George Carlin dead at 71

[Trek]

I thought this guy was hilarious. He'll be missed by many.

Comedian George Carlin dies in Los Angeles at 71 - Yahoo! News

[samclem]

Yep. He skewered a lot of sacred cows, but society needs folks that can cast a harsh light on some of the craziness. So long, George.

[Sarah in SC]

I loved his bit on cats and dogs. Such a funny guy!
Wow, made it to 71, though, and with his history of cardiac problems and drug use, that is a pretty good life.
Losing Carlin and Harvey Korman so close together--well, where they're going is sure going to be a funnier place.

[Moemg]

Last time I saw him in concert I laughed so hard I hurt . Too bad he died now with this election he would have had a lot of new material.

[bbbamI]

I saw him about 20 years ago in St. Louis. He was really on his, um, soapbox. He's given me a lot of laughs over the years. Rest in peace George.

[HFWR]

Hi, gang, Scott Lame here. The boss jock with the boss sounds from the boss list of the boss thirty that my boss told me to play. Right here on the nifty eight-fifty...

WWWWW IIIII NNNNN OOOOO

Wonderful WINO radio!

Wonderful WINO, more hits, more often...

[TromboneAl]

I had just watched some YouTube videos of him, and was thinking how well he remembered so much material. What a language guy!

This clip

shows him looking pretty old in a snow covered graveyard, doing a bit that's much more political commentary than humor.

Here's one where he's more in his prime (thanks Jambo101):

YouTube - George Carlin on Language

[DRiP Guy]

Carlin quote - “Scratch any cynic,” he said, “and you’ll find a disappointed idealist.”

Even if you weren't crazy about him, you ought to watch the last three minutes of this ten minute clip (from 07:00 on; the first seven minutes are his usual routine) from an appearance on Mike Douglas in 1971.

YouTube - George Carlin - Mike Douglas Show 1971

[Khan]

From 1983 or so:

Quote:

An update on the comedian health sweepstakes. I currently lead Richard Pryor in heart attacks 2 to 1. But Richard still leads me 1 to nothing in burning yourself up. See, it happened like this. First Richard had a heart attack. Then I had a heart attack. Then Richard burned himself up. And I said, '**** that. I'm having another heart attack!

[Westernskies]

George Carlin dead?

1. $#it
2. p!$$
3. @~#+
4. @*@#$~@#%^
5. #0+#@~#^@##~
6. +!+$
7. @$$

I'll miss his unique humor and social commentary.

[RonBoyd]

"Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck." ~ George Carlin

"Death is caused by swallowing small amounts of saliva over a long period of time." ~ George Carlin

and some others at:

http://financialphilosopher.typepad....ge-carlin.html

[REWahoo]

George Carlin was responsible for one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

25 years ago DW and I saw him perform at a dinner show in Tahoe. We were sitting at a table with our prim, proper CEO and his wife - a very nice couple with midwestern values forged in the 1950's. As Carlin launched into some of his more risque language, I could see the guy squirm in his chair and a very strange look on his wife's face. I first felt sorry for them but as things progressed I found myself laughing as much at their discomfort as at Carlin's humor.

Things across the table really got interesting when Carlin ended his show with an updated (at the time) version of "Seven words you can't say on TV". Not only did he tell us what those 7 words were, but he announced he'd compiled a list of other words and phrases you can't say on TV - then proceeded to read all 300 of them!

The couple sitting across from us cringed in horror as Carlin carefully, one by one, spoke every dirty word and euphemism for sexual activity you can imagine, pausing between each for effect. I was certain the CEO was going to have a heart attack. His wife slumped down in her seat - I think she was trying to determine if she could get under the table without being noticed. DW and I were laughing so hard we were crying, attempting not to look over at them and give away the real source of our entertainment!

For a while after that trip I was a little nervous about my future with the company. But a couple of weeks later when he fired his administrative assistant for booking us tickets to see Carlin performance issues, I stopped worrying.

The Hippy-Dippy Weatherman was one of a kind...

[Jay_Gatsby]

He probably feels cheated that he passed BEFORE they could give him the Mark Twain prize for American Humor. I can only imagine what would come out of his mouth from the stage of the Kennedy Center with the President (and President-elect) in attendance.

[ProspectiveBum]

My wife and I were lucky enough to see him in concert 6 or 7 years ago. My side still hurts. He did a show of mostly new material (with a few favorite bits thrown in), and it was amazingly good.

He'll be missed...

[lazygood4nothinbum]

a very funny man and another name i grew up with relegated to the tombs. time marches on.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Losing Carlin and Harvey Korman so close together--well, where they're going is sure going to be a funnier place.

Well, maybe, but George wasn't much of a believer in such a place. I think he was determined to get all he could out of this life on the assumption this was the single shot we get.
plime.com*:*George Carlin- Religion

I think he was right, but if he was wrong--well . . .

[Rivrider]

YouTube - Baseball and Football

[Purron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem Well, maybe, but George wasn't much of a believer in such a place. I think he was determined to get all he could out of this life on the assumption this was the single shot we get. plime.com*:*George Carlin- Religion I think he was right, but if he was wrong--well . . .

samclem,

This, IMHO, is one of his most brilliant pieces of work. Thanks for posting this - I really enjoyed seeing it again.

[growing_older]

Tonight's forecast.... Dark.

[retire@40]

Comedian Carlin Paid $3 Million Tax Debt


New York June 24, 2008
By WebCPA staff
|


The late comedian George Carlin had a $3 million tax debt that took him about two decades to pay off, but he credited the debt with keeping him working as a comic.
The Web site Don't Mess with Taxes included a link to a 2001 interview with Esquire magazine in which Carlin discussed his old tax problems.
"Because of my abuse of drugs, I neglected my business affairs and had large arrears with the IRS, and that took me 18 to 20 years to dig out of," he said. "I did it honorably, and I don't begrudge them. I don't hate paying taxes, and I'm not angry at anyone, because I was complicit in it. But I'll tell you what it did for me: It made me a way better comedian. Because I had to stay out on the road and I couldn't pursue that movie career, which would have gone nowhere, and I became a really good comic and a really good writer."
Carlin also talked about his tax debt with Bankrate.com last December to explain why he started doing commercials for long-distance service provider 10-10-220. "In the early '80s I discovered that I had made bad business decisions during the last half of the '70s and was deeply in debt to the IRS," he said. "It was still 70 percent tax at the time. I was behind. The penalties and interest were burying me, and I had no career to speak of. ... Penalties and interest on back taxes make a mountain out of a mole hill."