George Carlin passed at 71

[Z28 Heritage]

If i posted a duplicate thread i apologize. George was awesome...RIP

[GP99GT]

Comedian George Carlin dies in Los Angeles at 71@
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital Sunday, a spokesman said. He was was 71.
Carlin, who had a history of heart problems, died at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.
Known for his edgy, provocative material, Carlin achieved status as an anti-Establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine about seven dirty words you could not say on television. A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of his "Filthy Words" routine ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

RIP...he was awesome

[NastyEllEssWon]

wow...such a funny fuy. cant believe that...crazy stuff man...thanks for posting

[Z28 Heritage]

A little more on George!

Edgy comic George Carlin dies in L.A., aged 71 By Dean Goodman
54 minutes ago



LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs, dirty words and the demise of humanity, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday. He was 71.

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Carlin, who had a history of heart and drug-dependency problems, died at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.

Known for his edgy, provocative material developed over 50 years, the bald, bearded Carlin achieved status as an anti-Establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine called "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television." A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of the routine ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the 1978 case, Federal Communications Commission vs. Pacifica Foundation, the top U.S. court ruled that the words cited in Carlin's routine were indecent, and that the government's broadcast regulator could ban them from being aired at times when children might be listening.

The Grammy-winning Carlin remained an active presence on the comedy circuit. Carlin was scheduled to receive the John F. Kennedy Center's prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in November and his publicist said Carlin performed in Las Vegas this month.

His comedic sensibility revolved around a central theme: humanity is a cursed, doomed species.

"I don't have any beliefs or allegiances. I don't believe in this country, I don't believe in religion, or a god, and I don't believe in all these man-made institutional ideas," he told Reuters in a 2001 interview.

Carlin told Playboy in 2005 that he looked forward to an afterlife where he could watch the decline of civilization on a "heavenly CNN."

"The world is a big theater-in-the round as far as I'm concerned, and I'd love to watch it spin itself into oblivion," he said. "Tune in and watch the human adventure."

AWARDS

Carlin wrote three best-selling books, won four Grammy Awards, recorded 22 comedy albums, headlined 14 HBO television specials, and hosted hundreds of variety shows. One was the first episode of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975, when he was high on cocaine.

Drug addiction plagued him for much of his life, beginning with marijuana experimentation as a teen, graduating to cocaine in the 1970s, and then to prescription painkillers and wine. During the cocaine years, Carlin ignored his finances and ended up owing about $3 million in back taxes. In 2004, he entered a Los Angeles rehab clinic for his alcohol and Vicodin abuse.

George Dennis Carlin was born on May 12, 1937, in New York City, where he was raised with an older brother by their single mother. He fondly recalled that the nuns at his school tolerated his early comedic inclinations.

After a brief, troubled stint in the U.S. Air Force, he started honing his comic act, developing such characters as Al Sleet, a "hippie-dippie weatherman."

Carlin told Playboy that his sensibilities developed in the 1950s, "when comedy stopped being safe ... (and) became about saying no to authority." He cited such influences as Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Dick Gregory and Bob Newhart.

He also dabbled in movies and television, recently voicing a hippie Volkswagen bus named Fillmore in the Pixar cartoon "Cars."

Carlin is survived by his second wife Sally Wade; daughter Kelly Carlin McCall; and brother Patrick. His first wife, Brenda, died of cancer in 1997. News of his death was first reported by the television show "Entertainment Tonight."

[ZCarr]

I was fortunate enough to George perform in AC. Does anyone else feel like as the funny old guys go no one is left to replace them?

[chevyt454]

His comedy was very diffrent and unique. Always made me laugh. RIP

[BigAls87Z28]

If you watch his most recent HBO special, he talks about his mortality, I guess he knew it was coming sooner or later.

[BonzoHansen]

Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28

If you watch his most recent HBO special, he talks about his mortality, I guess he knew it was coming sooner or later.

He's had a number of heart attacks over the years. I saw him in Trenton a year or so ago after his last one, and he had a lot ot say about it.


Very sad, the guy was great. A real loss. I need to put his record Class Clown on tonight in his honor.

[Knipps]

i saw this on the news this morning.. it sucks to say the least

[baddest434]

thats sad! he was one funny man. him and his 7 words you can't say on t.v.

RIP george

[shane27]

my favirote clips of him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k29LGHV7J7s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIKBv...eature=related

[enRo]

A great comedian. Actually, last week we were contemplating on buying tickets off stubhub for his future show at the Morristown Community Theatre, but they were going for like $500 a pop. He definately was the best and most versitile comedian out there. RIP.

[jims69camaro]

a true loss for society at large. his comedy was original, inspiring and educational. he will truly be missed.

[jims69camaro]

Originally Posted by ZCarr

I was fortunate enough to George perform in AC. Does anyone else feel like as the funny old guys go no one is left to replace them?

QFT. no one can hold a candle to carlin.

[BonzoHansen]

Originally Posted by ZCarr

I was fortunate enough to George perform in AC. Does anyone else feel like as the funny old guys go no one is left to replace them?

Yeah. Rodney, Buddy Hacket, guys like that were funny (and before my time). Hacket had an HBO special late in his career that was funny as hell. Even Victor Borge.

Now we get Dane Cook.

Chris Rock on a good day. Jon Stewart (doing standup) is pretty good too.

[shane27]

dane cook is funny. george carlin is a legend...and a freaken genius

[SteveR]

A huge loss for comedy.

[Z28 Heritage]

One of my favorites for you guys!

It's called the "American Dream" because you have to be asleep to believe it

"The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehouses, the city halls. They've got the judges in their back pockets. And they own all the big media companies, so that they control just about all of the news and information you hear. They've got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying – lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want; they want more for themselves and less for everybody else," ranted the comedian whose routines were studied in graduate schools.

"But I'll tell you what they don't want," Carlin continued. "They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them. That's against their interests. They don't want people who are smart enough to sit around the kitchen table and figure out how badly they're getting ****** by a system that threw them overboard 30 ******* years ago. You know what they want? Obedient workers – people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork but just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly ****tier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it. And, now, they're coming for your Social Security. They want your ******* retirement money. They want it back, so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? They'll get it. They'll get it all, sooner or later, because they own this ******* place. It's a big club, and you ain't in it. You and I are not in the big club."

[Iroc-z86]

this is sad very funny guy he will be missed.

[Tru2Chevy]

RIP George.....there will never be another like you.

- Justin

[String]

Originally Posted by ZCarr

I was fortunate enough to George perform in AC. Does anyone else feel like as the funny old guys go no one is left to replace them?

yea, im with you on that.

[String]

Never got to a show. I was planning on seeing him at the borgata july 26th.
RIP "Gee, he was just here a minute ago" -george carlin

[slasherbarb]

doing stand-up comedy myself, he was one of my biggest idols/influences...i was literally in tears yesterday when i saw the news...Carlin did more for comedy and free speech tan anyone will ever know...it was a honor to experience his comedy and honor to be in the same profession...RIP George