You may have already found out, but I just heard that George Carlin died this evening. He was one of my heroes. He did things his way. He thought about life in a way that I admire. Sure, sometimes he was a little too abrasive, a little too brash, maybe went too far sometimes, but most of the time the guy was directly on target. He scored bulls eyes against hypocrisy where ever it lay: religion, politicians, authority figures, the rich, war makers, and the powerful. Even though his ideals made him a hero of the "counterculture" and the left, progressives were sometimes the target of his searing jibes, directed at some of those whose ideas seemed well-intentioned at the time, but when Carlin put his magnifying glass of bullshitism on them, seemed hypocritical, snotty and dumb. To me, that made him all the more persuasive as a person who wanted to do the "right thing," but in his own way.
We lost a guy who was one of the greatest comedians, an author and a spokesman for those who did not want to just follow the rules and go away quietly. He saw through the BS, and gave us stuff to think about in the process. Sometimes I would be listening to one of his gigs and he would say something that would just blow me away-like "hey yeah-that is so true!" Who could forget the 7 Dirty Words controversy? He was fired from a headlining Las Vegas Nev. gig because the people couldn't handle his kind of humor. (I guess he was getting pretty dark for this gig though!) saying, that "People who go to Las Vegas, you've got to question their fucking intellect to start with. Traveling hundreds and thousands of miles to essentially give your money to a large corporation is kind of fucking moronic." Hmmm that's just pretty much how I feel! (sorry if you like to do that!)
Just a few days ago it was noted that he had earned the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor that was to be awarded to him this November. I think he deserved the prize, don't you?
Hey George-we're really gonna miss you! Here are some great George clips and an mp3 you can download!
This clip epitomizes what George was about! (I think)
Those Seven Notorious Words!
Ever the equal opportunity insulter:
George Carlin on religion (mp3 you can download-(leftclick and then listen or DL):
http://www.box.net/shared/avf70vhgk4
Related Tags: George Carlin comedians
14 comments:
Yours was the first blog I checked to see if you had posted about it because I knew you were a fan like me. It's really sad. The nice thing is that he did what he loved right up until his death. Normally I don't get too emotional when someone I didn't know personally dies, but this one is tough. He was the best.
Hey thanks Chris-I got kinda emotional myself-my father was also 71 when he passed away a few years ago and it made me rememeber.
Yeah-you're right- at least he hadn't given up on his routine!
thanks for commiserating!
The guy was a total genius. It really sucks.
i really liked carlin
funny, original, true to himself, never budged
he will be sorely missed
Grant and Dcap: thanks for stopping by-I think people like us who really liked the guy are still in a kinda shock-it was sudden-wasn't like he had been in the hospital or was not performing anymore. Yeah it does suck!
SIGH.
Damn it, how did you get this news story before me?
Hi falwless -thanks for dropping by-(I love YOUR blog) Anyway,I just happened to be on the Comcast homepage and saw it-breaking news-I think it had just happened about 2-3 hours earlier. Big loss for us snarky, people!
So true what he said about edumucation!
George we will miss you!
I love George Carlin too.
His intellect is what did it for me. As down and dirty as his comedy was, it was the truth behind it that made people laugh, and when they weren't laughing, they were probably inwardly questioning themselves. ("Hey! He's talking about ... ME!") Either way ... what he sparked in people ... laughter, (anger leading to) introspection ... was valuable. But ... when it's your time to go, gotta go ...
Rest easy good fellow.
Micgar -- You handled this post quite rightly.
Hey J. M. thanks for coming by and checking out the post about Carlin! I really liked the guy. I liked what you said about how when we weren't laughing, the joke might be a little more close to home. I agree-cause sometimes he did cut say some things that were a little "too incisive"! Anyway Thanks for stopping in! I will have to come by and check out your blog!
Did you see SNL on Saturday? They played the original SNL that Carlin hosted. He had a bit in the middle comparing baseball and football. I'd never heard it. It was soooooo funny and totally timeless. He was one of the best. No doubt.
His answer to why we're here is just brilliant.
Arjan-I was continually amazed at how thoughtful his comedy was/is. It was like he had thought and thought about this stuff, but really I think he was just pretty brilliant!
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