Bye, George

I Used To Be Irish Catholic

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This almost-gentle dissection of the comic's religious roots struck a chord with me, a Roman Catholic kid who had spent his elementary school years attending St. William The Abbot catholic school in Seaford, New York. Carlin's routine helped give me the courage to face that nagging feeling I kept having that the adults were all lying to me about this whole religion thing.

Flying On The Airlines

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Carlin divided the world into two halves: the big world, the focus of his "serious" political and social commentary, and the little world, comprised of those small moments we all share. One suck small moment: flying on the airlines. Carlin talked about the airlines periodically throughout his career, but distilled his thoughts down to one perfect airline bit for his 1992 special Jammin' In New York. That special, Carlin's '90s comeback after a decade of health troubles and addiction recovery, debuted the comedian's more angry stage persona (an act he rode to the end). Jammin' In New York is gold from start to finish.

Seven Words You Can't Say On Television

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Carlin's Hamlet. A bit so obvious it took a genius to pull it off, Carlin tweaked the Seven Words throughout his career — adding to (and sometimes subtracting from) the list year after year. I saw Carlin perform twice in the late '90s— at Bally's in Las Vegas and at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater — and both shows contained some variation on the Seven Words. At the Ruth Eckerd show, I bought a poster of 2400 or so obscene words and phrases as compiled by George Carlin. I still have it and consult it for inspiration more frequently than my mother would like.

Carlin on Driving

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I had to include some of Carlin's material on driving, if for no other reason than I say "Cops didn't see it, I didn't do it. I'm gone!" at least twice a day.

The Hippy-Dippy Weather Man

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What Carlin list would be complete without a visit from Al Sleet, everyone's favorite weatherman? Certainly not this one. In fact, here's a second Al Sleet clip, this time from a 1966 Tonight Show appearance. Note that Johnny almost falls out of his chair.

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And, finally, a bonus clip. Here's Carlin on death:

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Have fun with The Big Electron, George. The world is a less interesting place without you in it.

(Photo Credit: Point-Shoot-Edit)