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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 and drug-dependency problems, died at Saint 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 called "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television." A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of the routine ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the 1978 case, Federal Communications Commission vs. Pacifica Foundation, the top U.S. court ruled that the words cited in Carlin's routine were indecent, and that the government's broadcast regulator could ban them from being aired at times when children might be listening.

Carlin's comedic sensibility often came back to a central theme: humanity is doomed.

"I don't have any beliefs or allegiances. I don't believe in this country, I don't believe in religion, or a god, and I don't believe in all these man-made institutional ideas," he told Reuters in a 2001 interview.

Carlin, who wrote several books and performed in many television comedy specials, is survived by his wife Sally Wade, and daughter Kelly Carlin McCall.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman and Steve Gorman; Editing by Patricia Zengerle)

I feel compelled to point out that Carlin would have probably been amused at the fact that it took three people to write an 8-sentence obituary that could have been written in 1980.

Hmm, 8 sentences. How about him being worth 1 sentence:
George Carlin, anti-establishment comedian who was known for his controversial routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure in Los Angeles today at the age of 71, a spokesman said.

I might get away with giving him mimimum mention on a forum like ours because, as far as I know, the man really had no significant association with music.
Maybe I'm missing something.
Or maybe, like the image of a toddler with a sagging diaper, chalk me up to being in a poopy mood!

In the early 70's, I vividly recall the phenomenon of Carlin as well as Cheech & Chong being greeted with something less than amusement or enthusiasm in the down-to-earth workaday world where I resided. By contrast, I'm fairly certain the California hippies and other rebellious youth of our nation had a decidely different perspective.

Alright now, I'll exit and go take my be-nice-and-happy pill.

Sorry, Mr. Carlin, I omitted mention of your humanity-is-doomed topic.
That shouldn't be slighted in the least; after all, it's essential to make special note that humans are doomed to die.

My gracious, look at me, I'm still taking potshots at the guy. How come my pill is taking so long to work?

I just figured out what's wrong with me: I need to attend a values re-orientation workshop, damn it.

George Carlin meant a lot to many of us "hippie rebellious" type. To me, much of his stage act was as a sermon. I can honestly say that many of my 'values' were instilled by
Carlin. You, being 'pessimist' seem to me likely to have shared much in Carlin's way of viewing the world.

Pessimist -- I'm shocked that you weren't already a fan of George D. Carlin, with whom I share two names.

No, he didn't have much to do with music.

Carlin's comedy was based on the same common-sense observations that you are amused by when I say them. The "Seven Dirty Words" was about language, censorship, conformity and nuance.

Most of his comedy was really aimed at identifying and mocking bullshit.

As for "humanity is doomed" -- This comes from Carlin's realization that the world is run by a bunch of fucking idiots and how we are teaching our children to be afraid of everything, while making sure that their lives are filled to the brim with "meaningful" activities that prevent them from ever really using their imagination.

He looked at things and saw past the facade. He used language in a unique and expressive way, using all the words he knew to get the point across, knowing full well that his vocabulary was enough to keep a lot of people from even listening in the first place.

If people are afraid of words, then yeah, humanity is doomed.

My wife and I saw George in concert in Austin a few years ago. I always looked forward to seeing every new HBO concert he did.

I did not always agree with him on everything, for example, I'm not an atheist, and I guess, George may have found out whether he was wrong or right about there being a God. George was raised as a Catholic.

But, I always admired his courage to speak his mind, and he was indeed a genius.

I loved his rant on abortion and the "right to life" issue.

When someone told me he passed today, I felt like a freight train hit me.

For his curmudgeon personna, I loved the guy, and the world f'ing sucks MORE without him.

Lenny Bruce, John Belushi, John Candy, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison,Rodney Dangerfield, and now, George...f'ing sucks...

I would say God Bless You, but it would piss him off....so George, Rest In Peace brother, and thank you for making me laugh for decades.

Feeling mucho sad...
~Code

What is music? Certainly, Carlin had rhythm, or as much as an Irish white guy can have.
His "Salesman Song" (I have to service this customer) was as good as any rap song you'll ever here, and made me smile (unlike rap which does not). George had various pieces which were basically songs with no musical accompaniment...they had a beat if you listened.

Honestly, George was for freedom of speech and paid his dues, and I logged on to post about it, but Shmoo beat me to the punch.

So, RIP George, and I don't give a shyte if you ever played an instrument or could carry a tune, your comedy was music to my ears, and my heart.

I send my condolences to his survivors, and assure you the world mourns your loss as do I.

I put George Carlin above George Bernard Shaw, and most artists.

Rock on George, Rock on.

I don't mind people honestly saying what they feel. And that's what Carlin did, usually in an entertaining way. His best angle, in my opinion, was the rants he used to do about words and phrases -- how we use them, euphemisms, etc.

On the other hand, a lot of his stuff was really nasty. And do we really need more negativity? The world is going to hell and we're all going to die. Humanity is a blight on the planet. There is no hope. Enjoy your brief, miserable existence, suckers! Or replace the s with an f. Now, was Carlin part of the solution or part of the problem? A little of both.

I guess ultimately I just felt sorry for Carlin, being stuck in the worldview that he had. There are many problems in this world, but also many kindnesses, loving people, hardworking honest people, and I don't think Carlin ever really saw and certainly did not celebrate the part of the glass that was half full. Plus, being without faith, he could not see the world's troubles as birth pangs that will eventually lead to a way out: peace, plenty, good government, freedom with responsibility, and sanity. Because God is good.

At least George is now at peace. I honor his talent and I wish it had been more often used to uplift instead of complain and tear down.

"On the other hand, a lot of his stuff was really nasty."

Nasty? How about brutally honest?

"And do we really need more negativity?"

You want us to stop talking about how badly the RIAA sucks?

"Plus, being without faith, he could not see the world's troubles as birth pangs that will eventually..."

Oh, puh-leeze. Birth pangs?

"Because God is good."

Carlin would ask you which God you are talking about. You've got the Jews, Christian, Muslims, and Hindu, just to name four major religions with unique and disparate deities.

At most, only one can be correct. Three out of four seem to demand some sort of an apocalypse. Killing heathens who refuse to convert to the only "true" religion is always acceptable and, in many cases, encouraged. No matter how deep your belief, if you pick the wrong religion, you will burn in hell forever for worshipping a false god.

Talk about negativity!

"Thanks to the fear of death in this country I won't have to die--I'll pass away..."
George Carlin

R.I.P.

"Carlin would ask you which God you are talking about."

The One who inspired the aphorism, "Answer not a Foole according to his folly."

"No matter how deep your belief, if you pick the wrong religion, you will burn in hell forever for worshipping a false god."

Now you are talking about a particular religious doctrine. I don't assume that particular theology was inspired by the God I referenced, and you shouldn't either.

Yes, we do have our jollies sticking pins in the RIAA voodoo doll here. I get your point. Maybe a lot of that is not constructive. It's a thought to consider.

Jesus took a whip and drove the moneychangers from the temple...sometimes one has to be disruptive to prove that wrong things are going on. I see Carlin as using a virtual whip to drive home the point that this country is far too materialistic and hypocritical.

Now, George could come off as "mean" at times, but I listened to his brother and daughter last night, and they understood that the seemingly "gruff" side of George came out during his performances, but as a person, one on one, he was one of the kindest nicest people you would ever meet.

A friend of mine from California got to know George, and echoed this sentiment.

Larry King had Lewis Black Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, and Bill Maher on last night, and to a man / woman, they all acknowledged what a true genius he was.

Rest in peace George...
~Code

My favorite bible verse if about Mary, mother of Jesus...

Luke 2:19
"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart."

"All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)

Carlin was just pointing this out with more colorful language.

Remember, an optimist falls from a 20 story building, a guy at the 10th floor hollers out at him as he passes, "How's it going?". "So far so good" says the optimist.

A pessimist is just a well informed optimist.

Okay, I'll leave the religion issue alone now.

So let's talk about the negativity. I hate to draw another comparison to myself (I'm not worthy!) but I've had reporters decribe me as angry based on my writing.

The truth is that ranting about the stuff that annoys you is cathartic, like getting together with co-workers on Fridays to bitch about work. You feel better after you release it, especially if it entertains those around you.

Carlin may have said humanity is doomed, but he didn't do it to scare people -- he made them laugh by pointing out that the reason we're doomed involves the short-sighted, narrow-minded stupidity of the human race as a whole.

And it starts when you have to say "bathroom tissue" instead of "toilet paper," being broke is redefined as a "negative cash flow situation," and the garbage collector becomes a "waste disposal engineer."

It's about how we choose words to lie to ourselves and pretend that something is the opposite of what it is.

Like the Department of Defense.

That last post was excellent.


[daring to divert the topic to a health concern . . . but George Carlin's name does come up . . . anyway, I thought it was interesting]

June 24th, 2008
The real drug problem is in your mind
by Dana Blankenhorn
ZDNet Healthcare

You may have heard the cute story about how a kindergartner thought she had come up with the solution to the problem of recreational drug use in America: "I've got it, Daddy!" she exclaimed; "They need to close all the drug stores; that'll do it."

In fact, when we say the word “drugs” in terms of “don’t do drugs”, we are speaking of psychoactives. Any substance, legal or illegal, useful or not, with a psychoactive effect fills many of us with wonder, dread, and fear that our kids will try it.

That’s the God’s Honest Truth. But since alcohol and caffeine are legal, as is (so far) nicotine, along with many things we use to control our kids, we use the word "drugs".

By this we mean illegal drugs; but drugs — legal or illegal — aren’t the problem.
Psychoactives are. Anna Nicole Smith did not die of a cocaine overdose. She died from the overuse of prescription medications, many of them psychoactives.

We use psychoactives to “feel better,” as opposed to healing our bodies, yet our minds are a part of our bodies (I’d argue the most important part).

I'm reminded about how the late comedian George Carlin used to chide us about how we don't always come right out and use the words that plainly say what we mean.
Until we have an honest discussion over what we mean by the word “drugs”, the drug problem will continue to grow. It can’t be any other way.


And here's a perspective to take to heart, regarding fatal coronary arrest:

George Carlin didn’t have Tim Russert’s weight problem, but he had a long history of heart trouble, perhaps exacerbated by a history of illegal drug use. Recreational drugs can be hard on a number of body organs, not just the liver. Over time, cardiac function can be compromised.
Of course, I do realize that being able to "just say no" to things that are bad for you has been a less than a successful strategy.

Re: "well-informed optimists"

That's a clever phrase, but:
By contrast, I wonder if Carlin would have preferred that people be well-informed realists who plainly call things the way they are.

I'd prefer folks be "well informed"

...they can all make up their own minds to be 'realist' 'pessimist' 'optimist' whatever they want...

But, I'd like them to at least be "well informed"

Sorry, but I'm going to take issue with one aspect.

I said, "I wonder if Carlin would have preferred that people be well-informed realists who plainly call things the way they are," because I could make a case that optimism, by nature, is typically a subjectively-driven positive approach that risks clouding good judgment. A person who is inclined to focus on the positive side of things can sometimes have his/her perspective fail to take full cognizance of the facts, perhaps even overly minimizing difficulties. This has the potential to be counterproductive or even hazardous.

No given deliberate approach is perfect for all scenarios, but well-informed realism (even with a twinge of cautious pessimism) trumps well-informed (but starry-eyed) optimism on the turf of wisdom and discretion, if not objectivity!

The foregoing notwithstanding, it's obviously true what you said about people having the right to make up their own minds (in regard to how they prefer to approach life). We're in full agreement there.

I just hate the "well uniformed"(if they do the RIAA's bidding).

In an effort to illustrate that Mr. Carlin was completely wrong about religious zealots, the Westboro Baptist Church will protest his funeral.

Follow-up -- In a pre-planned counter-move, Carlin cancels funeral, gets last word.

Why am I not surprised at that news.

Now, somewhat akin to what Codewarrior alluded to in one of his posts, it remains to be seen whether CARLIN will be surpised to find out (too late) if there's really a God or not.
[Codewarrior wrote: "I guess, George may have found out whether he was wrong or right about there being a God."]

I've decided I don't want to die risking, like Carlin, making an irreversible mistake.

As an aside, God would have the power to reconstruct us, no matter how far we disperse our cremated ashes the way Carlin is having done. I wonder if he considered that aspect.

Or (in the event Carlin finds out there really is a God) maybe he's planning to pull a few funnies and get God to laugh and put Him in such a good mood it'll get Carlin off the hook.


Good luck with THAT.

Reference:
"It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God."
(Jonathan Edwards' sermon, 1741, based on Hebrews 10:31)

BTW, "It's a fearful thing" was talking about someone who dies unrepentant.