Comedian Charlie Hill made a number of TV appearances. Credit: Anthony Thosh Collins

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Charlie Hill, a pioneer of American Indian comedy from the Oneida tribe of Wisconsin, died Monday after battling cancer for more than a year. He was 62.

Condolences have poured in online and on social media for the standup comedian, who debuted on "The Richard Pryor Show" in 1977 and was the first American Indian to appear on the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson."

"The Creator has called Charlie back to the spirit world early this morning," his family wrote in a statement on Facebook. "This is a sad and hard time for all of us."

According to a profile that aired on National Public Radio in 2012, Hill had wanted to be a comedian since he was a child, watching Jackie Gleason on TV. He taught himself to write by putting down on paper every joke he heard.

As a young man, he went to Los Angeles with only a backpack and hand drum and met David Letterman and Pryor at comedy clubs. He got his break in standup when they started their own shows and invited him on as a guest.

"I usually have problems doing my act, 'cause I know a lot of you white people have never seen an Indian do standup comedy before. Like for so long, you probably thought that Indians never had a sense of humor. We never thought you were too funny either," he said in his opening lines on "The Richard Pryor Show."

Since then, he had appeared in numerous TV shows, movies and documentaries, including "Roseanne" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Hill lived on the Oneida reservation in Wisconsin with his family and traveled to Los Angeles for work. His four children speak Navajo, the language of his wife, the NPR profile said.

The Haudenosaune tribe, with whom Hill shares heritage, called him in an online letter a performer and a speaker of truth.

"His presence onstage and before the audiences of the world brought real Ongwehowe people forward, changing the face of indigenous identity in the media forever. It brought a sense of victory to all indigenous people and the ripple effects touch us all to this day," the letter said.

Only two weeks ago, a benefit in Hollywood featuring Leno and Roseanne Barr raised money for Hill's medical expenses. Barr called Hill a "revolutionary stand up comic/wordsmith" in a tweet after his death.

A fund collected online donations to help him and his immediate family: his wife, two sons, two daughters and a granddaughter.