By now, many of you have probably heard the sad news this morning that George Carlin died yesterday. I know you are thinking I should not care about celebrity deaths, but it would be a major faux pas on this blog’s part if there was not some mention or tribute paid to Carlin, though he himself would probably tell you he doesn’t deserve it–not because he was modest, but because he is made from the same diseased, festering piles of humanity that the rest of us are. Even so, when the someone like Carlin passes away, the comedic world is shaken to its core.
I remember when I saw him perform in Burlington, Vermont several years ago. Not being a big town, Carlin used the performance, as many comedians do, to try out new material and figure out what works. I was amazed at how this man, then in his late 60s, was so full of energy, almost to the point of hyperactivity. Here was a man I had grown to admire as I was exposed more and more to him in my high school days. My parents, who were sitting right next to me, had grown up listening to his edgy comedy.
And he was still edgy when I saw him. I cringed with embarassment every time he made a raunchy joke, because my parents were laughing, they are not supposed get or enjoy such humor, and they probably did not want me to get or enjoy it, either.
Even so, I watched this master of his craft perfect his latest material and I was astounded. Carlin, most famous for his seven words you cannot say on television, was always about pushing the boundaries of society. In a sense, he redefined comedy and redirected it to be more relevant in a society of pressures. Seldom does one get to see a true legend in action.
He served as an inspiration to countless numbers of comedians and became the idol of legions of fans, including this blog. His crass humor and blissfully deranged point of view of the world will be missed. But if he would ever have been asked his opinion on life, I think truthfully, he would have wanted to go while he was still in fighting shape. Despite the effects of aging, he never faded away, he never became a has-been or a quivering mound of jelly lying in a hospital bed. Now that he is gone, we can remember him the way he would have wanted–an unflickering comedic genius, sharp as ever.
As a tribute, we will bend our blog’s rules just this once, for Carlin. It was what I thought upon hearing the news, and I hope he would have liked my reaction.
“Fuck.”
Nice tribute to a comic genius.
I grew up watching and listening to his genius offbeat comedy. His comic routines had substance and always made you think…they were anything but routine. Heaven just got a whole lot funnier!