updated 2:33 a.m. ET, Mon., June. 23, 2008
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - George Carlin, the dean of counterculture comedians whose biting insights on life and language were immortalized in his “Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV” routine, died of heart failure Sunday. He was 71.
Carlin went into a Santa Monica hospital Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham.
Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. It was announced Tuesday that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
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Carlin constantly pushed the envelop with his jokes, particularly with the “Seven Words” a routine called “The Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV.”
When Carlin uttered all seven at a show in Milwaukee in 1972, he was arrested for disturbing the peace. And when they were played on a New York radio station, they resulted in a Supreme Court ruling in 1978 upholding the government’s authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language.
“So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I’m perversely kind of proud of,” he told The Associated Press earlier this year.
He produced 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, three books, a couple of TV shows and appeared in several movies. Carlin hosted the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live” and noted on his Web site that he was “loaded on cocaine all week long.”
When asked about the fallout from the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jackson’s breast-baring “wardrobe malfunction,” Carlin told the AP, “What are we, surprised?”
“There’s an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body,” he said. “It’s reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have.”
Carlin was born May 12, 1937 and grew up in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan, raised by a single mother. After dropping out of high school in the ninth grade, he joined the Air Force in 1954. He received three court-martials and numerous disciplinary punishments, according to his official Web site.
While in the Air Force he started working as an off-base disc jockey at a radio station in Shreveport, La., and after receiving a general discharge in 1957, took an announcing job at WEZE in Boston.
“Fired after three months for driving mobile news van to New York to buy pot,” his Web site says.
From there he went on to a job on the night shift as a deejay at a radio station in Forth Worth, Texas. Carlin also worked variety of temporary jobs including a carnival organist and a marketing director for a peanut brittle. In 1960, he left with a Texas radio buddy, Jack Burns, for Hollywood to pursue a nightclub career as comedy team Burns & Carlin. He left with $300, but his first break came just months later when the duo appeared on the Tonight Show with Jack Paar. Carlin said he hoped to emulate his childhood hero, Danny Kaye, the kindly, rubber-faced comedian who ruled over the decade that Carlin grew up in — the 1950s — with a clever but gentle humor reflective of its times.
Only problem was, it didn’t work for him.
“I was doing superficial comedy entertaining people who didn’t really care: Businessmen, people in nightclubs, conservative people. And I had been doing that for the better part of 10 years when it finally dawned on me that I was in the wrong place doing the wrong things for the wrong people,” Carlin reflected recently as he prepared for his 14th HBO special, “It’s Bad For Ya.”
Full Version: Geo Carlin
RIP
Al Sleet, the Hippy Dippy Weatherman.
I loved George Carlin's sense of humor.
Al Sleet, the Hippy Dippy Weatherman.
I loved George Carlin's sense of humor.
he made us laugh which is important. he made us think, which is more important.
this was always one of my favorites:
'night george. sleep well.
this was always one of my favorites:
QUOTE
Baseball and Football
by George Carlin
Baseball is different from any other sport, very different. For instance, in most sports you score points or goals; in baseball you score runs. In most sports the ball, or object, is put in play by the offensive team; in baseball the defensive team puts the ball in play, and only the defense is allowed to touch the ball. In fact, in baseball if an offensive player touches the ball intentionally, he's out; sometimes unintentionally, he's out.
Also: in football,basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all sports played with a ball, you score with the ball and in baseball the ball prevents you from scoring.
In most sports the team is run by a coach; in baseball the team is run by a manager. And only in baseball does the manager or coach wear the same clothing the players do. If you'd ever seen John Madden in his Oakland Raiders uniform,you'd know the reason for this custom.
Now, I've mentioned football. Baseball & football are the two most popular spectator sports in this country. And as such, it seems they ought to be able to tell us something about ourselves and our values.
I enjoy comparing baseball and football:
Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game.
Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.
Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park.The baseball park!
Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.
Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life.
Football begins in the fall, when everything's dying.
In football you wear a helmet.
In baseball you wear a cap.
Football is concerned with downs - what down is it?
Baseball is concerned with ups - who's up?
In football you receive a penalty.
In baseball you make an error. - oops!
In football the specialist comes in to kick.
In baseball the specialist comes in to relieve somebody.
Football has hitting, clipping, spearing, piling on, personal fouls, late hitting and unnecessary roughness.
Baseball has the sacrifice.
Football is played in any kind of weather: rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog...
In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play.
Baseball has the seventh inning stretch.
Football has the two minute warning.
Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings.
Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death.
In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness.
In football, during the game in the stands, you can be sure that at least twenty-seven times you're capable of taking the life of a fellow human being.
And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different:
In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!
by George Carlin
Baseball is different from any other sport, very different. For instance, in most sports you score points or goals; in baseball you score runs. In most sports the ball, or object, is put in play by the offensive team; in baseball the defensive team puts the ball in play, and only the defense is allowed to touch the ball. In fact, in baseball if an offensive player touches the ball intentionally, he's out; sometimes unintentionally, he's out.
Also: in football,basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all sports played with a ball, you score with the ball and in baseball the ball prevents you from scoring.
In most sports the team is run by a coach; in baseball the team is run by a manager. And only in baseball does the manager or coach wear the same clothing the players do. If you'd ever seen John Madden in his Oakland Raiders uniform,you'd know the reason for this custom.
Now, I've mentioned football. Baseball & football are the two most popular spectator sports in this country. And as such, it seems they ought to be able to tell us something about ourselves and our values.
I enjoy comparing baseball and football:
Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game.
Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.
Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park.The baseball park!
Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.
Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life.
Football begins in the fall, when everything's dying.
In football you wear a helmet.
In baseball you wear a cap.
Football is concerned with downs - what down is it?
Baseball is concerned with ups - who's up?
In football you receive a penalty.
In baseball you make an error. - oops!
In football the specialist comes in to kick.
In baseball the specialist comes in to relieve somebody.
Football has hitting, clipping, spearing, piling on, personal fouls, late hitting and unnecessary roughness.
Baseball has the sacrifice.
Football is played in any kind of weather: rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog...
In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play.
Baseball has the seventh inning stretch.
Football has the two minute warning.
Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings.
Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death.
In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness.
In football, during the game in the stands, you can be sure that at least twenty-seven times you're capable of taking the life of a fellow human being.
And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different:
In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!
'night george. sleep well.
I've been letting out a steady stream of FCC banned words as a memorial.
QUOTE (Aaron @ Jun 23 2008, 02:41 PM) 
I've been letting out a steady stream of FCC banned words as a memorial.
Ha!
Goodbye George. I hope it was a good life. I suspect it was, anyway.
f
kin' hilarious.
Thanks for posting George's observations on the differences between American football and baseball---it kinda reminds me why I still do love baseball.
George Carlin had a keen wit and very strong powers of observation of his society and for the most part--he pretty much nailed it down---as painful and unpleasant as the truth contained in those observations might often have been.
RIP George Carlin
George Carlin had a keen wit and very strong powers of observation of his society and for the most part--he pretty much nailed it down---as painful and unpleasant as the truth contained in those observations might often have been.
RIP George Carlin
I heard the podcast today of Terri Gross interviewing Carlin in 2004 and 1991, a tribute show aired this past Monday. I came to like George Carlin much more after hearing it. He seemed smart, and polite, and real. Enjoy.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=91802870
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=91802870
QUOTE (FallingLeaf @ Jun 25 2008, 01:55 PM)
I heard the podcast today of Terri Gross interviewing Carlin in 2004 and 1991, a tribute show aired this past Monday. I came to like George Carlin much more after hearing it. He seemed smart, and polite, and real. Enjoy.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=91802870
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=91802870
Thanks, Troy, he was one I regret never having had the chance to see live.
"Don't prick your finger ..."
Cher
I was pretty devastated when I heard the news. Been a fan pretty much my whole life, as soon as I was old enough to understand at least some of what he was talking about. He'll always be remembered as a comedian, but he was so much more, and his comedy extended so much farther than just a series of jokes. RIP.
FYI - they are replaying the first episode of saturday night live in it's entirety tonight. the first host, george carlin.
QUOTE (bivester @ Jun 28 2008, 11:35 PM)
FYI - they are replaying the first episode of saturday night live in it's entirety tonight. the first host, george carlin.
man, that was a blast to watch. it was amazing to see again how brilliant that show was in the beginning contrasted to how horrible it is nowadays. it was so well, subtle and smartly written and preformed compared to the slam-you-over-the-head, say anything, shock style of today.
maybe lorne michaels should go back and watch some of original episodes too. and george was in his prime. just brilliant.
Oh the time spent in my pre-teen/ early teen years falling asleep to old Carlin tapes to imprint them on my subconcious.
QUOTE (bivester @ Jun 29 2008, 12:35 PM)
QUOTE (bivester @ Jun 28 2008, 11:35 PM)
FYI - they are replaying the first episode of saturday night live in it's entirety tonight. the first host, george carlin.
man, that was a blast to watch. it was amazing to see again how brilliant that show was in the beginning contrasted to how horrible it is nowadays. it was so well, subtle and smartly written and preformed compared to the slam-you-over-the-head, say anything, shock style of today.
maybe lorne michaels should go back and watch some of original episodes too. and george was in his prime. just brilliant.
[HJ]
I just have to chime in on this to say that SNL today doesn't suck more than it ever has. It just (imho) spoke to us more then than it does now, and, accordingly, when we watch today we get nostalgic... but in fact, the comedians on there today are good, solid performers, but we just don't feel the way we did then: that is, receptive. I mean, look... SNL always SUCKED. It was sketch comedy, reading from cue cards most of the time, last minute everything, cheesy, corny, all of it. And that's what made it good... same thing today, really. We just want to see Bill Murray again, is all.
QUOTE (FallingLeaf @ Jul 5 2008, 05:14 PM)
[HJ]
I just have to chime in on this to say that SNL today doesn't suck more than it ever has. It just (imho) spoke to us more then than it does now, and, accordingly, when we watch today we get nostalgic... but in fact, the comedians on there today are good, solid performers, but we just don't feel the way we did then: that is, receptive. I mean, look... SNL always SUCKED. It was sketch comedy, reading from cue cards most of the time, last minute everything, cheesy, corny, all of it. And that's what made it good... same thing today, really. We just want to see Bill Murray again, is all.
I just have to chime in on this to say that SNL today doesn't suck more than it ever has. It just (imho) spoke to us more then than it does now, and, accordingly, when we watch today we get nostalgic... but in fact, the comedians on there today are good, solid performers, but we just don't feel the way we did then: that is, receptive. I mean, look... SNL always SUCKED. It was sketch comedy, reading from cue cards most of the time, last minute everything, cheesy, corny, all of it. And that's what made it good... same thing today, really. We just want to see Bill Murray again, is all.
Ahhhhh, c'mon, Troy, you know that just ain't so!! Nothin' beat a Saturday night in the ol' dorm room with wine sprizters (Boone's Farm or Annie Greensprings & generic 7Up), hot buttered popcorn (popped in corn oil, of course!) fresh from the popcorn popper plugged into the outlet a couple of doors down in the hallway with SNL on the yard sale B&W TV!! Nothin' like the '70's EVER!!
"Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, Pepsi, Pepsi!"
Cher
I haven't really seen the show since '04 when U2 was on, other than the occasional sketch online that becomes a web sensation (translation: I watched "Dick In A Box" and laughed my ass off).
But really, I think cable has stolen a lot of the networks' thunder. SNL wasn't intentionally offensive in it's classic era (or even for that matter, in the early 90's when it was great) but it was edgy, and not afraid to take chances, relatively speaking. The demand for edgy, thought-provoking and controversial comedy is still there (otherwise guys like Carlin wouldn't have had a career), but it's going to be on something like Comedy Central, if not HBO or Showtime.
IMO, the best comedy is always the most fearless, the stuff that takes chances and doesn't attempt to please everyone all the time, and that kind of thing doesn't really fit the demands of the major broadcast networks. Occasionally some great stuff slips through and succeeds, like The Office, but things like the eventual failure of Arrested Development lead me to believe that there's little room for challenging, edgy stuff on the broadcast networks. SNL has been doing basically the same thing for decades now, and on the one hand, it's a tradition and format no one wants to mess with, but at the same time, I think it might be a bit stale, especially since more niche-oriented sketch comedy stuff like HBO's Mr. Show and Chappelle's Show might make SNL seem a bit...calculated, I guess is the best word for it.
But really, I think cable has stolen a lot of the networks' thunder. SNL wasn't intentionally offensive in it's classic era (or even for that matter, in the early 90's when it was great) but it was edgy, and not afraid to take chances, relatively speaking. The demand for edgy, thought-provoking and controversial comedy is still there (otherwise guys like Carlin wouldn't have had a career), but it's going to be on something like Comedy Central, if not HBO or Showtime.
IMO, the best comedy is always the most fearless, the stuff that takes chances and doesn't attempt to please everyone all the time, and that kind of thing doesn't really fit the demands of the major broadcast networks. Occasionally some great stuff slips through and succeeds, like The Office, but things like the eventual failure of Arrested Development lead me to believe that there's little room for challenging, edgy stuff on the broadcast networks. SNL has been doing basically the same thing for decades now, and on the one hand, it's a tradition and format no one wants to mess with, but at the same time, I think it might be a bit stale, especially since more niche-oriented sketch comedy stuff like HBO's Mr. Show and Chappelle's Show might make SNL seem a bit...calculated, I guess is the best word for it.
How can you tell when a moth farts? It flies in a straight line.
Great observations, Steve... that sounds right to me.
Oh, and by the way... got home late last night, and watched 10 minutes of SNL. It was sooooooooooo bad. I may have to retract my last statement, Bill.
Oh, and by the way... got home late last night, and watched 10 minutes of SNL. It was sooooooooooo bad. I may have to retract my last statement, Bill.
QUOTE (pico de gallo @ Jul 5 2008, 09:01 PM)
How can you tell when a moth farts? It flies in a straight line.
"Do you know what moth balls smell like? If so, how'd you get its little legs apart?"
I know its not Carlin, but I couldn't help myself. Sorry!!
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