Comedy is full of tormented souls. Sam Kinison was definitely one of them. He started out his performing life as a Pentecostal preacher like his father. But then he gave that up for comedy, while still using elements of the preacher's passionate delivery. He was probably the only "fire and brimstone" comedian who ever lived.

Even though was a heavy abuser of drugs and alcohol, they weren't the cause of his death at only 38. He died when his car was hit by a truck driven by a teenager who had been drinking.

That occurred way back in 1992. But the tragic accident continues to have ramifications for another comic (and close friend) who was there at the scene. His name is Carl La Bove and according to this anecdote, he was holding Kinison when he died.

The comic, now 52, is in the news because DNA testing shows that Kinison fathered a child with La Bove's ex-wife; the very child that he has been legally required to pay child support for over many years. Being unable to do so, he "has lost his driver's license, passport and other privileges". La Bove hopes that the DNA evidence will finally release him of this burden.

Kinison was clearly an extreme individual who has ended up casting a very long shadow indeed.

Performing satire in countries that aren't democratic can be a risky and sometimes dangerous activity. A recent example of this is happening in Zimbabwe, still controlled by dictator Robert Mugabe.

Zimbabwean authorities arrested touring artists involved with the political satire Rituals, then let them go. The production company website has details of this.

Then in Bulawayo the production was banned by police. However this was overturned by a local magistrate. So, there's clearly a battle going on. And the forces of repression aren't all powerful.

Still, there has been a concerted effort by the government to stamp out dissent. As this related article states:

The police, the spy Central Intelligence Organisation and the state censorship board have in recent months stopped political satire and art exhibitions, while in some cases some of the productions have been banned altogether and artists arrested in an attempt by hardliner security commanders to silence art productions perceived as too critical of Mugabe.