George Carlin became one of the country’s most influential and controversial humorists. George as we know died on Sunday from heart failure at the age of 71. It’s said that he was practically a one-man history of American comedy from the rise of ’60s counterculture through the war on terrorism.
George Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words You Can Never Say on Television” routine led to a 1978 Supreme Court ruling that established the U.S. government’s authority to regulate “indecent” language in broadcast shows but also made him an enduring symbol of First Amendment speech rights.
Jay Leno, who is the host of The Tonight Show, said that “Prior to George, all comedians wore ties and wanted to play Vegas. Carlin made 130 appearances on the show, beginning in 1961. His appearances reflected his shift from his clean-cut, suit-and-coat days to his grungy beard-and-ponytail era. I loved that he hated golf,” Leno adds. “He’d say that these hundreds of acres were wasted just so that two guys could hit a ball. I think he was as riled up on the day he died as he was in the ’60s when I first saw him.”
The idea of a stand-up routine went from being a series of star impersonations and mother-in-law gags to more of a stream-of-consciousness series of observations on life’s vagaries. It’s said that George was at the forefront of that movement, which continues today in some of the nation’s most popular comedic acts.
Today George’s influence is seen in the humour of Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Stewart, as well as saltier routines of Chris Rock, Lewis Black and Sarah Silverman
During George’s fifth decade, he comfortably grew into the role of Comedian Emeritus to a new generation of entertainers, and won teen fans in two Bill & Ted films. A softer and more childlike side was exposed by his stint in the ’90s as the voice of the train conductor on Shining Time Station and the narrator on Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends.
Filmmaker Kevin Smith said that “George always maintained he was going to live to 90-something. He had done the math, based on how long his father lived, and he was convinced.”
All our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time
What are the best bits of George’s life you remember?
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