George Carlin Dead at 71

[skeptik]

NOT a joke. Fuck.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080623/ts_nm/carlin_dc_2

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 on Sunday, a spokesman said. He 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.

 

[Psychonaut]

Holy shit. RIP.

 

[Mort Divine]

Just read this

Fuck man.

 

[skeptik]

Obviously this is a dated writing, but I think it's ironically appropriate:

“SUPER-CELEB KICKS BUCKET” - George Carlin

I dread the deaths of certain super-celebrities. Not because I care about them, but because of all the shit I have to endure on television when one of them dies. All those tributes and retrospectives. And the bigger the personality, the worse it is.

For instance, imagine the crap we'll have to endure on TV when Bob Hope dies. First of all, they'll show clips from all of his old road movies with Bing Crosby, and you can bet that some news anchor asshole will turn to the pile of clothing next to him and say, "Well, Tami, I imagine Bob's on the Road to Heaven now."

Then there'll be clips of all those funny costumes he wore on his TV specials, including the hippie sketch, where they'll show him saying "Far out, man, far out!" They'll show him golfing with dead presidents, kissing blonde bombshells, and entertaining troops in every war since we beat the shit out of the Peloponnesians. And at some point, a seventy-year-old veteran will choke up, and say, "I just missed seein' him at two, 'cause I got my legs blowed off. He's quite a guy."

Ex-presidents (including the dead ones) will line up four abreast to tell us what a great American he was; show-business perenials will desert golf courses from Palm Springs to O.J.'s lawn to lament sadly as how this time, "Bob hooked one into the woods"; and, regarding his talent, a short comedian in a check-ered hat will speak reverently about "Hope's incredible timing."

And this stuff will be on every single newscast day and night for a week. There'll be special one-hour salutes on "Good Morning America," the "Today" show, and "CBS This Morning." Ted Koppel will ask Henry Kissinger if it's true Bob Hope actually shortened some of our wars by telling jokes close to the frontlines. CNN will do a series of expanded "Show Biz Todays." One of the cable channels will do a one-week marathon of his movies. And it goes without saying that NBC will put together a three-hour, prime-time special called "Thanks for the Memories," but at the last minute they'll realize Bob Hope's audience skews older, and sell it to CBS.

Then there'll be the funeral, carried life on the Dead Celebrity Channel, with thousands of grotesque acne-ridden fans seeking autographs from all the show-business clowns who dug out their best black golfing outfits to attend "one of the hottest burials to hit this town in decades" -- Variety. And all this shit will go on for weeks and weeks and weeks. Until Milton Berle dies. And then it will start all over again. I dare not even contemplate Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan.

 

[Alteredmindeath]

Fuck, I know he was old, but this fucking sucks! There will never be another comic like him ever. R.I.P Carlin, one of the few people on this goddamn planet that could make me smile.

 

[Addo_Of_Nex]

I just read this about 5 minutes ago. Damn.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

damn that sucks.
I never got into him though

 

[King Richard]

RIP brother

 

[Psychonaut]

damn that sucks.
I never got into him though

You probably would now that you seem a little more jaded and opinionated.

 

[unknown]

NOOOOOOOOO

 

[Valerie]

 

[seedofvengeance]

The only reason I logged in again tonight was to post this thread... only to find it had already been posted. Regardless... This is a sad day for all things comedy.

 

[entanglement]

 

[Satanstoenail]

Yeah that's really shit news. The world needs more people like him.

 

[False Joe]

... I feel slightly ashamed for having no idea who George Carlin is.
Google. I only know him from Dogma

 

[Belligerent]

I was going to create a thread in memory of him... R.I.P.
I have been listening/watching him since I was little. What else really sucks is i was going to go see him at the Chicago Theatre soon.

 

[Caecius]

This is a shitty way to start the day. Open up yahoo mainpage, and wham "George Carlin Dies at 71".

 

[ThisIsACoolName]

I was never big into George Carlin- or stand up in general, for that matter- but one can't ignore his importance in the comedy world.

He was funny in The Aristocrats.

 

[Belligerent]

Carlin's take on fat people. Fucking hilarious.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M5Xm5RYTRY&feature=related[/ame]

 

[Melodeath]

Saw this this morning