George Carlin

• Born: May 12, 1937
• Birthplace: Bronx, New York
• Died: June 22, 2008
• Place of death: Santa Monica, California

Comedian George Carlin launched his stand-up comedy act near the end of Lenny Bruce's career in the late 1950s, and continued to challenge the status quo throughout the next five decades. During that time, Carlin recorded twenty-two albums--ten that were nominated for Grammys, four that won--starred in fourteen HBO specials, authored three books and made numerous appearances in film and on television. Carlin would eventually become one of the most popular comedians of his time, and was particularly known for his exuberant embrace of the English language and his often caustic, irreverent humor. In addition, like Bruce, Carlin was considered a brilliant social satirist, and he successfully used dark humor to toy with taboo subjects that provoked discussions about language, sexuality, politics and religion.

Early Life

George Denis Patrick Carlin was born into an Irish American family on May 12, 1937, in New York City. His mother, Mary Carlin, separated from George's father shortly after his birth. Carlin's father, an advertising display sales representative, died when George was just two years old. His mother became a secretary in order to support George and his older brother, Patrick.

Carlin was considered the "class clown" in elementary school and struggled academically, although not for lack of intelligence. He dropped out of school at the age of sixteen and worked at odd jobs before joining the United States Air Force (USAF). Stationed in Shreveport, Louisiana, he was discharged one year later for failure to appear for guard duty, driving while intoxicated, and for failure to keep his room clean. He did, however, find a niche as a disc jockey at nearby radio station KJOE.

He began his comedy career during the late 1950s, doing conventional stand-up routines that included one-liners and character impressions that appealed mostly to a mainstream middle-aged audience. Partnering with Jack Burns, the duo performed in nightclubs and as the "Wright Brothers" morning disc jockeys on a California radio station. They produced a record together, Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight, although Carlin joked later that it was not recorded at the club, but in a studio. In 1962, the duo made their first appearance on the Tonight Show.

While working in nightclubs, Carlin met his future wife, Brenda Hosbrook, whom he married in 1961. Their daughter, Kelly, was born in 1963. Carlin and his wife were married thirty-six years, until she died in 1997 of liver cancer.

Lenny Bruce & the Counterculture

During the 1950s, Carlin had met the controversial comedian Lenny Bruce, who had been arrested several times on obscenity charges. Bruce would inspire Carlin to take bigger risks with his audience and play with the dark side of human nature. In the late 1960s, as Carlin began to experiment with the drug LSD, he also experimented on stage with profanity and subjects considered taboo even in a comedy club. He was fired at one club and others began to cancel his shows as word spread about his use of "indecent" language. The counterculture of the 1960s, however, began to embrace his edgy humor.

In 1972, Carlin was arrested at a public performance in Milwaukee for his now infamous "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" piece from Class Clown, a routine that pokes fun at taboo words in American society. (He later expanded the list to 2,247 words.) The charges were dismissed, but it propelled Carlin into the limelight and provoked much discussion about the role of media and the true meaning of indecency.

In 1973, New York City radio station WBAI-FM, owned by Pacifica Foundation, aired a longer version of "Seven Words" on an afternoon show titled "Filthy Words." A listener filed a complaint and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) cited the station for violating the 1927 law that prohibits use of indecent language on the air. Pacifica sued over the First Amendment and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where the law essentially remained intact, although the 5-4 vote indicated a loosening of standards. The law applies specifically during those hours when children would be likely to be watching television or listening to the radio.

Acting Lessons

Carlin ventured into acting in 1966 when he played Marlo Thomas's theatrical agent on the television show, That Girl. He played a carhop in his first movie, With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), which starred Brian Keith and Doris Day, and a taxi driver in the award-winning Car Wash (1976). He viewed these first acting jobs as humbling experiences, but worked on his technique and found more satisfaction with roles in Outrageous Fortune (1987), Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), and Prince of Tides (1991). Some of his later movies included Dogma (1998) and Jersey Girl (2004).

Beginning in the 1970s, Carlin appeared regularly on the Tonight Show, Merv Griffin, and Tony Orlando, and Dawn. As a testament of his appeal to youth, he served as the first guest host on Saturday Night Live in 1975. He later starred in his own TV series, The George Carlin Show, although it lasted just one season (1994).

Many children were introduced to George Carlin in his role as Mr. Conductor on the PBS series Shining Time Station (1991-93). Carlin also narrated Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (1991-98) and more recently did the voice of Fillmore in Cars (2006) and the Wizard in Happily N'Ever After (2006).

Recordings & Books

Between 1976 and 1981, Carlin virtually stopped public performances, and audiences saw him only on the HBO specials he began recording. This was the beginning of a thirty-year partnership with HBO, during which Carlin produced a total of fourteen specials. In 1978, Carlin experienced his first heart attack. He restarted his stand-up career again in 1981, with the release of his album A Place For My Stuff.

AM & FM was Carlin's first record to reach wide acclaim, and it won a Grammy in 1972 for best comedy recording. Class Clown, also released that year, was his first record to attain gold status (500,000 copies sold). In addition to the poignant "Seven Words," Class Clown also featured "Muhammad Ali—America the Beautiful," a skit that satirized the US government's decision to prosecute Ali for his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War. That decision resulted in Ali being stripped of his boxing title and prohibited from boxing for three and one-half years. The anti-war Carlin joked sarcastically, "The government said, 'Well if you won't kill them, we won't let you beat 'em up!'"

Other records that sold over a million copies included Occupation Foole (1973), in which Carlin pokes fun at work and his own occupation, and An Evening with Wally Londo (1975), which contains the classic "Baseball-Football," a comedic contrast between the two sports. On average, Carlin released an album about every two years. In 1986, he founded Eardrum Records and re-released his previous recordings on CD.

Taboo Subjects & Themes

Carlin returned to similar themes and subjects over the course of his career. He shunned organized religion and ridiculed his own Roman Catholic upbringing in skits such as the "Ten Commandments," in which he reduced the list to two succinct commandments that "Moses could have carried in his pocket!" Sexuality, politics and politicians, and American values provided Carlin with much fodder, as did his mastery of the English language. On "Euphemisms" from Doin' it Again (1992), he joked about the multi-syllabic, euphemistic term "post-traumatic stress disorder." "If we had still been calling it 'shell shock' [as they did in World War I] some of those Vietnam veterans might have gotten the attention they needed!"

Carlin was able to find humor in subjects that most comedians left untouched, including rape and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In Complaints and Grievances (2001), recorded not long after 9/11, he ridiculed President Bush's promotion of consumerism. "Go out and buy some jewelry and a new car, otherwise the terrorists win!" Mass-consumerism formed the basis for another popular skit, "A Place for My Stuff." "Your house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff!" After recording well over a dozen records, Carlin published his first book, Brain Droppings (1997), followed by Napalm and Silly Putty (2001) and When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops (2004). They each became bestsellers and the audio book versions earned him two more Grammy awards.

Personal Life

In 2004, George Carlin sought treatment at a rehabilitation center for his dependence on alcohol and the painkiller Vicodin. Although he had previously abused other substances, this was the first time he had ever felt the need to seek professional help. However, after regaining his emotional health, Carlin suffered a fatal heart attack on June 22, 2008. He was survived by his wife Sally Wade, a television writer whom he married in 1998.

Carlin's final album, It's Bad For Ya, was released posthumously. The 2008 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was also officially awarded after his death. With that honor, he joined other great American comedians, including Lenny Bruce.

Bibliography

Bella, Timothy. “The '7 Dirty Words' Turn 40, but They're Still Dirty.” The Atlantic, 24 May 2012, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/05/the-7-dirty-words-turn-40-but-theyre-still-dirty/257374/. Accessed 2 Sept. 2022.

Watkins, Mel, and Bruce Weber. “George Carlin, Comic Who Chafed at Society and Its Constraints, Dies at 71.” The New York Times, 24 June 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24carlin.html. Accessed 2 Sept. 2022.

Zoglin, Richard. “How George Carlin Changed Comedy.” TIME, 23 June 2008, http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1817192,00.html. Accessed 2 Sept. 2022.