Charlie Hill: Google Doodle honors first Native American stand-up comedian on national TV
July 6 marks native American stand-up comedian Charlie Hill's 71st birth anniversary, and on this special day, he was honored with a Google Doodle. He was the first Native American comedian to appear on national television. Hill, who was of Oneida, Mohawk, and Cree descent, played a major role in dealing with issues related to Native American rights and criticized those who typecast Indians on various talk shows.
On July 6, 1951, Charlie Hill was born in Detroit, Michigan. Hill was a little child when his father relocated the family back to his house on the reservation of the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin. Young Charlie had started to develop an interest in humor just before that relocation. Hill was highly inspired by Dick Gregory, who mixed humour with significant activism for Native American rights, even though being a Native American comic at that time was a little unusual. Hill attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and majored in speech and theater after graduating from West De Pere High School in 1969.
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Hill participated in several theater groups during this period and after graduating. This included the La Mama Experimental Theater Club and the Native American Theater Ensemble. Hill then relocated to Los Angeles in the 1970s. During this time, he studied the proper techniques and tricks of other comedians and tried to gain knowledge and inspiration.
Hill got an invitation to perform at The Comedy Store, a famed Hollywood theatre where he met personalities like Richard Pryor and David Letterman. In 1977, Hill made his debut on the network program 'The Richard Pryor Show'. His appearance on 'The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson' made him the first Native American comic to do so. Later, he made several appearances on 'Late Night with David Letterman' and 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'. Hill was also invited as a guest on various shows like 'Roseanne' and 'Moesha'.
In 2009, Hill was given the Ivy Bethune Tri-Union Diversity Award. This was followed by an award by "Native Americans on the Web", honoring Hill as an activist through comedy. This award was given to him for his countless years of support for Native Indians and his efforts to bring cultural discrimination to an end.
The Google Doodle was illustrated by French First Nations artist Alanah Astehtsi Otsistohkwa (Morningstar) Jewell. According to the artist, Hill was a huge inspiration and this was a life-changing collaboration for her. On the Google Doodle website, Alanah said, "I felt Charlie Hill's spirit throughout the whole process of illustrating him. Meeting his family and being able to better understand who he has helped me feel connected to him. When illustrating Indigenous people and culture, it makes it so much more meaningful when it's by an Indigenous artist, and being an Indigenous artist from the same people as Charlie meant that I could use my teachings and knowledge of our spiritual ways to capture who he is. This was a life-changing collaboration, and I'm incredibly honoured to do this work." Alanah also shared a few prototypes of her Google Doodle of Hill on the blog. Check them out:
Hill died on December 30, 2013, of lymphoma in Oneida, Wisconsin. His constant efforts to empower Native Americans through the art of humor will never be forgotten. Happy Birthday, Charlie.