Award-winning comedian George Carlin dies

We'll miss you.

Man, what a sad way to start a Monday.

Yeah, when I saw the news I said, "Sh!t, p!ss, f@ck, c@nt, c@cks@cker, m@therf@cker, t!ts !!!!!" out of homage.

I really liked him. I enjoyed his HBO specials and books.

ahh... the 7 words you can't say on TV?

I thought he was younger than that. My dad (73) will be back from a Job in the Carribean at the end of this week.

Yes, sad indeed. My favorite routine was "icebox man" and the famous meat-cake.

Scott

I hear ya fred, my dad is 74, but AFAIK, he didn't do anywhere near the amount of cocaine and speed that George did, so hopefully our dads will be around a good long time.

Time to break out the Carlin mp3s...

Today is the first time that I've honestly feel the loss for some I've never meet ... almost as if I've lost a dear close friend.
He'll be missed.

I agree. My wife almost cried when I told her.

I remember just a few months ago listening to him do an interview with Sonny Fox on XM Comedy. Very neat to hear about his life, and not just the comedy side of him. They ended the show by Sonny asking him what he'd like his epitaph to say...

"Where did he go? He was just here!"

Very unique man. I didn't agree with everything he had to say, but I agreed with a lot. Regardless, I loved his his "cut through the BS" perspective.

I briefly met the man back in 1971. My band was playing at a small club in Santa Monica, CA (The Attica - long gone now) when in walks Carlin while we were on a break. He explained that he was working on a new routine and asked if it would be OK with us if, during our break, he tried it out on our audience (1 cook, 1 owner, 1 drug dealer, 2 waitresses, 2 drunks, 3 weirdos, 4 stoned hippies, and the band). Silly question.

Everyone was so awed by his celebrity that we all sat there completely stone faced. He had to stop his routine and just talk to us awhile to get us to loosen up. I have always wondered if that experience caused him to, never again, try out his material under similar circumstances. Sadly, I will never have the opportunity to ask him now. RIP.

Cool story, Jack!

I agree with those above who felt a connection to George. When he captured something in a routine, I would feel sometimes as though he was speaking for me. I wouldn't have been able to capture it as eloquently or pointedly as he did, but I saw the truth in it, and therein was the humor.

I feel the same way about certain bloggers (Deus ex Malcontent) and newspaper columnists (Thomas Friedman, Leonard Pitts). I like them so much because almost all the time they express beautifully just what I would like to say.

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."

R.I.P. George!

A good comedian can get away with that and it helps to remind us that we need to take life less seriously. However, don't try it if you don't have the knack. Otherwise, you come across as just plain offensive weather it's meant in humor or not.

Thank goodness, we have some people who can pull it off.

Which ones?

I know one that doesn't have it. Bob Saget. His latest HBO comedy show for me was uncomfortable (at best) to watch, maybe i didn't get it, dunno.
Another one that doesn't have it is that Mencia guy, hate his comedy, plain moronic.

They are indeed rare.

Sean Majumder comes to mind rather quickly though. In his stand up routines, he often ridicules the customs of his East Indian heritage, mostly at the expense of his father, but yet the Indians in the crowd love his stuff and he is asked to perform at many an Indian cultural event.

Also, he is cherished as a national treasure in his home province of Newfoundland, despite the fact that he makes fun of NFL culture more than anything else.

Some people just have what it takes, a silliness, the right smile, or the knack of making people realize, "You know what?....That is kinda silly."

I won't speak for Murph, but I agree with what he's saying.

For me, comics like Sam Kinison, Andrew Dice Clay, or Jackie Martling (to name three that come to mind) aren't very funny because their acts were/are just meant to shock and inflame people. Obscene language just for the sake of being obscene isn't really funny to me. And believe me, I'm not a prude. I can enjoy a good 'bodily function' joke with the best of them, but it's just sort of mindless comedy that gets old after a few minutes.

Comics like George Carlin and Lewis Black use the same words, but in the context of making a point about society. In Carlins case, yes, he used the words to shock people. But he did it to point out how absurd it is that we have just decided that these 7 words are to be 'dirty'. His bit when he discusses the 7 'dirty words' is both intelligent and hilarious. Many people can't see past the fact that he's just using 'the words', and just label it as obscenity. Can't listen to that! It's their loss. Carlin, Black, and others make it a point to show us how silly and absurd our society can be, and I enjoy that brand of comedy very much.

An FYI for anyone with XM Radio, I heard that XM150 is doing an entire day of Carlin tomorrow. &

Totally agree with you about Bob Saget and his HBO show. I can't say I didn't chuckle once or twice, but after 10 minutes or so it was just obscenity for the sake of shocking people with the fact that 'Family Matters' & 'America's Funniest Home Videos' guy can swear a lot.

I agree with your choices for the most part as well.

However, I was actually being snarky and referring to the Axiom board comedians, seeing if anybody would name names. Heh.

I have never liked Mencia much, and he has been called out for plagiarizing other comedians, such as the Bill Cosby football player's "Hi Mom!" bit from "Himself".

Another guy who just is not funny to me: Dane Cook. I watched some of an HBO special of his and didn't laugh for ten minutes, then turned it off. How he is a star is beyond me.

Lewis Black is awesome. Anyone connected with the Daily Show has been gold.

I would say that any comedian who has appeared in a commercial is not funny. I'm sure I will be contradicted shortly.

Also: for the most part (here's where I'll really get the flames), Will Ferrell is not funny. Except when he's doing his impersonation of James Lipton. Even then, it really only works when he's across from Lipton.

Neither is David Spade (except in Emperor's New Groove, and he was well supported there) or Adam Sandler.

Chris Farley was never, ever funny--just painful.

Just in case you think I merely hate SNL, I think most of the early comedians were fantastic, even if they've started to fade now. Dan Akroyd comes to mind, as does Tom--err--John Candy, and of course Steve Martin.

KC, If you keep talking like that, Your going to end up living in a VANNNN Down by the RIVERRRRR !!!!

That's pretty much the only work by Chris Farley I find funny, but it cracks me up every time. Especially after I learned that when he gets all upset and trips, smashing the coffee table, that it wasn't on purpose.

You can still feel free to hate it.

See above. Painful. That's pretty much exactly the clip I was thinking about.

Well, I don't like Seinfeld much, either, but I have to say that his characterization of George is spot on (found on daringfireball.net)


(original link: NYTimes)

John Welch (perhaps only Ken knows who he is) did a great eulogy here.

I find it ironic that John Welch of all people misspelled (or failed to check the spelling of) "there" in one of his Carlin quotes.

Dane Cook. Just plain unfunny. His special on cable was not only unfunny, it was uncreative, lame and generally juvenile. I don't get him, either. I wouldn't mind hanging out with the guy - seems cool enough. But I just wouldn't want him to dominate the conversation is all - what does that say about your average comedian.

I just watched "Good Luck Chuck" with Dane Cook. Dreadful movie. I'm not familiar enough with his stand up routine.

If you didnt like Dane in that movie try "Dan in Real Life".
I think he singlehanded ruined it. :-)

I agree with the juvenile comment, Dane Cook might be funny if he were a teenager , but dang, he is in his late thirties.

And boy oh boy, is Blu-ray not kind to him.

Couldn't agree more, Peter. The comedy that makes me laugh, has to have a genuine element of wit. Not every one of Carlin's jokes hit the mark, but the vast majority of them did. And, when they did, as already mentioned, it was both hilarious and a profound relief to find someone who could humorously verbalize what I, myself, was feeling.

I can't watch Wil Farrell, and many of the others mentioned here. I liked Adam Sandler in Spanglish, but haven't been able to tolerate him in much else.

Will Ferrell has done enough for me over the years. David Spade has done some decent stuff as well, and I think Just Shoot Me was an underrated show. Adam Sandler has done his share of crap, but Happy Gilmore still cracks me up, and he's always funny in interviews.

You're right about the early SNL comedians fading, but when watching their earlier work, I forget now why I thought they were funny before. Dan Akroyd, Chevy Chase, and Steve Martin make me sadder than John Candy does, and they're still alive. Let's not even get into Eddie Murphy.

I have to admit I've laughed at some Dane Cook material, but overall he does piss me off.

Oh, and I guess I haven't said anything about George Carlin. I have to admit I'm not too familiar with his standup, but the stuff I've caught him in I enjoyed. I'm definitely sad to hear of his passing.

Anyway, as far as stand-up, I'd probably put Mitch Hedberg and Louis CK at the top of my list, and as far as comedic actors, I don't know that anyone approaches Stephen Chow. Ha ha.

In case anyone is interested, NBC will rebroadcast a 1975 Saturday Night Live episode this weekend where George Carlin was host.

Yeah, CV, Mitch Hedberg was really awesome. His stuff lives on, carries very well.

I also like the stand-up of Jim Gaffigan.

"hot pocket"

Jim Gaffigan's stand up is pretty damned funny.

And now they make the breakfast Hot Pocket! "Good morning! You're going to call in sick!!!"

And I can't help but think of him every time I see a manatee at Sea World. "Yeah, whatever, sea cow!"

Good stuff.

I gotta watch his routine again (I think you can stream it off of Netflix). Some seriously funny stuff. I think it's mostly his delivery and the way that jokes build and build and build.