Born: 12 May, 1937, in New York City.
Died: 22 June, 2008, in California, aged 71. GEORGE Carlin's astringent stand-up comedy made him an heir of Lenny Bruce, who gave voice to an indignant counterculture and assaulted the b
arricades of censorship on behalf of a generation of comics that followed him.
"By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth," read a message on Carlin's website, GeorgeCarlin.com, and he spent much of his life in a fervent effort to counteract the forces that would have it so. In his always irreverent, often furious social commentary, in his observations of the absurdities of everyday life and language, and in groundbreaking routines such as the profane "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" he took aim at what he considered the palliating and obfuscating agents of American life – politicians, advertisements, religion, the media and conventional thinking of all stripes.
During a career spanning five decades, Carlin emerged as one of the most popular, durable, productive and versatile comedians of his era. He evolved from Jerry Seinfeld-like whimsy and a buttoned-down decorum in the 1960s to counterculture hero in the 1970s.
By the 1980s, he was known as a scathing social critic, wringing laughs from the verbal tics of contemporary language such as the oxymorons "jumbo shrimp" and "military intelligence" and poking fun at pervasive national attitudes.
Through the 1990s and into the 21st century, Carlin, balding but still pony-tailed, prowled the stage – eyes ablaze with intensity – as the comedy circuit's most splenetic curmudgeon, raging over the shallowness of a "me first" culture; mocking the infatuation with camcorders, hyphenated names and training shoes with lights on them; lambasting white males over ten years old who wear their baseball hats backwards and baby boomers "who went from 'do your thing' to 'just say no'".
George Denis Carlin was born in New York City in 1937. His mother, Mary, a secretary, separated from his father when he was an infant, and he grew up with his mother and his older brother, Patrick, in Manhattan.
"I grew up in New York wanting to be like those funny men in the movies and on the radio," Carlin said. "My grandfather, mother and father were gifted verbally, and my mother passed that along to me. She always made sure I was conscious of language and words."
He dropped out of high school and joined the air force, and while stationed in Shreveport, Louisiana, he worked as a radio disc jockey. Discharged in 1957, he moved to Boston for a radio announcer's job, then to Fort Worth, to be a DJ.
Along the way he met Jack Burns, a newscaster and comedian. They worked together in Fort Worth and Los Angeles, performing on the radio and in clubs.
In 1960, however, Carlin struck out on his own. He made his first television solo guest appearance on The Tonight Show in 1962. His second wasn't until 1965, when he made the first of 29 appearances on The Merv Griffin Show.
At that time, he was primarily known for his clever wordplay and reminiscences of his Irish working-class upbringing in New York. But there were intimations of an anti-establishment edge.
Carlin released his first comedy album, Take-Offs and Put-Ons, to rave reviews in 1967. He also dabbled in acting, winning a recurring part as Marlo Thomas's theatrical agent in the 1960s sitcom That Girl and a supporting role in the 1968 movie With Six You Get Eggroll. He made more than 80 major television appearances during that time.
He was one of the US's most popular comedians, but as the convulsive decade of the 1960s ended, he'd had enough of what he considered a dinky and hollow success. In 1970, Carlin staged a remarkable reversal of field, discarding his suit and tie, as well as the relatively conventional and clean-cut material that had catapulted him to the top. He reinvented himself, emerging with a beard, long hair, jeans and a routine steeped in drugs and insolence.
By 1972, when he released his second album, FM & AM, his star was again on the rise. The album, which won a Grammy Award as best comedy recording, combined older material with his newer, more acerbic routines.
One, from Class Clown, Carlin's third album, became part of his Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television, with its rhythmic recitation of obscenities. It was broadcast on the New York radio station WBAI. Acting on a complaint about the broadcast, the Federal Communications Commission issued an order prohibiting the words as "indecent."
Carlin refused to drop the routine and was arrested several times after reciting it onstage.
In 1977, he found the perfect platform for his stinging and cerebral humour in the fledgling world of cable television: the first of his 14 comedy specials, George Carlin at USC, was aired in 1977; the last, George Carlin: It's Bad for Ya, in March.
During the course of his career, Carlin overcame many personal trials. His early arrests for obscenity (all of which were dismissed) and his problem with cocaine were the most publicised. But he also weathered serious tax problems, a heart attack and two open-heart surgeries. Though he had been able to taper his cocaine use on his own, he said, he continued to abuse alcohol and became addicted to Vicodin, a prescription painkiller. In December 2004 he entered a rehabilitation centre.
Carlin also acted in films, among them Car Wash (1976), Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), The Prince of Tides (1991) and Dogma (1999).
He also wrote books, expansions on his comedy routines, including Brain Droppings (1997), Napalm & Silly Putty (2001) and When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? (2004). A 1994 TV sitcom, The George Carlin Show, lasted one season.
Carlin won a total of four Grammy Awards and was recently named the recipient of the Mark Twain prize for American humour
George Carlin's first wife, Brenda Hosbrook, died in 1997. He is survived by his wife, Sally Wade, a daughter, and his brother, Patrick.
The full article contains 1020 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
