StatesideJune 23, 2008
One of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time, George Carlin, passed away at 71 today in Los Angeles. While George might not have gotten better with age, his unique brand of comedy became more meaningful to me as I got older. I hoped that he’d continue to write and rant and perform on stage for years to come, but apparently George’s heart wouldn’t cooperate. Of his 40 years of comedy my favorite Carlin line was from a 1978 special when he explained his “Seven Words That Can Never Be Said on Television.” He said, “twat’s twat, and that’s that.” Here’s the clip:
NYT: George Carlin, Irreverent Comedian, Dies at 71
I saw George’s last HBO show live (shortly after his last heart attack) and he had definitely lost a step. He looked old, tired, and frequently stuttered and forgot lines. He also spent more time on politics than jokes. I only laughed out loud a handful of times, whereas all the other times I saw him it was more or less non-stop giggling. Perhaps we didn’t lose out on much more comedic gold.
“I never fucked a ten, but one night I fucked five twos!”