When I heard the news this morning that comedian George Carlin had died yesterday at the age of 71 (not bad for a guy with long-term heart problems and a love of cocaine), I was immediately overcome by the urge to stage my own all-day Carlin Comedy Festival. Alas, Carlin's death has not yet been made a national holiday, so I am instead at my desk attempting to complete this week's edition of Creative Loafing for your consumption on Wednesday. That's an odd conundrum for me, since though I wish I wasn't at work right now, I wouldn't be sitting here had I not encountered one of Carlin's HBO specials in the early 80s (when I was far too young and impressionable to be watching late-night cable TV).
The standard boiling-down of Carlin's career is as follows: Straight-laced nightclub comic transitions to counterculture icon after seeing Lenny Bruce perform, writes "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television" and ends up the impetus for a Supreme Court case that resulted from its airing, performed varied acting duties (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Prince of Tides and Mr. Conductor on TV's Shining Time Station among them), but remained a dedicated stand-up comic to the end. As of last weekend, Carlin was still performing.
Though true, this rundown largely misses the point for me. Before all else, George Carlin was a linguist and a truth-teller, combining these skills to surgically carve up sacred cows and everyday life alike. The love of language runs through Carlin's work — from stories of riding the NY subways as a kid listening to the multi-culti accents to his deconstruction of the evolution of the term "shell shock" into "post traumatic stress disorder" — and it was this love that most attracted me to his work. To my ear, Carlin's routines are more musical performance than stand-up comedy routine.
So, in lieu of my Carlin Comedyfest, here (in no particular order) are 5 of my favorite Carlin moments from YouTube:
