George Carlin
George Dennis Carlin (born
May 12,
1937) is a
Grammy-winning
American stand-up comedian,
actor, and
author.
Carlin is especially noted for his irreverent attitude and his observations on
language,
psychology, and
religion along with many
taboo subjects. He is considered by many to be a successor to the late
Lenny Bruce and one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time.
[ In 2004, George Carlin was voted #2 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time, just behind Richard Pryor]Born in
New York City, George Carlin grew up on West 121st Street, in a neighborhood of Manhattan which he later said he and his friends called "White
Harlem", because that sounded a lot tougher than its real name, "
Morningside Heights". He was raised by his mother, who left his father when he was two years old. At age 14, Carlin dropped out of
high school and joined the
United States Air Force, training as a
radar technician. He was stationed at
Barksdale AFB in
Bossier City, Louisiana. During this time he began working as a
disc jockey on KJOE, a radio station based in the nearby city of
Shreveport. He did not complete his Air Force enlistment. He was labeled an "unproductive airman" by his superiors. On July 29, 1957, Carlin was discharged.
At the age of 18, he and
Jack Burns, a new announcer at the station, assembled a comedy routine and began booking nightclubs. Soon the act broke up, but Carlin continued to work as a stand-up comic.
In the
1960s, Carlin began appearing on television variety shows, notably
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. His most famous skits were:
* The Indian Sergeant ("You wit' the beads … get outta line")
* Stupid disc jockeys ("Wonderful WINO …") â€" "The Beatles' latest record, when played backwards at slow speed, says 'Dummy! You're playing it backwards at slow speed!'"
* Al Sleet, the "
hippie-dippie
weatherman" â€" "Tonight's forecast: Dark. Continued dark tonight, turning to partly light in the morning."
* Jon Carson â€" the "world never known, and never to be known"
In
1961, Carlin married Brenda Hosbrook (born
June 12,
1939, died
May 11,
1997), whom he had met while touring the previous year, in her parent's living room in Dayton, Ohio. The couple had a daughter, Kelly, in
1963. In 1971, George and Brenda renewed their wedding vows in Las Vegas, Nevada.
During this period, Carlin became more popular. He became a frequent performer and guest host on
The Tonight Show during the
Johnny Carson era, becoming one of Carson's most frequent substitutes during the host's three-decade reign. Carlin was also cast on
Away We Go, a
1967 comedy show.
Eventually, Carlin changed his routines, and his appearance. He lost some TV bookings by dressing strangely, sporting a beard and earrings, but regained his popularity as the public caught on to his sense of style.
In this period he also perfected what is perhaps his best-known routine, "
Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television", recorded on
Class Clown, a routine which offended some. In
1973, a man complained to the
FCC that his son had heard a later, similar routine, "Filthy Words", from
Occupation: Foole,
broadcast one afternoon over
WBAI, a
Pacifica Foundation FM radio station in
New York City. Pacifica received a citation from the FCC, which sought to fine Pacifica for allegedly violating FCC regulations which prohibited broadcasting "obscene" material. The U.S.
Supreme Court upheld the FCC action, by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling that the routine was "indecent but not obscene", and the FCC had authority to prohibit such broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience.
F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (
1978).
The controversy only increased Carlin's fame (or notoriety). Carlin eventually expanded the dirty-words theme with a seemingly interminable end to a performance (ending with his voice fading out in one
HBO version, and accompanying the credits in the
Carlin at Carnegie special for the 1982-83 season), and a set of 49 web pages [
1] organized by subject and embracing his "Incomplete List Of Impolite Words". Ironically, the court documents contain a complete transcript of the skit, perhaps validating what
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said: "You cannot define obscenity without being obscene." [
2]
 |
George Carlin's 1972 arrest photograph
(arrest report: [3] [4]) |
In December 2003, California U.S. Representative
Doug Ose introduced a bill (H.R. 3687) to outlaw the broadcast of Carlin's seven "dirty words", including "compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms)". (The bill omits "tits", but includes "ass" and "asshole", which were not part of Carlin's original routine.) Carlin was arrested in 1972 at
Milwaukee, Wisconsin's
Summerfest and charged with violating obscenity laws.
Carlin was the first-ever host of
NBC's
Saturday Night Live, debuting on
October 11,
1975. (He also hosted
SNL on
November 10,
1984.) The following season, 1976-77, Carlin also appeared regularly on
CBS Television's
Tony Orlando & Dawn variety series.
In the 1970s, Carlin became known for unpredictable performances. He would walk off if no one laughed, verbally insult the audience, or simply not appear.
Carlin unexpectedly stopped performing regularly in 1976, when his career appeared to be at its height. For the next five years, he rarely appeared to perform stand-up, although it was at this time he began doing specials for
HBO as part of its "On Location" series. His first two HBO specials aired in 1977 and 1978. It was later revealed that Carlin had suffered the first of his three heart attacks during this layoff period.
In 1981, Carlin returned to the stage, releasing
A Place For My Stuff, considered by many to be his best album since
Class Clown, and making a triumphant return to
HBO (and to his hometown) with the
Carlin at Carnegie special videotaped at
Carnegie Hall and airing during the 1982-83 season. Carlin continued doing HBO specials every year or every other year over the following decade and a half, and became as identified with the cable network's comedy offerings as the performer whose specials practically inaugurated the network,
Robert Klein. All of Carlin's albums from this time forward are the HBO specials.
By 1989, Carlin had become popular with a new generation of teens when he was cast as Rufus the mentor of the titular characters in
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. In 1991, he provided the narrative voice for the American version of the children's show
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, a role he continued until 1998.
Carlin began a weekly sitcom,
The George Carlin Show, cast as "George", a cab driver, for the
Fox Network in 1993. He quickly included a variation of the "Seven Words" in the plot. The show lasted 27 episodes before being cancelled in December, 1995.
In 1997, Brenda Carlin died of liver cancer. Also in 1997, his second book, entitled
Brain Droppings, was released, which had sold over 750,000 copies as of 2001.
In 1999, Carlin returned with an appearance in
Kevin Smith's film
Dogma, unforgettably as a greedy
Roman Catholic cardinal. He worked with Smith again with a cameo appearance in
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and in an unusual change, Carlin portrayed a prominent, serious role in
Jersey Girl as the
blue collar dad of
Ben Affleck's character.
In 2001, Carlin was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 15th Annual American Comedy Awards. In 2004, George Carlin was ranked #2 on
Comedy Central's 100 greatest standups of all time list, just behind
Richard Pryor.
In December 2004, Carlin announced that he would be voluntarily entering a drug rehabilitation facility to receive treatment for his dependency on alcohol and painkillers.
For years, Carlin performed regularly as a headliner in Las Vegas, but in the spring of 2006 decided to end his performing there. He has currently begun a new tour through the first half of 2006, and had a new
HBO Special on November 5th, 2005 entitled
Life is Worth Losing. - [
5], which was shown live from the
Beacon Theatre in
New York City. Topics covered included suicide, natural disasters (and the impulse to see them escalate in severity), cannibalism, genocide, human sacrifice, threats to civil liberties in America, and how an argument can be made that humans are inferior to animals. The tour's original title of "I Kinda Like it When a Lotta People Die" was changed because of Hurricane Katrina's tremendous death toll that occurred 2 months before the tour started.
On February 1, 2006, Carlin mentioned to the crowd, during his
Life is Worth Losing set at the Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, California, that he had been discharged from the hospital only six weeks previous for "heart failure" and "pneumonia", citing the appearance as his "first show back".
Carlin provided the voice of Fillmore, a character in the
Pixar animated feature
Cars, which opened in theatres on June 9, 2006. The character Fillmore is a
VW Microbus, whose front license plate reads "51237" and is also the zip code in a town in Iowa named George.
As a staunch
atheist, Carlin has often denounced the idea of a god in interviews and performances, most notably with his "Invisible Man in the Sky" routine. In mockery he invented the parody religion
Frisbeetarianism for a newspaper contest. He defined it as the belief that when one dies "his soul gets flung onto a roof, and just stays there", and cannot be retrieved.
Carlin has also said he might worship the
Sun (because he can actually see it) but prays to
Joe Pesci because "he's a good actor", "looks like a guy who can get things done!", and praying to him has the approximately the same success rate - 50% - as praying to God.
Carlin openly communicates in his shows and in his interviews that his purpose for existence is entertainment, that he is "here for the show". Admittedly, he acknowledges that this is a very selfish thing, especially since he includes large human catastrophes as entertainment.
In a late 1990s interview with
Art Bell, he remarked about his view of human life: "I think we're already circling the drain as a species, and I'd love to see the circles get a little faster and a little shorter."
In the same interview, he recounts his experience of a California earthquake in the early 1970s as: "...an amusement park ride. Really, I mean it's such a wonderful thing to realize that you have
absolutely no control... and to see the dresser move across the bedroom floor unassisted... is just exciting." Later he summarizes: "I really think there's great human drama in destruction and nature unleashed and I don't get enough of it."
A 1990s Carlin bit focusing on airport security leads up to the statement: "Take a fucking chance! Don't people know a good show when they see it!?"
Carlin has always included politics as part of his material (along with the wordplay and sex jokes), but he has gained increasing respect over the past decade and a half as a perceptive social critic, in both his
HBO specials and the book compilations of his material. His HBO viewers got an especially sharp taste of this in his take on the
Ronald Reagan administration during the 1988 special
What Am I Doing In New Jersey? broadcast live from the Park Theatre in Union City, New Jersey.
* "They're superstitious, they have these beliefs, these primitive, you know, people believe in a... I mean they're just really kind of credulous, and gullible. People believe in, for instance, hell and angels, okay, these are very primitive, very, very backward to me, backward sounding beliefs, these are child-like, and that's the key, because they get you when you're a kid, they get you when you're little, and they tell you there's a God, and if you can make people believe, I believe this, if you can make someone believe that there's an invisible man, living in the sky, who's watching everything you do, and keeping count of everything you do, which is good and which is bad, then you can make that person believe anything after that, you can add anything you want, the 4th of July shit just rolls right in, land of the free, home of the brave, the press is fair and impartial, justice is blind, all men are created equal, your vote is important, the United States government is on your side, the army is here to keep the peace, the police are on your side...Oh, and freedom of choice, this is the big one, the illusion of choice, we're led to feel free by the exercise of meaningless choices. There are, for instance, important things -- not too many choices, unimportant things-ice cream flavors, what do you want, we've got 31, the flavor of the week, the flavor of the month, but political parties-we're down to two, jeez. Sources of information, media companies down to five, banks, insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, chemical companies, oil companies-used to be seven, down to three, pretty soon it's gonna be two. But if you're lookin' for a bagel or a fuckin' donut, hey, what do you want-pineapple supreme, hazelnut; we've got everything you want. Cereals, I counted, personally in the store counted 192 different cereal choices, 192. 140 different cat foods, I counted, and that includes a tartar-control cat food for senior citizen cats, okay?" '''- George Carlin, appearance on Dennis Miller Live; [response to why Americans are so easily influenced by advertising]'''
* "I'm a modern man, a man for the millennium, digital and smoke-free, a diversified multi-cultural post-modern deconstructionist, politically, anatomically, and ecologically incorrect. I've been uplinked and downloaded, I've been inputted and outsourced, I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading. I'm a high-tech lowlife, a cutting edge state-of-the-art bi-coastal multitasker, and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond. I'm new wave, but I'm old school, and my inner child is outward bound. I'm a hot-wired, heat-seeking, warm-hearted cool customer, voice-activated and biodegradable. I interface with my database, and my database is in cyberspace, so I'm interactive, I'm hyperactive, and from time to time, I'm radioactive. Behind the 8-ball, ahead of the curve, riding the wave, dodging the bullet, pushing the envelope. I'm on point, on task, on message, and off drugs. I got no need for coke and speed. I have no urge to binge and purge. I'm in the moment, on the edge, over the top, but under the radar. A high-concept, low-profile, medium-range ballistics missionary. A street-wise smart bomb, a top-gun bottom-feeder. I wear power ties, I tell power lies, I take power naps, I run victory laps. I'm a totally ongoing bigfoot slamdunk rainmaker with a proactive outreach. A raging workaholic, a working rageaholic, out of rehab and in denial. I got a personal trainer, a personal shopper, a personal assistant, and a personal agenda. You can't shut me up, you can't dumb me down, 'cause I'm tireless, and I'm wireless. I'm an alphamale on beta blockers. I'm a non-believer and an overachiever, laid back, but fashion forward, up front, down home, low rent, high maintenance; super size, long lasting, high definition, fast acting, oven ready, and built to last. I'm a hands-on, footloose, kneejerk headcase, prematurely post-traumatic, and I have a love child who sends me hate mail. But I'm feeling, I'm caring, I'm healing, I'm sharing, a supportive, bonding, nurturing, primary caregiver. My output is down, but my income is up. I take a short position on the long bond, and my revenue stream has its own cash flow. I read junk mail, I eat junk food, I buy junk bonds, I watch trash sports. I'm gender specific, capital intensive, user friendly, and lactose intolerant. I like rough sex, I like tough love, I use the F-word in my e-mails, and the software on my hard drive is hardcore, no soft porn. I bought a microwave at a minimall, I bought a minivan at a megastore, I eat fast food in the slow lane. I'm tollfree, bite size, ready to wear, and I come in all sizes. A fully equipped, factory authorized, hospital tested, clinically proven, scientifically formulated medical miracle. I've been prewashed, precooked, preheated, prescreened, preapproved, prepackeged, postdated, freeze dried, double wrapped, vacuum packed, and I have an unlimited broadband capacity. I'm a rude dude, but I'm the real deal, lean and mean, cocked, locked, and ready to rock; rough, tough, and hard to bluff. I take it slow, I go with the flow, I ride with the tide, I got glide in my stride. Drivin' and movin', sailin' and spinnin', jivin' and groovin', wailin' and winnin'. I don't snooze, so I don't lose. I keep the pedal to the metal and the rubber on the road. I party hardy, and lunch time is crunch time. I'm hangin' in, there ain't no doubt, and I'm hangin' tough, over and out."'''- George Carlin: Life is Worth Losing (2005) and When Will Jesus Bring the Porkchops
* "I've begun worshipping the sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the sun. It's there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, a lovely day. There's no mystery, no one asks for money, I don't have to dress up, and there's no boring pageantry. And interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to "God" are all answered at about the same 50-percent rate."'''- George Carlin: Brain Droppings
*
1966 Take Offs and Put Ons*
1972**
FM & AM**
Class Clown*
1973 Occupation: Foole*
1974 Toledo Window Box*
1975 An Evening with Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo*
1977 On the Road*
1981 A Place for My Stuff*
1984 Carlin On Campus*
1986 Playin' With Your Head*
1988 What Am I Doing In New Jersey?*
1990 Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics*
1992 **
Jammin' in New York**
Classic Gold*
1995 Killer Carlin*
1996 Back in Town*
1999**
You Are All Diseased**
The Little David Years (1971-1977) (
Box Set)
(includes 'Free Complimentary Extra Bonus Disc Not for Sale Anywhere!')
*
2001 Complaints and Grievances*
2002 George Carlin on Comedy*
2005 Life Is Worth Losing*
Happily N'Ever After (
2007) (Wizard; voice only)
*
Cars (2006) (voice of 'Fillmore' - a 1960 VW Mini-Bus)
* The Aristocrats (
2005)
*
Tarzan II (2005) (voice of 'Zugor')
* Jersey Girl (2004)
* Scary Movie 3 (2003)
* Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
* Dogma (1999)
* The Prince of Tides (1991)
* Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
* Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
* Outrageous Fortune (1987)
* Americathon (1979)
* Car Wash (1976)
* With Six You Get Eggroll'' (
1968)
*
Life is Worth Losing (2005) [6]
* Complaints and Grievances (
2001)
*
You Are All Diseased (1999)
* Back In Town (
1996)
*
40 Years of Comedy (1996)
* Jammin' In New York (
1992)
*
Doin' It Again (1990)
* What Am I Doing In New Jersey? (
1988)
*
Playin' With Your Head (1986)
* Carlin on Campus (
1984)
*
Carlin at Carnegie Hall (1982)
* George Carlin: Again! (
1978)
* ''
George Carlin at USC (
1977)
|
Cover to Napalm and Silly Putty |
*
When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? (
2004) ISBN 1401301347
*
Napalm and Silly Putty (
2001) ISBN 0786887583
*
Brain Droppings (
1997) ISBN 0786883219
*
Sometimes a Little Brain Damage Can Help (
1984) ISBN 0894712713
*
Shining Time Station (as "Mr. Conductor") (1991-1993)
PBS* 13 specials for
Home Box Office (as of 2006)
*
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (as American Narrator and Mr. Conductor) (1991-1994)
*
The George Carlin Show (as "George O'Grady") (1994)
Fox*
Justin Case (as "Justin Case") (1988) Dir. Blake Edwards
*
That Girl (as "George Lester") (1966)
*
The Kraft Summer Music Hall (1966)
* Carlin was present at
Lenny Bruce's arrest for obscenity. According to legend the police began attempting to detain members of the audience for questioning, and asked Carlin for his identification. Telling the police he did not believe in government issued IDs he was arrested and rode to jail with Bruce in the same vehicle.
* Many emailed lists of humorous observations on certain topics are often attributed to Carlin. Many express sentiments and ideas that are the opposite of the sort of ideas and themes present in Carlin's work. For instance, one, commonly called "
I Guess I'm A Bad American", seems to be the work of the kind of conservative that Carlin often takes aim at in his art. He has made numerous announcements on his website concerning these forwarded articles, and denies having any connection to any of them (as well as disparaging most of them on a variety of grounds). Carlin stated that unless the material has appeared in some form in his books, albums,
HBO specials, or written on his website, it is miscredited to him. [
7]
* During CKY3, a stunt and comedy video orchestrated by skater Bam Margera, a segment of George Carlin's routine appears in which he states that 'you never see somebody taking a shit while running at full speed', a fact which Chris Raab, a member of the 'CKY crew' then proceeds to remedy.
* Appeared in the
Simpsons episode "
D'oh-in In the Wind" as a former
hippie. In a previous episode,
Krusty the Clown is told he's being sued by Carlin for plagiarizing Carlin's
Seven Words You Can't Say on TV routine.
* He is good friends with actor
Joe Pesci whom he mentioned in his bit "There Is No God", found in the 1999 album
You Are All Diseased. * Admirer of the late
Lenny Bruce. In contemporary comedy, some of his favourites include
Steven Wright,
Lewis Black,
Mitch Hedberg,
Dave Chappelle,
Jerry Seinfeld,
Jon Stewart and
Bill Maher.
* In the Pixar movie
Cars, George's character (Fillmore) has a license plate of 51237, presumably a reference to George Carlin's birthdate of May 12, 1937.
* He has said that complaining is a motif for him in his work. Over the last 25 years, a substantial portion of his stand-up material has been deeply antagonistic towards things that anger him. Some of his targets include corporate criminals, golf, the
House of Blues, baby boomers, environmentalists, macho men, religion, advertising, obesity, fast-food, stupidity, consumerism, "Guys Named Todd", Republicans, deadbeat parents, airport security and euphemistic language.
* He appeared in a cameo role in
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back as an elderly hitchhiker who performs
fellatio on an overweight truck driver in exchange for a ride.
*
Official Website*
at Ticketmaster*
Interview with Carlin on
NPR's
Fresh Air (November 1, 2004)
*
The Onion Interview with Carlin*
1993 Interview With Carlin (21 minutes)
*
A collection of George Carlin Quotes*
Rotten Library - George Carlin
