Remembering George Carlin

Posted June 23, 2008, 7:08 am in Television
Credit Growing Bolder

George Carlin, the irreverent king of counterculture comedians died of heart failure Sunday. He was 71. Carlin loved to push boundaries and was best known for his "Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV" routine.

Carlin had a history of heart trouble but performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. Jack Burns, Carlin's comedy partner in the early 1960s, told the Associated Press: "He was a genius and I will miss him dearly."

He won four Grammy Awards, and was nominated for five Emmy awards. Just last week, it was announced that he was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Carlin's was a prolific and unapologetic humorist, producing 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, three books, two TV shows and appearing in several movies.

It's not easy finding examples of Carlin's work that's not peppered with obscenity. That's what he did. But he was a brilliant observational humorist. This is Carlin comparing baseball to football.