George Carlin: A Brief History of a Great Man

George Carlin was a great comedian; respected by most, hated by some. Conservatives could not appreciate, and most likely associate, with George Carlin's rebel style of stand-up comedy. In a devastating blow to the comedy world, George Carlin has passed away at the ripe old age of 71. George Carlin has always had health issues, and they finally caught up with him on June 22, 2008.

Most known for his controversial, but utterly hilarious, comedy bit 'Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television', George Carlin did comedy his way and did not care if anybody liked it or not. Luckily for the world, they did like it, so he kept doing things his own way. The residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (right up the road from my hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin), received a front row show of George Carlin's rebel comedy. In 1972, at Milwaukee's ongoing summer music festival Summerfest, George Carlin recorded a monologue by the name of 'Filthy Words'. This monologue, which talked about the seven words you are not allowed to say on the airwaves, or anywhere for that matter. When a radio station aired this comedy bit uncensored, a man driving with his son heard it and complained to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC put the radio station on notice, and the Supreme Court eventually ruled that those words are acceptable under certain circumstances.

Famous controversy aside, George Carlin has accomplished more in his life than most stand-up comedians can ever dream of. While fighting, and most likely enjoying, all the unnecessary controversy of his 'Seven Dirty Words' comedy bit, George Carlin won his first of four Grammy Awards for his comedy album FM and AM. Among George Carlin's numerous other awards are four American Emmy Awards, two American Daytime Emmy Awards, two Cable ACE Awards, and three American Comedy Awards.

George Carlin has always been a pop culture mainstay, making hundreds of television, movie, and music appearances since the 1960's. For a complete listing of these appearances, you can go to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) website entry for George Carlin. Instead of boring everybody with the usual boring list of appearances, I am just going give you a couple of my favorite roles George Carlin has done. My favorite by far is not one of his most high profile or well known, but the irony is perfect. In Kevin Smith's classic movie Dogma, about two fallen angels who have a plan to destroy a church in New Jersey to get back into heaven, George Carlin played Cardinal Ignatius Glick. In this role, Carlin played the head of the Catholic church that was set to be destroyed by the two fallen angels. The sheer irony of one of the most controversial comedians of all time playing the head of a Catholic church is funny enough, let alone some of the great lines he delivered throughout the movie. The second, but no less memorable, is George Carlin's role as Rufus, the man from the future who ensures two slacker kids can fulfill their destiny to become the greatest musicians on Earth, in turn bringing about a great future. That's right, I am referring the cult classic films Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, with a much less memorable television series Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure in the early 1990's.

George Carlin will always be remembered for the amazing contributions he has given to the world. He will not be remembered as a great man in comedy and pop culture, but also for the many great contributions he given to society as a whole. For anything you can ever want to know about the amazing George Carlin, please visit the official George Carlin website.