Another entertainment giant has gone. Comedian George Carlin passed away yesterday at the age of 71. Here was a guy you always figured would live forever -and he will with his comedy albums, TV specials and books- but the world is much emptier without him to help us unravel this increasingly crazy world.
He was the greatest comedian since Lenny Bruce-- his forte was dissecting the English language, and often pushing the envelope in the earlier days, with his infamous "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television" skit. And despite 99% of comedians who try to get laughs by swearing, his use of profanity was an art form. He made the profane sacred, and in turn showed us the profanity in the sacred. And as the world became less innocent with age, his humour became only darker and more truthful- tearing down the hypocrisies behind such institutions as religion, government (especially, unsurprisingly, the Bush administration) and censorship.
Regretfully, I never did see him live in person, but would go out of my way to pick up whatever new HBO comedy special came out. In my opinion, George Carlin just got better with age- thus I preferred his later shows that usually opened with some long rant against one of the sacred cows cited above, before getting into his congenial exploration of wordplay. His opening bit on censorship in the What Am I Doing in Jersey? special is absolutely stunning-- fearless in its attack, and funny as hell at the same time. The listener is just breathless after making us laugh at the muck.
The one line of George Carlin I always seem to quote is from his "AM FM" album. It also summarizes much of what he was doing in his work: "I once got fired from a Las Vegas nightclub for saying 'Shit', when the big game there is 'Crap'".
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