From usatoday, A publicist for George Carlin says the legendary comedian has died of heart failure at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif. Jeff Abraham says Carlin went into St. John's Health Center on Sunday afternoon, complaining of chest pain. Carlin died at 5:55 p.m. PDT. He was 71.
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.
The dean of counterculture comedians, Carlin constantly pushed the envelop with his jokes, particularly with 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.
7 comments:
Aw, that's too bad, although 71 is a pretty decent run.
I laughed it up many a time to George Carlin albums, and I saw him perform once. Pretty hilarious.
On his album "A Place for My Stuff," he interspersed "Announcements" among the recorded live standup bits. The Announcements were mostly commercial parodies, and I stuck the one called Join the Book Club on the end of a mix tape of mine. My Dad wound up playing that mix tape while away at some convention somewhere, and was shocked when the words "Anna May Wong's Tits Are Made of Aluminum" came out of the speaker.
Tonight I myself realized I still could recite the following:
Get one now!
Everybody has one, they're almost gone.
Get one now!
They're portable, lightweight, easy to use, collapsible, convenient, and guaranteed!
Get one now!
In four designer colors.
Get one now!
Won't rust tarnish blister crack or peel...but it might kill you.
Well, just now I was trying to find out who Anna May Wong is, and I found some guy who put the whole Book Club list on his MySpace page. I put an asterisk by my favorite one.
Eat, Run, Stay Fit and Die Anyway
How to Seem Intelligent
There's Big Money in Staying Put
Peace of Mind by Losing Complete Control For 16 Hours a Day
Your Thighs Control Your Life
How to Fillet a Panda
Rid Yourself of Doubt...Or Should You? *
Chances Are Your Sister's Full Of Shit
How To Give Yourself a Complete Physical Without Getting Undressed
64 Good Reasons For Giving Up Hope
Why Jews Point
100 Dead People Nobody Misses
Backpacking For Shut-Ins
My Dog Is A Real Fruit
Your Shoes Are Worth Money
Reorganizing Your Pockets
What To Wear on the Toilet
124 Simple Exercises For The Teeth
The Stains In Your Shorts Can Indicate Your Future
Tips On Getting Laid
Self-Mutilation as an Attention Getter
600 Ways To Give People The Shaft
Tremble Your Way to Fitness
You Give Me 6 Weeks And I'll Give You Some Disease.
Poems for the Insane
A Treasury of Poorly Understood Ideas
Apartment Hunting For Devil Worshipers
A Complete List of All The Things That Are Still Pending
The Intravenous Cookbook
The Meaning of Corn
Fill Your Life With Croutons
The Food Coloring Diet
Cooking For The Paralyzed
Cooking With Heat
Controlling Fear Without Getting Frightened
Things No One Can Help
Understanding People You'll Never Meet
6 Ways To Fuck Up Before Breakfast
Marriage For One
I Suck-You Suck
Let's Change The Alphabet
Famous Bullshit Stories
Sport Fishing With Power Saws
Why Hawaii And Norway Are Not Near Each Other
A List of People Who Mean Well
Don't Throw Away Your Old Skin
10 Things We Don't Know Yet
Caring For The Seated
The Wrong Underwear Can Kill
Trotting Across Zaire
Why it Doesn't Snow Any More
A Complete List Of Everyone's Personal Effects
6 Cities No One Has Ever Been To
I Gave Up Hope And Died And It Worked!
Famous People Who Were Wiry
The Lives Of 6 Extremely Short Saints
Anna May Wong's Tits Are Made Of Aluminum
How To Do Everything At Once
How To Give People Your Best Regards
How To Spoil Other People's Fun
How To Kill A Rat With An Oboe
How To Organize A Tupperware Gang Bang
How To Wave Goodbye Without Moving Your Arms
How To Spot Truly Vicious People In Church
How To Get Back From Boston
How To Lease Out The Space Inside Your Nose
How To Get A Tan With A Flashlight
How To Start A Range War
How To Spot A Creep From A Distance
How To Give A King A Really Hard Time
How To Kill Your Nephew
How To Become A Greaseball
How To Turn Unbearable Pain Into Extra Income.
Great, another depressing Monday to kick off the week. I loved his beat down of the 10 Commandments. Hysterical and spot on:
http://richarddawkins.net/article,772,Religion,George-Carlin
that is sad though not shocking given his overall health. i saw him do standup in new haven a long time ago and will still watch his hbo specials, though i think his earlier work was more incisive and funnier. dang, we need more good comedians these days.
What's really weird is hearing him do the narration for the Thomas the Tank Engine videos. You expect him to say "fuck" any second. Or I do, anyway.
Definitely his older stuff is better. He had a TV series for five seconds (in the later years) and I recall rolling my eyes hearing him rant about loose-fitting jeans.
Yeah, this is a bummer. He was supposed to play the Newport Comedy Festival this year. I had been thinking I would try to get tickets as I have never seen him live. Guess I won't now either.
dcd— You "guess"? I actually think you can be pretty damn sure of it.
My favorite Carlin memory is the very first Saturday Night Live. He was coked to the gills and did his "baseball vs. football" bit. It killed. I read in the book that Lorne Michaels wanted him in a t-shirt and NBC wanted him in a jacket and tie; so they compromised and he came out in a t-shirt under a jacket.
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