George Carlin Dead

Comedy Genius Gone at 71

When I got online this morning (Monday, June 23, 2008) I saw the news that one of my all time favorite comedians had died. George Carlin was one of the funniest men I had ever seen. According to news reports, the 71-year-old comedian, who had a history of heart troubles, had checked into a hospital Sunday, June 22^nd complaining of chest pains and he died later that evening. Before I go into my ranting and ravings about how much of a genius he was, let me first say to his surviving family members that I am truly sorry for their loss. I can only hope he was half the man off stage that he was on and hope they find peace in knowing that for George the journey on this world is over.

I am too young to have seen George Carlin from the beginning of his career, but if you know anything about me then you know I don't devote myself to anything (novels, television programs, movies, etc.) just half way. I get engrossed, and with George Carlin it was the same. I watched every HBO special I could get my hands on, several times over. I watched his biography on television and saw many of the movies he was in. Just recently my wife and I watched the 1976 movie Car Wash, where George played a taxi cab driver. Watching him was always like watching a magician, you loved to see him do what he did, but you often wondered how he did it.

He began as part of a comedy duo with Jack Burns in the 1960s. Searching for something different, George broke free from the traditional suit and tie-type comedians and became a maverick, a rebel and his career took off from there. If you want to understand all the hullabaloo behind his famous "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television" routine, just check the papers or the news programs, I'm positive that is one that they will all cover since it resulted in a Supreme Court ruling. Some will argue that this was George Carlin's most significant contribution to comedy or even our way of life, but I disagree. I think George Carlin's most significant contribution was his devotion to comedy and his ability to make people smile and think.