George Carlin died tonight in Santa Monica of a heart attack. He was 71.
Technically, the term used was "heart failure", but I hate the idea of saying that. Sure, medically his heart gave out and didn't hold up its end of the bargain by keeping him alive. But in every other sense, his heart was far from failing.
He's a comedy giant. Just...a giant, a fucking idol. He is (was...I hate the past tense) a pioneer. He wasn't just a stand-up; he was more like a comedic philosopher king. I remember watching his HBO specials as a kid (my parents unaware) probably a lot earlier than I should have been. I grew up watching those specials, all 14 of them. Fourteen hours of new, really good material. Do you know what a feat that is? Most comics don't have an hour of solid material until they're at least 10 years into it, and few are able to move beyond that set.
My Mom used to try to deter me from swearing by saying that educated people didn't use those words. George was a high school drop-out, but he was one of the smartest people out there.
In times like this, most people say "R.I.P." I hope for the sake of Heaven and God (which he didn't believe in, but I do) he's up there, pissed off as ever, unpeaceful, and making everyone laugh like he did down here.
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Enjoy this clip and delight in his delicious love of language:
