In December 2001, cult comedy icon Mitch Hedberg sat down for a wide-ranging Penthouse interview with Korn frontman Jonathan Davis. Among the subjects the two discussed were Hedberg’s dream date (Martha Stewart) and his thoughts on gays in the military—“I think that’s a great place for them. They love to be around men,” he joked. When Davis asked Hedberg how he would end his own life if he were able to choose, the comedian had the following to say: “First I’d want to get famous, and then I’d overdose. If I overdosed at this stage in my career, I would be lucky if I made the back pages.”

Sadly, less than four years later, Hedberg was found dead at the age of 37. Although it was initially believed that the comic died from a congenital heart defect, the cause was later determined to have been an accidental drug overdose. Hedberg had reportedly struggled with addiction for many years and was arrested for heroin possession in 2003. He served two days in jail and was hospitalized for six weeks following the incident.

Two weeks before his death, Hedberg appeared on The Howard Stern Show, and the topic of his drug use came up pretty much immediately. “Well, you know, I got the drugs under control now,” he insisted. After Stern jokingly asked Hedberg if he knew how to take them responsibly, he responded by saying, “Yeah…you know, just for the creative side of it.” Take a look at their exchange below.

Stern announced Hedberg’s death during his show on March 31, 2005. Due to the source and the timing of the announcement, many people believed that it was an April Fool’s Day joke. Stern and co-host Robin Quivers even asked at one point, “Are we sure he’s dead?” As it turned out, Hedberg had actually died the day before the show aired, while en route to a stand-up gig with his wife, fellow comedian Lynn Shawcroft.