George Carlin
Biography:
George Carlin is considered to be a comedic icon, but how did he get to that point? Well, from growing up in the Bronx, New York up until the very end of his career Carlin tended to cause some mischief. After being a Roman Catholic altar boy for a while and then dropping out of high school two years in, he enlisted into the Air Force. But, this noble act only lasted so long as he received a few courts-martial and many disciplinary punishments. Three years after enlisted he was discharged and moved on to work in radio. After working on a morning show with his co-host Jack Burns, they both ended up on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar. According to this website, Carlin made a total of 130 appearances on The Tonight Show — an impressive amount, if you ask me. Then Carlin moved on to his solo career, in which he continued to be invited onto numerous different shows. Carlin even found himself on the Carson couch! This was rather important at the time when Johnny Carson was hosting The Tonight Show, because it was the goal of every comic at the time. It was one thing to be invited on the show in the first place, but another, much more validating thing, to be invited over to sit on the couch after performing a set. Due to his vulgar and pessimistic sense of humor, Carlin opened a new door for comics to follow. His sets tended to focus on topics more sensitive, such as religion (Carlin was a roaring atheist, presumably due to his altar boy experiences), the disappointing qualities of the human race, war, consumerism and a lot more. As one can imagine he ran into some trouble with his content, even going as far as getting arrested after performing his “Seven Dirty Words” bit in Wisconsin which you can watch here, although be warned — viewer discretion is advised. Overall he went on to preform, act, and publish for the rest of his life, even landing himself a Hollywood Walk of Fame star. His comedy still inspires many current comedians such as Bill Burr and Anthony Jeselnik (whom of which I will discuss further into this blog). Unfortunately Carlin passed away in 2008 but his legacy remains.
Review:
George Carlin was one of, if not the first stand-up comedian I was ever introduced to. My sister sat me down and had me listen to a bunch of sets that I was probably too young to even understand half the jokes of. But, a lot his opinions aligned with my own. His tolerance for ignorant and seemingly idiotic people was zero to negative ten. I agreed with this. His enjoyment for life’s natural irony was through the roof. I also agreed with this. His disdain for blind consumerism and everyone continuously ignoring our dying planet was insurmountable. Agreed. His humor was pessimistic, realistic, and cynical. His swearing sailor’s mouth was inappropriate in all the right ways. Carlin opened me up to the world of comedy which I now appreciate so much more. As I had mentioned, his influence was so powerful and his taking advantage of the first amendment allowed for other amazing comics to follow in his footsteps. Without him and his ability to not care what people think, the development of dark comedy wouldn’t have flourished. Listed below are a few of my favorite bits from Carlin so that you too can enjoy his legacy like I do! Once again, may I remind you of his R-rated and offensive humor… laugh it up!
I’ve never listened to George Carlin’s content, but thanks to this post, I’ll definitely have to check it out! I liked how you included links to your favorite YouTube videos so that your readers can select some clips to watch for themselves to get a taste for his style without having to sit through an entire set. (That’s something I dislike about Netflix stand-up shows – I’ll start watching a set and realize after a few minutes that I don’t find the comedian to be particularly funny. Then comes the awkward question: do I quit now or wait it out?) I also appreciated how you offered your own review of his material.