Comedian Sam Kinison Killed In Car Crash

NEEDLES, Calif. - Sam Kinison, a former minister who screeched his way to fame with a stand-up shock-comedy routine, was killed in a car crash, his publicist said. He was 38.

Kinison was killed instantly last night when his sports car was hit head-on by a pickup truck on U.S. Highway 95 outside Needles, about 250 miles east of Los Angeles, said his publicist, Florence Troutman.

His wife, Malika, was in serious condition at Needles Desert Community Hospital, Ms. Troutman said from Las Vegas.

The couple had been married for less than a week, and had just returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii, Ms. Troutman said. They were heading for Laughlin, Nev., where Kinison was to perform last night, she said.

Kinison created a character who bellowed and screamed his way through such topics as Christ's last words, starvation in Ethiopia and the evils of women, marriage and sex.

Kinison was born in Peoria, Ill., into a family of Pentacostal preachers. He was enrolled for a year at the Pinecrest Bible Training Center in upstate New York.

In 1978, Kinison found his true calling - as a stand-up comedian. After floundering at a Houston comedy club he found work at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles.

A role as a high-strung history professor in Rodney Dangerfield's "Back to School" in 1986 paved the way for his own cable television special a year later and guest appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" and "Saturday Night Live."

He starred this season in the situtation comedy "Charlie Hoover" on Fox Broacasting Co.