George Carlin

George Dennis Carlin (born May 12, 1937 in New York City) is a Grammy winning Irish American ("I used to be Irish Catholic, now I'm an American. Y'know: you grow.") stand-up comedian, actor, and author, noted especially for his irreverent attitude and his observations on language and religion. He is considered by many to be a worthy successor to the late Lenny Bruce.

Biography

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 17, Carlin dropped out of high school and joined the United States Air Force, training as a radar technician. He was stationed in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he began working as a disc jockey on a local radio station. He did not complete his Air Force enlistment. On July 29, 1957, Carlin was discharged.

Related Topics:
Morningside Heights - High school - United States Air Force - Radar - Shreveport, Louisiana - Disc jockey

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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.

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In the 1960s, Carlin began appearing on television variety shows, notably Laugh In. His most famous skits were:

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• Indian war parties ("You wit' the beads...get outta line"),
• Stupid disc jockeys ("Wonderful WINO...") - "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". - "Tonight's forecast: Dark. Continued mostly dark tonight, turning to widely scattered light in the morning."
• Jon Carson - the "world never known, and never to be known"

In 1961, Carlin married Brenda Hosbrook, whom he had met while touring the previous year. The couple had a daughter, Kelly, in 1963.

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During this period, Carlin became more popular. He was cast on Away We Go, a 1967 comedy show. Carlin changed his routines, and his appearance. He lost some TV bookings by dressing as a hippie, sporting a beard and earrings, but regained his popularity as the public caught on to his sense of style. It is not clear that Carlin has ever lost his hippie sensibilities, as he retains his beard and ponytail, to this day.

Related Topics:
1967 - Hippie

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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. FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978).

Related Topics:
Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television - 1973 - FCC - Broadcast - WBAI - Pacifica Foundation - FM - Radio station - New York City - Supreme Court - FCC v. Pacifica Foundation - 1978

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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 the HBO version), and a set of 49 web pages organized by subject and embracing his "Incomplete List Of Impolite Words." Ironically, the court documents contain a complete transcript of the skit, in line with what Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said: "you cannot define obscenity without being obscene."http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/FCC_v_Pacifica/fcc_v_pacifica.decision

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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 also arrested in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and charged with violating obscenity laws.

Related Topics:
Doug Ose - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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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.

Related Topics:
NBC - Saturday Night Live - October 11 - 1975 - November 10 - 1984

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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.

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Carlin unexpectedly stopped performing in 1976, when his career appeared to be at its height. For the next five years, he rarely appeared, and performed no stand-up. It was later revealed that Carlin had suffered a heart attack.

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In the 1980s Carlin reformed. By 1989 he became popular with teens when he was cast as the mentor, Rufus, in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

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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.

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In 1997, Brenda Carlin died of liver cancer. George Carlin did not work for a year following the death of his wife. In 1999, Carlin returned with an appearance in Kevin Smith's film Dogma. He worked with Smith again with a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and a larger role in Jersey Girl.

Related Topics:
Kevin Smith - Dogma - Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - Jersey Girl

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In 2004, George Carlin was voted #2 of the Greatest Standup Comedians of All Time by Comedy Central, just behind Richard Pryor.

Related Topics:
Comedy Central - Richard Pryor

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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.

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Carlin performs regularly as a headliner in Las Vegas. He has currently begun a new tour and will have a new HBO Special on November 19, 2005.

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