George Carlin: Reflections on Anarchic Genius

Often after a man's death, his memory is one of soft, kind words of reverence and praises, hymns to his name, invoking images of a patron saint or cheritable martyr. This cannot, will not, and should not be the case with the passing of Mr. George Carlin, a fifty-year veteran of stand-up comedy who passed away on the 22nd of heart failure. Carlin can never be remembered as a gentle, loving man (at least, not onstage) with a quiet voice and calm demeanor, for it would be an injustice to his very name to do so.

No, George Carlin must be remembered as he was, a wise-cracking, sarcastic and highly-intellectual social commentator, satirist, and comedian. A small man by appearance, the comedian was well-known for his exstensive memory, brilliant observations, and black humour. With a choice of language that would make even the saltiest of Navy sailors blush, he penetrated the FCC-mass media protection net and, as a result, instigated the trial that narrowly determined the government's abiliy to censor public television, thus immortalizing Carlin and his "Seven Words You Can't Say On Television".

Carlin was born and raised in New York City and, at the age of 22, started his career in comedy. Progressing gradually through a series of appearances on various popular television shows, notably the Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show, to small HBO specials, George Carlin eventually landed a role in the series Outrageous Fortune, in which he achieved major popularity while also appearing in such films as Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

While he suffered and struggled with the various issues of his life such as his drug addiction and morbid, macabre sense of humour, Carlin managed to become a great success in the comedy world, doing no less than 14 HBO specials, with his latest two being Life is Worth Losing and It's Bad For Ya. George Carlin has been honored with the Lifetime Acheivement Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and has been ranked as the second-greatest comedian of all time, behind Richard Pryor.

Mr. Carlin, esteemed comedian and brilliant comentator, you will be sorely missed.