R.I.P. George Carlin, dead of heart failure and sublime profanity at 71

oh man. RIP George Carlin.

Fuck, FUCK! I just heard his latest album/special last week! He seemed reinvigorated, too.

Shit. His "Class Clown" album was cherished by me in high school.

Rufus is no more.

WHAT

RIP

Total bummer. One of the greats. R.I.P

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080623/ts_nm/carlin_dc

He had so much great stuff, and got more ornery -- more punk -- as time went on. I have his early-'70s classics on my iPod; it's always delightful when a piece comes up. Rest in peace.

"Fuck hope."
RIP

rather watch carrot top than this dude.

:S

I even watched his short-lived sitcom on FOX!

shit!
rip

Which of the seven words would you prefer to have thrown at you for that post? xxxpost

Also classic: Jammin' in New York.

As he got older, he wasn't afraid to be cruel in the pursuit of laffs.

damn damn damn. rip.

>Carlin's comedic sensibility often came back to a central theme: humanity is doomed

But he was so sweet about it!

RIP

Sad, RIP

Hippy dippy weatherman

Didn't realize he looked so much like Sondheim back in the day.

Aw holy fuckin shit, man :(

RIP :(

RIPx1000

awwww. r.i.p. funny dude. angry to the end, and about the right things.

RIP, dude. And thanks, you were very necessary - going to watch the one dvd of his I have tonight.

I am placed in mind of certain words that cannot be uttered on television. RIP.

OMG ... this is awful!! this man made me laugh so hard so many times ...

;_; ;_; ;_;

I would never want to be a member of a group whose symbol was a man nailed to two pieces of wood. RIP, dude.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o

Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits! RIP.

Cheese tits!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSXjjbjLRSU

RUFUS!

RIP

"So I say, 'Live and let live.' That’s my motto. 'Live and let live.' Anyone who can’t go along with that, take him outside and shoot the motherfucker. It’s a simple philosophy, but it’s always worked in our family."

RIP

im sure dude was cracking death jokes all day at the hospital

"I wanna live. I don’t wanna die. That’s the whole meaning of life: Not dying! I figured that shit out by myself in the third grade."

:(

Grew up on this guy's humour. Just gave my mother one of his early CDs. She was huge fan and he was really the only thing we could bond over. Sad day, but he'll keep us laughing for years yet no doubt.

Fuck. RIP.

fuck. i was hoping we'd get at least another twenty years out of him, i loved watching him get more and more crotchety and pissed as he got older. it was like watching fine wine mature into fine vinegar.

RIP.

His HBO specials were among the last few things worth living for.

sad news. his riff on the ten commandments was drop-dead brilliant.

aw man...now i'm sad. for real.

embarrassing moment number 4356:

i'm working at kitchen usa in philadelphia. a korean deli. a guy comes up in shades and a hat and buys some gum. he says something IN THAT VOICE and i swear my eyes pop out of my head. it's george! i say: what are you doing here? are you working in philly? and he says yes. he starts to leave and i actually yell out WAIT and i rush around the counter and corner him by the door. i shake his hand and i say: george, man, seriously, thanks for...all the years. he sez: hey, no problem, man, i'll be back. he leaves and i feel like such an asshole for doing that. like i'm gonna end up in a routine about rude fucks or something. thanks for all the years? that's what i come up with? but i had to do it. i had to. i've always told myself, if i'm given the opportunity to thank the people who have moved me and influenced me in my life that i had to let them know. sorry, george! but you rocked so hard. i couldn't let you go without letting you know that in some way.

he had just finished his last HBO special in March, "It's Bad for Ya."

Foolhardy son of a bitch RIP.

RIP.

Freshman year, West Bloomfield High School, Michigan, 1974, I swear, from my vantage point at the time, he was as big a rock star as there was. Bigger than Aerosmith or Kiss or BTO, even. Up there with Cheech & Chong, and you couldn't get higher than that. I didn't care about the music albums, but I had Class Clown, FM & AM, and Operation Foole; not sure if I wound up getting Toldedo Window Box. Either way, he was huge.

To me, Carlin was like, the mouthy, foul, funny, awesome John Peel of the standup 80s comedy circuit. Let him be remembered for all his awesome stuff thus.

I have no use for him, but RIP.

RIP.
So glad I got to see him a couple times. Granted this was mid-90s and past his best days, but he still brought the laffs.

RIP

saw him in DC, had to be '84 or '85. he was getting into a limo after the show and I asked for his autograph - dorky, I know, but george carlin and johnny cash are the only two people I've ever approached for one. in every way a rare breed.

RIP

angry to the end, and about the right things.

I actually think he got BETTER past his pop peak. I had maybe 3 of the '70s LPs as a teen, but the pure 'observational' silliness ("no Chinese guys named Rusty") grated on me. Then, presumably after getting sober, around '86 (Iran-contra times) he got more nakedly political and angry, with themes like “The flag is a symbol; I leave symbols for the symbol-minded.”

Anyway, I'm glad he no longer needs a Place for his Stuff. (thought of the line frequently while packing my books for 5 hours yesterday)

NEW NABISCO TITS

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/rip-current-4.gif

A politically resonant Carlin quote via Dennis Perrin:

"Don't confuse me with those who cling to hope. I enjoy describing things the way they are, I have no interest in how they 'ought to be.' And I certainly have no interest in fixing them. I sincerely believe that if you think there's a solution, you're part of the problem. My motto: Fuck Hope!

"I am a personal optimist but a skeptic about all else. What may sound to some like anger is really nothing more than sympathetic contempt. I view my species with a combination of wonder and pity, and I root for its destruction. And please don't confuse my point of view with cynicism; the real cynics are the ones who tell you everything's gonna be all right."

http://dennisperrin.blogspot.com/2008/06/sympathetic-contempt.html

(had a Catholic education, of course)

RIP

RIP George.

;_;

If God is all-powerful, he's made my heart so heavy I myself can't lift it.

There was a time when this man was something of a genius. Oh, how we laughed! RIP, George.

i really know nothing about this dude at all but everything i've read today suggests i need to rectify that.

from the NYT obit (which has many delish details) -- NICE TIMING on the Honors:

Recently, Mr. Carlin was named the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He was to receive the award at the Kennedy Center in November. “In his lengthy career as a comedian, writer, and actor, George Carlin has not only made us laugh, but he makes us think,” said Stephen A. Schwarzman, the Kennedy Center chairman. “His influence on the next generation of comics has been far-reaching.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24carlin.html

The bit on the evolution of "shell shock" to PTSD is a favorite.

I just posted this at Rhapsody, fwiw:

http://blog.rhapsody.com/2008/06/george-carlin-1.html#more

Am I a bit of a self-pitying sad sack if I let this really bum me out today? I worry that he might think so. :(

RIP George. I didn't see it coming.

in memoriam

so glad i heard him.

God damn it.

Goodbye George!

george on death:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3PiZSFIVFiU

love the rants. can't help myself:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oI5EY5kqiBU

saving the planet:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw

hahahaha!

yes, see the mp3 i posted above

oh right i'm youtubeexclusive

seinfeld was just on larry king and he said he and george were joking about death on the phone a couple of days ago and george said he felt safe for awhile cuz bo diddley and tim russert had just died. apparently, he forgot about about the power of 3s!

I have a memory of Carlin supporting/promoting SUVs but I might be confusing him with that simpsons parody of him (canyonero~!). Anyone else remember?

is he any good in The Prince of Tides? (playing a swishy neighbor!)

The NYT has a great blog entry how he kept in touch w/ his old progressive Catholic high school in the Bronx, despite his professed atheism. In a replay on Fresh Air last night, he even said a former nun/teacher would attend his shows, and he would censor the most extreme bits if she brought guests!

Seinfeld on Carlin

Carlin's proto-Seinfeld standup material was his most annoying.

Here's the HS thing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/nyregion/24hayes.html

http://www.hbo.com/events/george-carlin/tribute.html?ntrack_para1=feat_main_image

http://www.hbo.com/events/georgecarlin_remembering/img/background.gif

now ya tell me -- those 70's shows are prizes. (Not that I have HBO, but maybe I would have ordered it for a few hours.)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3123/2612647044_42cc3732af.jpg

the reason they call it the american dream is you have to be asleep to believe it

Seinfeld said he had talked with Carlin a few days ago, not long after the death of "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert.

"We were actually joking about death," he said. "We were kidding about how, you know, they kind of come in groups. It was like Bo Diddley and Tim Russert. And he was saying how I feel safe now for a little while because, you know, there should be a lull before they come after the next person."
For all his comedic talents, he obviously did not understand, or maybe forgot, the rule of three.

RIP

Must've thought he was safe after Cyd Charrise.

ha

http://www.georgecarlin.com/home/carlin_memletter.jpg

Guess where he is now?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwCeT4dxw0o

so.... he's in hell forever and he must deal with awmaady gawd face to face forever = god is in hell too?

on a diamond, in a park. The baseball park!!!

that motherfucker, HE'S DEAD!

I just got done watching "It's Bad for Ya". Everyone who's said he got his mojo back lately was spot on. That was his sharpest special in...10 or 15 years?! The whole final third, about hollow American customs and rights vs. privileges, was some of his finest work ever.

FBI didn't keep tabs on comedian Carlin's 7 words
By JOHN ROGERS – 2 days ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Talk about irony. George Carlin spent decades pushing the bounds of free speech by saying the seven words you can never say on television, but not one of them made it into an FBI file on him.

Among the 12 pages in a file recently released by Carlin's family are a couple of letters from outraged citizens who complained that the comedian had made fun of the FBI and its director, J. Edgar Hoover, during TV appearances in 1969 and 1970.

There's also a letter from Hoover himself thanking one of Carlin's critics for defending his honor, and an internal FBI memo that quotes the director as asking: "What do we know of Carlin?"

Not much, as it turned out. The memo notes the FBI has "no data concerning Carlin" other than the two letters from his critics.

"Which kind of disappoints me," laughed Carlin's daughter, Kelly Carlin McCall, who provided the file to The Associated Press. "It doesn't really cover any of his more radical 1970s stuff."

Carlin was arrested following a performance in Milwaukee in 1972 for saying the seven words (none of which can be reprinted here).

The following year the Federal Communications Commission reprimanded New York radio station WBAI for airing his "filthy words" routine, triggering a legal battle that resulted in a landmark 1978 Supreme Court ruling upholding the government's right to determine indecency.

Carlin, who died of a heart attack last June at 71, obtained the file years ago through a Freedom of Information Act request, McCall said.

Richard Belzer read from some of it when Carlin was posthumously awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in a ceremony that will be broadcast on PBS stations Feb. 4.

After Carlin's death, the FBI answered FOIA requests from the AP with a form letter saying the bureau had no file on him. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said this week she was checking on the contradiction.

The two FBI memos Carlin's daughter provided both stated the bureau's files "contain no information identifiable with Carlin." They also indicate that investigators didn't find the comedian particularly amusing.

One, dated Feb. 12, 1969, refers to Carlin as an "alleged comedian" after he made fun of the bureau during an appearance on "The Jackie Gleason Show."

"His treatment was in very poor taste and it was obvious that he was using the prestige of the bureau and Mr. Hoover to enhance his performance," the memo says.

It also quotes one segment during which Carlin says he is Hoover and is on a stakeout at the attorney general's house. The memo recommends the people who pointed out the performance be sent thank-you letters.

The second memo, dated May 5, 1970, was triggered by a similar complaint, this time for a Carlin appearance on "The Carol Burnett Show."

That time Hoover himself apparently sent the thank-you note, saying: "It's always good to know we have the support of such staunch friends as you."

Can someone post the bit about the end of the world and 'a billion Uncle Daves' being resurrected? That was so brilliant, can't find it.

Re Hoover: As my mom would say, what a kook.

anyone see the Twain Prize special? I assume PBS didn't waive their profanity rules for the night.

yes. they didn't. it was worth watching, but nothing special - mostly the hits you know, with introductions by mostly B-listers.

Carlin was arrested following a performance in Milwaukee in 1972 for saying the seven words (none of which can be reprinted here).

Amazing that 37 years later we're still so uptight that the AP can't print, at least, the words "shit," "piss" or "tits," all of which I can hear on network television now.

just wanted to share one of my faves of his.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cwOqKfEYTg

carlin otm

guy would appear to rock

^timely revive

oh no, actually, this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIraCchPDhk

his daughter has written a memoir

http://www.npr.org/2015/09/15/440553079/the-dark-side-of-funny-growing-up-in-george-carlins-shadow

having to hang out at ryan o'neal's house kinda the most traumatic revelation there.

had no idea he was in a team early on with Jack Burns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMYaQAPpjpk

Me neither

Watched part 1 of the HBO doc last night. Took double the amount of time to watch because we kept pausing on the close-ups of his notes, editing marks, lines crossed out + others put in. I'd love to see a book with just those.

Jon Stewart's The Problem podcast had an episode long interview with Judd Apatow about the Carlin series this week. So have listened to that and not the actual documentary as yet.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-problem-with-jon-stewart/id1583132133

I was a big fan of his back in the 70s. I thought he stopped being funny late in his career--even though he was 100% right.

Sounds like it was hardly smooth sailing and plenty of mistakes were made but I was kinda touched by his relationship with his wife. Made me think about the guy a little differently.

Yeah, the marriage stuff was the most interesting stuff to me.

https://archive.org/details/george-carlin-collection-re-upload