Monday, June 23, 2008 | Reason : Comedy | print version

Award-winning comedian George Carlin dies

by CNN

Reposted from:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/06/23/carlin.obit/index.html

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Comedian-actor George Carlin, know for his raunchy, but insightful humor, died Sunday in Los Angeles, his publicist said. He was 71.

Jeff Abraham says Carlin went into St. John's Health Center on Sunday afternoon, complaining of chest pain. Carlin died at 5:55 p.m. PDT, the Associated Press reported.

Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.

Carlin was best known for his routine "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television," which appeared 1972's "Class Clown" album.

When Carlin uttered all seven at a show in Milwaukee in 1972, he was arrested for disturbing the peace, the AP reported. The comedy sketch prompted a landmark indecency case after WBAI-FM radio aired it in 1973.

The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where the justices ruled on a 5-to-4 vote that the sketch was "indecent but not obscene," giving the FCC broad leeway to determine what constituted indecency on the airwaves.

"So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of," Carlin said. "In the context of that era, it was daring."

"It just sounds like a very self-serving kind of word. I don't want to go around describing myself as a 'groundbreaker' or a 'difference-maker' because I'm not and I wasn't," he said. "But I contributed to people who were saying things that weren't supposed to be said."

Carlin, who was also an author, was slated to receive the 2008 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in November.

"In his length career as a comedian, writer, and actor, George Carlin has not only made us laugh, but he makes us think," Stephen Schwarzman, Kennedy Center chairman, said in a statement. "His influence on the next generation of comics has been far-reaching."

In a typical wry response, Carlin said: "Thank you Mr. Twain. Have your people call my people."

Carlin hosted the first broadcast of "Saturday Night Live" in October 1975.

He played the character of Mr. Conductor on the PBS series "Shining Time Station" and starred in more than a dozen HBO specials. Carlin was also a regular on The Tonight Show.

Also see:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/23/arts/24carlin.php

Some classic George Carlin on religion:
http://richarddawkins.net/article,772,Religion,George-Carlin

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1. Comment #197926 by Count von Count on June 23, 2008 at 12:15 am

So it goes. R.I.P., great one.

A tribute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o
(Religion is bullshit)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niqVVENiY2c&feature=related
(Touched by an atheist)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyWEBbFwU1o&feature=related
(The 10 Commandments)

http://www.shoutfile.com/v/73itq29e/George_Carlin_The_Sanctity_Of_Life
(The Sanctity Of Life)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8696002020375249116&q=george carlin&ei=RlJfSI3zFoLqrQPd84CLDg
(God)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac
(Stuff)

The only immortality he has is us continuing to listen to him.

Other Comments by Count von Count

2. Comment #197927 by WilliamP on June 23, 2008 at 12:24 am

That's really too bad. His comic acts were some of the funniest things I've ever heard.

Other Comments by WilliamP

3. Comment #197928 by Fuller on June 23, 2008 at 12:25 am

Very sad. Great man.

Other Comments by Fuller

4. Comment #197929 by mejdrich on June 23, 2008 at 12:30 am

FYI, the YouTube vids in the second link are no longer available. Here are some fresh ones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCz0-HY1TLU

Other Comments by mejdrich

5. Comment #197930 by eXcommunicate on June 23, 2008 at 12:33 am

Not one mention that he was a non-believer? Typical.

You better believe if he was a "devout" Christian who prayed every day some mention would have been made of his "deep abiding faith."

Other Comments by eXcommunicate

6. Comment #197932 by MPhil on June 23, 2008 at 12:46 am

Although I found nearly everything except for the "invisible man, living in the sky"-routine not really funny, that one was a classic and he has influenced many other great comedians. So even for me, it's a loss...

and to honor him, let us all worship the sun and pray to Joe Pesci

Other Comments by MPhil

7. Comment #197933 by Severus on June 23, 2008 at 12:52 am

Good night george.
hopefully at some time in the future someone with a time machine will come back and take your DNA away with them to fast breed honest, decent, fearless and intelligent human beings. shame no one thought of it before.
enjoy your sleep, you earned it.

Severus

Other Comments by Severus

8. Comment #197935 by Szkeptik on June 23, 2008 at 12:55 am

Sudden, but not completely unexpected. I've seen him in recent interviews and he looked way older than he actually was. I thought there wasn't much left for him.

Well, he was indeed a great comedian. I spent nights watching his shows sometimes nearly dying of laughter. He will be missed.

Other Comments by Szkeptik

9. Comment #197938 by notsobad on June 23, 2008 at 1:08 am

One of the few people I didn't know personally yet adored.

Other Comments by notsobad

10. Comment #197942 by AtheistJon on June 23, 2008 at 1:28 am

I liked his sketches on religion, but my favorite was his comparison of football and baseball:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YphEUa5LPjM

This humor I liked a lot.

Other Comments by AtheistJon

11. Comment #197948 by Logicel on June 23, 2008 at 1:46 am

I adored this fellow native New Yorker; he was sharp, clear, super quick, honest, and consistently courageous, not to mention hilariously funny and witty.

He struggled with heart problems since the Eighties and because of medicine (and not prayers), he lived decades longer than he would have.

Other Comments by Logicel

12. Comment #197952 by King of NH on June 23, 2008 at 1:50 am

I had hoped he would become the next UN Embassador. I'll miss him. He was funny as hell; smart as hell, too. A rare combination that created real talent.

Other Comments by King of NH

13. Comment #197955 by Logicel on June 23, 2008 at 1:52 am

MPhil wrote: and to honor him, let us all worship the sun and pray to Joe Pesci
_____

Yes, Pesci is the greatest deity, beating that upstart god the father, son, and holy spirit joke of a trinity by at least 37 fictional incarnations.

Other Comments by Logicel

14. Comment #197957 by Jamie Walton on June 23, 2008 at 1:57 am

I am absolutly gutted. I really don't know what to say. That was the last thing I wanted to read when I woke up this morning.

Other Comments by Jamie Walton

15. Comment #197958 by Muetze on June 23, 2008 at 1:57 am

@eXcommunicate, just ... give it a rest will you? Seriously.

Other Comments by Muetze

16. Comment #197967 by lozzer on June 23, 2008 at 2:36 am

HOLY POO!He's dead?Jesus christ!
Poor guy.And at 71 too?Bless him

Other Comments by lozzer

17. Comment #197968 by BaldySlaphead on June 23, 2008 at 2:37 am

Bum - Carlin was very funny and thought provoking, and I have a lot of respect for his work.

Would it be desperately inappropriate to say "s___, p___, f___, c___, c___sucker, motherf___ker, and t__s" if I censored them..?

Other Comments by BaldySlaphead

18. Comment #197971 by MakingBelieve on June 23, 2008 at 2:41 am

This is sad. Clever, irreverent, thought-provoking, uniquely entertaining - he will be sorely missed.

Other Comments by MakingBelieve

19. Comment #197977 by Barbara on June 23, 2008 at 2:50 am

Good night Mr. Carlin. You'll be missed for years to come.

Other Comments by Barbara

20. Comment #197979 by 8teist on June 23, 2008 at 2:55 am

Baldy, some letters have fallen off your post...

Other Comments by 8teist

21. Comment #197982 by The Reverend Dark on June 23, 2008 at 3:02 am

My first reaction to this news was verbal (figurative, not literal) and exploded outward in a single sylable.

Shit.

After a moment of quiet reflection I expanded on it.

Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits!

A man, who in his way contributed more to our understanding of ourselves than the last 15 popes combined.

Cheers,
Shayne

Other Comments by The Reverend Dark

22. Comment #197989 by home8896 on June 23, 2008 at 3:10 am

Goodbye George. Loved you.

Other Comments by home8896

23. Comment #197999 by Gems on June 23, 2008 at 3:22 am

You will be dearly missed George, thank you. Legend.

Other Comments by Gems

24. Comment #198003 by Dhamma on June 23, 2008 at 3:35 am

RIP.

I just hope there won't be any ridiculous rumours he converted on the deathbed, as has happened with several other outspoken atheists.

Other Comments by Dhamma

25. Comment #198014 by magmystio on June 23, 2008 at 3:52 am

May his soul - wait - shit.

Well, I'll miss him being alive all the same.

damn.

Other Comments by magmystio

26. Comment #198018 by Pravda on June 23, 2008 at 4:02 am

He was my favourite comedian.

Other Comments by Pravda

27. Comment #198021 by mlon on June 23, 2008 at 4:04 am

another one with his head screwed on right gone, its a sad day.

rip george.

one of my mentors.

mlon

Other Comments by mlon

28. Comment #198031 by Stephen Maxwell on June 23, 2008 at 4:34 am

He was also my favourite comedian. He'll be missed sorely but I have so much of his comedy to remember him by.

Other Comments by Stephen Maxwell

29. Comment #198033 by Darwin's badger on June 23, 2008 at 4:45 am

Big, big shame. The Frisbeetarian roof gets another soul.

Other Comments by Darwin's badger

30. Comment #198037 by designsoda on June 23, 2008 at 4:59 am

RIP

What a sad day.

Other Comments by designsoda

31. Comment #198039 by savroD on June 23, 2008 at 5:09 am

This man made me laugh, made life enjoyable, and his social commentary was spot on. It would be easy to say he's gone to a better place; but that would be an insult to his memory and to what we all known is true!

Other Comments by savroD

32. Comment #198042 by bobsully on June 23, 2008 at 5:20 am

What an amazingly funny man and more importantly such a free thinker. I think of George and a grin instantly comes to my face every time. You made us laugh at ourselves and at the same time look at ourselves more seriously too, not that we should be taken that way.

Other Comments by bobsully

33. Comment #198044 by Am I Evil? on June 23, 2008 at 5:23 am

Oh no! This is really sad news. I loved his 'Religion is Bullshit' vid so much, I spent a while transcribing it so I could read it again wherever!

RIP George, you were fantastic.

Other Comments by Am I Evil?

34. Comment #198046 by 4horsefins on June 23, 2008 at 5:24 am

"I was dead for billions and billions of years before I was born and never suffered the slightest inconvenience from it." Mark Twain

"Why should I fear death? If death is, I am not. If I am, death is not. Why should I fear something which can not be so long as I am?" Copernicus

Other Comments by 4horsefins

35. Comment #198048 by DjSouthPaw on June 23, 2008 at 5:29 am

RIP George Denis Patrick Carlin ( think thats his whole name? :o )

A Great man that could make you laugh and think at the same time..

Other Comments by DjSouthPaw

36. Comment #198051 by Johnny O on June 23, 2008 at 5:39 am

Would it be desperately inappropriate to say "s___, p___, f___, c___, c___sucker, motherf___ker, and t__s" if I censored them..?

Baldyslaphead,

I think in honour of the man, every cocksucker on this motherfucking webite should include some fucking swear words when they type their shit.

It's the least we could do.

PISSFLAPS

Other Comments by Johnny O

37. Comment #198052 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 5:43 am

I heard on the radio this morning a snippet of an interview with Carlin. He was asked how he would like to be remembered.
His reply: "He's dead? He was here just a minute ago."

With all respect:

Shit.
Fuck.
Piss.
Cunt.
Cocksucker.
Motherfucker.
Tits.

Tits? That last one shouldn't even be on there. Sounds like a snack. Tater-tits.

One of my students gave me a box of tissues this morning as a year end present (I cried during a movie we watched in class). They may come in handy.
:( and :)

Other Comments by Frankus1122

38. Comment #198055 by tieInterceptor on June 23, 2008 at 6:01 am

can't believe he is gone,

in his latest videos he really looked frail, I was afraid this was coming.

he was the best, his religious sketches really exposed the absurdity of organized religion. Carlin smashed the dogma with clever satire that made you think,

I will miss him

Other Comments by tieInterceptor

39. Comment #198056 by DoctorE on June 23, 2008 at 6:03 am

Great guy.

If god exists then Carlin is giving him a hard time right now.

Other Comments by DoctorE

40. Comment #198059 by waffleface on June 23, 2008 at 6:06 am

Goodbye you beautiful bastard.

Youtube has the entire HB0 2008 "It's bad for Ya" series online: http://youtube.com/watch?v=aRCKoT1HY3U

Other Comments by waffleface

41. Comment #198079 by dantemm on June 23, 2008 at 6:54 am

He will be missed. I've heard about every recorded piece of his, read his books, watched his DVDs, seen him live… what a great free-thinking funnyman…

~Dan
http://jazzsick.wordpress.com/

Other Comments by dantemm

42. Comment #198082 by SimUser on June 23, 2008 at 7:06 am

A true loss, words can't even say it.

Only one will work for now.

Fuck!!

Other Comments by SimUser

43. Comment #198085 by steveroot on June 23, 2008 at 7:12 am

George Carlin has achieved a *real* kind of immortality. As long as people can think and laugh, preferably at the same time, he will be remembered. We should all be so fortunate.

BTW, for an "atheist" web site, I find it interesting the number of tributes that address him as if he were still alive... ;-)
Ste5e

Other Comments by steveroot

44. Comment #198088 by b0ltzm0n on June 23, 2008 at 7:29 am

Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

Death is caused by swallowing small amounts of saliva over a long period of time.

I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don't have as many people who believe it.

I'm always relieved when someone is delivering a eulogy and I realize I'm listening to it.

I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.

If God had intended us not to masturbate he would've made our arms shorter.

As much as I'd like to give credit to TGD for opening my eyes, it was actually Carlin's "Brain Droppings", specifically the piece about Sun Worship, that got me off the fence. He will be missed.

Other Comments by b0ltzm0n

45. Comment #198093 by Border Collie on June 23, 2008 at 7:43 am

Mr. Carlin started off as a rock and roll DJ at KXOL in Fort Worth way back when I was a little kid and AM radio was THE thing. Makes me wonder sometimes if being stuck for a while in a redneck, overly religious, ultra conservative city doesn't help light the fuse on an open minded, intelligent, very funny rocket like George. Damn, what a guy!

Other Comments by Border Collie

46. Comment #198096 by geru on June 23, 2008 at 7:49 am

George Carlin was the ultimate atheist's nightmare: a god who walked among us. :)

I guess it's now up to us to keep on spreading His message. Rest in piece, may Joe bless him!

Other Comments by geru

47. Comment #198097 by SkepticalThinker31 on June 23, 2008 at 7:51 am

Comedy along with the freethinking community has lost a true giant.

Other Comments by SkepticalThinker31

48. Comment #198098 by sterge on June 23, 2008 at 7:51 am

We'll all miss you George. A voice I loved to hear that made me realize I was one of the sane ones... here's to you not "looking down on us from above" (or "looking up on us" either lol), to speaking the truth no matter how much shit you took for it.

Thanks Brother

Other Comments by sterge

49. Comment #198099 by Pattern Seeker on June 23, 2008 at 7:53 am

Let's all try to remember that our lives were better with George in it and celebrate his life. He was truly a man who loved to challenge the status quo. May Joe Pesci watch over him.

Other Comments by Pattern Seeker

50. Comment #198100 by flistr8 on June 23, 2008 at 7:54 am

George, you motherfucker, you pissed yourself good this time, didn't you. Seriously, your shit has given my lifetime a humor and perspective that couldn't be found anywhere else, at least not on public tv.

I strongly recommend to all who haven't seen it, go to youtube and search George Carlin Modern Man. It's a recent bit he did that shows how releveant his style was, literally up to the end of his days.

To test his faith in non-belief, after dissing religion and god for awhile, he would proclaim, "If there is a God, may he strike the audience dead !!" Well, after what the audience had previously been laughing at, some were obviously quite worried. When they all survived, he summoned the Almighty to smite him right there on the stage. I'm quite certain it never happened either.

We've lost a brother-in-arms in the struggle to take ourselves less seriously.

Fuck.

Other Comments by flistr8