George Carlin
Edgy comic George Carlin dies in L.A., aged 71 | U.S. | Reuters
Known for his edgy, provocative material developed over 50 years, the bald, bearded Carlin achieved status as an anti-Establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine called “Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television.”
Ah, jeez… I’m sorry to see this. George Carlin was much more than just an “anti-Establishment icon”. He was a genuinely funny and very smart guy who had a lot of interesting and important things to say about contemporary culture.
My earliest memories of George Carlin are of him as the “hippy dippy weatherman” on the Smothers Brothers show.
It had only recently been announced that Carlin was going to be awarded the Mark Twain prize. At least he got that well-deserved recognition before he left.
Posted by RebeccaHartong on June 23, 2008 under Life
I was just reading blogs before emailing you about the death of George Carlin. But, of course, you beat me to it. Since I heard the news (this morning during my shower) I’ve been hearing in my head, “This is Jane.” “Jane? Jane who?” “Jane. You met me at a party 6 – 8 weeks agooooo. You said I was a real good sport.” “Oh, yeah. Jane. How the hell are you Jane?” “Pregnant. And I’m going to jump out a window.” “Ah. Jane. You are a good sport aren’t you?” I had (have, actually) a couple of his albums and back in 9th grade I could recite word for word every routine on them. More recently I would chuckle everytime I saw my kids watching him as “Mr. Conductor” on the children’s show “Shining Time Station” … how ironic that a man pretty well known for his “foul mouth” was idolized by little kids as a sweet and loving character. Anyway … I was sad to hear the news. He was a memorable part of my teen-ager-hood.
Oops! That was me! Jodie!
I, too, was sad to hear the news. My roommate was not. He apparently thought Carlin was an asshole. Well, in one way, yeah, but a very funny one who didn’t roll over for stupid people. Last night before I heard he had died, I had just looked in the refrigerator to see some strange thing. I asked my roommate if it was meatloaf. He said his mother had brought over some cake that looked like meatloaf. I immediately said, “Hmmm. Could be meat; could be cake. It’s… MEATCAKE!”
To quote Carlin on the night he died is just plain kismet to me.