George Carlin Passes Away; the World is a Much Less Funnier Place Today

George Carlin passed away yesterday and the world is a much less funny place.

I was fortunate in my life to be able to say I saw Carlin perform at least a half dozen times over the years...Once in a small club when he was just starting out and then in Las Vegas whenever he was performing and we happened to be there on vacation.

He was always funny, even when he did his serious comedy, his jokes about God and Religion might have upset some who didn't catch the humor he intended in his subtle way or not so subtle most would say

But he was most known for his comedy routine "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television and, you still can't say them....he would do a play on a word that might be construed as dirty, but by the time he got done, that word meant anything but the dirty word our minds heard at first

He was also known for his "stuff" routine...where to put all your stuff...we all know that one and each of us must go though the same thing when we try to find a place for our stuff.

His take on just about any subject would be so irreverent yet, so meaningful at the same time.

I do remember people getting up and leaving his show at times, they just didn't get it or him, but to me, he was a comic genius and I just can't smile today, thinking our world is just a bit less funny than it was yesterday.

A few facts: According to cbs4.com

He died of a heart attack Sunday at the age of 71, at the St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, after complaining of chest pains. He had a history of heart problems and passed away later on that day. He leaving behind a legacy of memorable jokes, monologues and routines that many of us will long remember.

He also had court problems when his "seven words you can't say" led to a Supreme Court decision that ruled against him

But still Carlin constantly breached the boundaries of comedy and language, particularly with his routine on the "Seven Words" -

He was considered a counterculture comedian, though he was anything but that until the day he saw Lenny Bruce perform for the first time in the early 60's. From that moment on, his life and comedy changed.

But his humor wasn't all about pushing the limits; he made us laugh about some of the silly things and the quirks in our words of everyday life, for instance;

"Why, he asked, do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?" and,

"Why do they lock gas station bathrooms?" he once mused. "Are they afraid someone will clean them?"

He produced 23 albums, wrote 3 books and had 14 HBO specials...I'm proud to say I've seen them all and heard most of the albums, even read one of the books.

He also won 4 Grammy awards for best spoken comedy on an album and had the pleasure of being nominated for five Emmys for those HBO specials and just found out he was to be awarded the 11^th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor that was going to be presented November 10^th in Washington DC, to be broadcast on PBS. It was said he was very proud of that honor when he first heard about it.

Yes, the world is a much sadder place today, but boy he, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Freddie Prinze and all those comedic geniuses must be laughing it up in Comedy Heaven right now.