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George Carlin often dismissed Baby Boomers as “whiny, sarcastic, narcissistic, self-indulgent, cold, bloodless people.” In true Boomer fashion, instead of being insulted, we laughed at and agreed with his sardonic diatribes, bought his albums, and elevated him to icon status. Those of us who secretly listened to Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV” bit on a basement phonograph at a friend’s house, hidden away from parental ears, are mourning the loss of a great comedian and a wry observer of the human condition.
A few of our favorite George Carlin facts:
The Great Escape
Carlin’s first big adventure occurred when he was a mere two months old. His mother had had enough of her alcoholic, abusive husband and fled the family apartment via the fire escape with infant George in her arms and his five-year-old brother close behind. Since his mother had to work to support the family, George spent much of his childhood home alone. He listened to radio programs and invented his own characters and stories in his imagination.
He was a 9th grade dropout
George dropped out of school in ninth grade and eventually joined the Air Force in 1954. He was court martialed three times, including one charge of falling asleep on guard duty. He was discharged in 1957, 11 months before his tour was officially up.
Lenny Bruce changed his career
While working as a disc jockey after leaving the Air Force, Carlin met and teamed up with Jack Burns, a Texas newscaster who had an interest in comedy. The duo performed stand-up as Carlin and Burns and had a fairly successful run, including several appearances on The Tonight Show. The duo split up in 1962 when George attended a Lenny Bruce performance and decided that he, too, wanted to veer away from traditional suit-and-tie joke-and-punchline comedy and pursue a more countercultural path. (Jack Burns would later replace Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show as Deputy Warren Ferguson.)
He was the first host of SNL
Carlin was the host of the first episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live back in 1975. His albums were million-sellers and Grammy winners during that era and his live performances were always sold out. Yet he seemingly “disappeared” in 1976, at the height of his fame. It wasn’t revealed until many years later that Carlin had suffered a heart attack (his first of three). In addition to his drug and alcohol abuse, heart disease was hereditary in his family. His father, he revealed in an interview, had died at age 57 due to heart trouble. As George succinctly put it, “His first symptom was a trip to St. Raymond’s Cemetery.”
Comments (23)
Comment
What, no mention of his years as narrator of Thomas the Tank Engine??
posted by Jess on 6-23-2008 at 9:26 am
I’m so sad that I pricked my finger.
posted by Tim Wright on 6-23-2008 at 9:31 am
Haha Jess, I was just about to mention that as well. How did they manage to pull down George Carlin and Ringo Starr?
posted by Ira on 6-23-2008 at 9:34 am
This is probably the saddest day ever.
posted by Zach on 6-23-2008 at 9:43 am
I heard the news last night just before I went to bed at 1:00am, and I have to say it completely ruined my Sunday and has bled over into ruining my Monday, too. A sad, sad day…
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 6-23-2008 at 11:31 am
It’s a sad sad day in the world of comedy. He will truly be missed.
posted by Tamara on 6-23-2008 at 11:46 am
I had read of his death last night. It’s weird to feel a sense of loss over someone I never personally knew. However, I find myself with an a certain hollowness. Georgie was a complete maverick. Such an original. We get so few people like that. It’s a shame to lose even one.
However, I suppose he’d remind us that he’s “fucking dead” and he ain’t coming back. Time to get over it!!
You were the man, George!
posted by Alice on 6-23-2008 at 11:52 am
So much heartfelt grief today, at least we will always have his wisdom. Click my name to enjoy a site dedicated to him.
posted by Johnny Cat on 6-23-2008 at 12:00 pm
Sad sad day. It’s really a total shock. Although, as Alice said, he’d probably joke about it. D= You’ll be missed, George.
posted by Cat on 6-23-2008 at 12:24 pm
I, too, was shocked and saddened to hear of his demise on the early AM news shows.
He, Jay Ward, Groucho Marx, and Steven Wright are the four who most influenced my sense of irony, outrage, and humor. I shall always be grateful to them.
W.C.Fields once said, “It was a woman that drove me to drink; I never thought to write and say ‘Thank you!’”
Carlin once said, while pointing to his head, “I have a deadly weapon here – I think!!”
He will be missed.
(FWIW: we lost another giant recently – Stan Winston, SFX guy to the Gods.)
posted by Doc on 6-23-2008 at 1:16 pm
I saw him live twice and left with a sore face from laughing.
George will be missed, the world is a little more serious today . . .
ReCaptcha = Stands Fought
how fiting ;-)
posted by Em on 6-23-2008 at 1:36 pm
Very sad news. At least we know he didn’t take much stuff with him.
posted by Bill on 6-23-2008 at 2:07 pm
I met him with my father at a book signing at Shaker Square (Cleveland). My father asked him if he was appearing in town anywhere. He replied here I am!
The crowd all started to laugh as he replied so fast almost without thinking about what he was going to say. He will be missed.
posted by Mark on 6-23-2008 at 2:19 pm
actually, he and Ringo Starr were Mr. Conductor on “Shining Time Station.
did Ringo Starr narrate Thomas the Tank Engine, too?
posted by the creature on 6-23-2008 at 2:22 pm
While I feel bad for his family, I never really thought much of him as a comedian or as a “counter-culture” icon.
Sure he pointed out flaws in society, religion, and politics, but what the heck did he ever do to change anything?
If your going to take a stand and do something, great. If your going to stand on the sidelines and nitpick, well, I don’t really have much time for ya….
Still, sorry to his family.
posted by Ed Hands on 6-23-2008 at 3:00 pm
Ed Hands, Carlin is one of the reasons (along with Lenny Bruce et al) that comedians can do a stage show with adult lingo and not be sent to jail for obscenity.
Look up the case of Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation. Learn something. That way, the next time you open your mouth, you won’t stick in your foot.
posted by Alice on 6-23-2008 at 3:20 pm
Sorry Alice, that’s not going to cut it…
Yaaa! He did something forty years ago that, well, several other comedians were also doing (as you noted, Lenny Bruce who, IMHO, did it much better and actually took a stand for something.)
(BTW, is that the BEST thing you can say about his life? That his major accomplishment in life was allowing stage acts to be “blue”? If so, then that quite a sad epitaph.)
And other than that, what did he do in that past forty years other than a couple of spots on “comic relief”?
You liked him? Great. Good for you. I did not. I thought his humor was, at best, sophomoric and his was, IMHO, as big a hypocrite as those he railed against. It’s hard to take social criticism from a guy that is too busy chasing the almighty buck to take a stand and make a difference.
My opinion. I’m entitled to it.
Nice insult, btw. Very becoming.
posted by Ed Hands on 6-23-2008 at 3:44 pm
Well,Ed, why did you post on a thread which you must have known was going to be more or less fans remembering/saying goodbye etc etc if you didn’t like him? More than a little rude.
reCaptcha: given Friedrich
posted by Cat on 6-23-2008 at 4:00 pm
Lenny Bruce, was at best, self-destructing. The man was a junkie. He made his arrests (both for obscenity and drugs) his entire act towards the end. Not all that charming, if you ask me.
Actually, allowing acts to work blue is important. When it comes down to it, they’re only words and we should be able to use all of them in any context.
If you didn’t care for his humour, that’s fine. However, it seems rather petty to use his death as a platform for insulting the guy. I’d say that speaks volumes.
As for what else he did, well, he gave a voice to those of us who don’t fall into the norm. In the last few years, he was doing some of his best social criticism, in my opinion.
He said things that made people think. I’d say that’s a hell of an accomplishment.
My foot in mouth line was not an insult. I do think you put your foot in your mouth.
I would love to know what you think he should have been doing. The world needs court jesters. They’re important. Who else will point out that the emperor is naked?
posted by Alice on 6-23-2008 at 4:06 pm
And, by the way, you don’t have to do all that much to be a counter-culture icon. He made people think by pointing out flaws in society. Honestly, if he made one person question what’s going on here (and I’m sure he did) he did his job. What did Led Zeppelin do? What did Bob Dylan do? It’s all the same.
And what have you done with your life, Ed?
So please, quit spitting on the memory a man who obviously meant a lot to many people here. Hmph.
reCaptcha: Lowenthal rific
posted by Cat on 6-23-2008 at 4:06 pm
You got in before me, Alice. =)
posted by Cat on 6-23-2008 at 4:07 pm
Great minds think alike, dear Cat.
posted by Alice on 6-23-2008 at 4:12 pm
A favorite bit:
“This is a lttle prayer dedicated to the separation of church and state. I guess if they are going to force those kids to pray in schools they might as well have a nice prayer like this: Our Father who art in heaven, and to the republic for which it stands, thy kingdom come, one nation indivisible as in heaven, give us this day as we forgive those who so proudly we hail. Crown thy good into temptation but deliver us from the twilight’s last gleaming. Amen and Awomen.”
See ya’ on the roof, George!
posted by buddz on 6-23-2008 at 10:15 pm