mitch's memorial.

"It's something local, something you can put your finger on," Arne said.

Hearing the stories of those who made it to the other side of their addiction was emotional, Mary said.

"By the time the last person is done talking, you're just going through the Kleenex like you wouldn't believe," she said.

And what makes matters more difficult perhaps, is that it could've been Mitch telling his success story.

Moving The Message Forward

Four days before Mitch's death, he told his mother he was ready to seek treatment and get help for his drug addiction.

"I said to him at the time ... 'all we have to do now is come up with where you want to go and I'll do whatever you want me to do,'" she said.

Mitch was in New Jersey at the time, but Mary and Arne didn't know that.

"Otherwise I would've gone there," she said.

He told his mother he just needed another day or two to get everything straight.

"That was the last time that I talked to him," she said. "That was his last hurrah, I guess, that just didn't work out."

Since Mitch's death, Mary said she's heard from a number of his fans who said his death made them take a good look at their own life.

"I have gotten, on numerous occasions, e-mails from people who are struggling for addiction or who have gone into treatment since Mitch's demise," she said. "I can hear their tears in their letters and what they say to me is that Mitch was a wake up call."

It is not a situation that the Hedbergs have gotten over, or will get over, Mary said, but they figure if there's something they can do to help others find a solution, then that's what it's all about.

"Hopefully, hopefully, another family doesn't have to feel the way we still do today," she said. "That loss, that sadness, I mean, we miss Mitch more than any words could express."

And that's what the tournament on Friday is all about. So far, 130 have signed up to participate and a number of sponsors have donated to the cause.

The Hedbergs said if Mitch were still alive, he'd be pretty happy with the turnout.

"I think he'd be pretty impressed with our concept," Mary said.

To which Arne added, "And he'd be a little embarrassed, I'm sure."

If you'd like to give to Mitch's memorial but cannot attend the tournament, donations can be sent to Oak Marsh Golf Course, 526 Inwood Ave., N., Oakdale, MN 55128. Checks should be made out to Oak Marsh/Mitch Hedberg Golf.

Sara Boyd is a web producer and columnist at WCCO.COM.