An Ode to George Carlin
An Ode to George Carlin
I listened to my first George Carlin album in 1972 when I was 16 years old. I never knew comedy could be this funny. From then on, I was hooked and followed the man’s career until his death of a heart attack on June 22nd, 2008. He was my old friend whom I never met.
Although raised in the Roman Catholic faith, Carlin often denounced the idea of God in interviews and performances. “I worship the Sun, one reason being that I can actually see it!” And, “The Catholic Church alone could wipe out the national debt if all you did was tax their real estate!” Carlin did not vote and often criticized elections as an “illusion of choice”. He once said that he last voted for George McGovern, who ran for President in 1972 against Richard Nixon.
George Carlin’s themes have also been known to cause considerable controversy. His favorite topic was in his words, “Humanity’s B.S.”, which might include murder, genocide, war, rape, and corruption. “I look at is this way…for centuries, man has done everything he can to destroy, defile and interfere with nature: clear-cutting forests, strip-mining mountains, poisoning the atmosphere, over-fishing the oceans, polluting the rivers and lakes, and destroying wetlands. So when nature strikes back and smacks man on the head and kicks him in the b—s, I enjoy that!”
In 1972, Carlin perfected what is perhaps his best-known routine, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television”. He was arrested and charged with violating obscenity laws after performing this routine. The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5 to 4, ruling the routine was “indecent but not obscene”; however the FCC had authority to prohibit such broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience. The controversy only increased Carlin’s fame and was the first-ever host of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” on October 11th, 1975.
“I can tell you everything you need to know about men and women…women are crazy and men are stupid. And the reason why women are crazy is because men are stupid”.
George Carlin’s last stand-up special, “It’s Bad for Ya, aired live on March 1st, 2008. On June 18th, four days before his death, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. announced that Carlin would be the 2008 honoree of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to be awarded this November. Carlin will still receive the award, making him its first posthumous recipient.
“I like Florida; everything is in the eighties. The temperatures, the ages, an the I.Q.’s”
