George Carlin
American stand-up comedian and social critic famed for dark wit and the seven dirty words.
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via Wikipedia: George Carlin · see source
George Denis Patrick Carlin was born on May 12, 1937, at New York Hospital in Manhattan.[1] In 2008, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was awarded to Carlin after his death.[2]
Key facts and history
In 1959, Carlin met fellow DJ Jack Burns in Fort Worth, Texas, and they formed a comedy team.[3] He perfected his "seven dirty words" routine, which led to his arrest at Milwaukee's Summerfest on July 21, 1972.[4] The Supreme Court upheld the FCC's action against the broadcast of that routine in 1978.[5] He narrated the children's series Thomas & Friends and played Mr. Conductor on Shining Time Station.[6]
On December 5, 1962, Carlin was in the audience when Lenny Bruce was arrested for obscenity in Chicago; after declining to show identification, Carlin was also taken into custody.[7] Carlin's initial hardcover publication, Brain Droppings, remained on the New York Times best-seller list for a period of 40 weeks.[8]
What the cited sources add
In a 2001 Esquire interview, Carlin stated that his drug abuse caused large arrears with the IRS that took eighteen to twenty years to resolve.[9][10] He said that staying on the road because of those financial problems made him a better comic and writer.[9][10] In December 2004, Carlin announced he was entering rehab for alcohol and prescription painkiller addiction.[11][12] A CNN report noted that his run at the MGM Grand ended after a "dark set" where he insulted the audience's intellect.[11][12]
An account of the 1962 Lenny Bruce arrest describes a 25-year-old Carlin in the audience, still early in his career and not yet using profanity.[13] An HBO Watch article from 2020 states that Carlin headlined 14 stand-up comedy specials for HBO over his career.[14] That same article quotes his daughter Kelly Carlin expressing her hope to honor his comedic genius while not shying away from his personal struggles.[14]
References
- Wikipedia, "George Carlin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: George Carlin's American Dream (2022); Sullivan, "Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin", Da Capo Press, 2010; Carlin, "Complaints and Grievances", HBO, November 17, 2001; "Lying there in New York Hospital, my first definitive act on this planet was to vomit."; Murphy, "Patrick Carlin, Comedy Raconteur and Influence on Brother George Carlin, Dies at 90", April 17, 2022; "George Carlin - pride", February 2, 2010; George Carlin, Last Words (New York: Free Press, 2010), p. 288; "Jon Stewart Interviews George Carlin", August en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Carlin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Stand Up Comedy & Comedians", Comedy Zone; Love, "The 50 Best Stand-up Comics of All Time", February 14, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Carlin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Texas Radio Hall of Fame: George Carlin"; Sullivan, "Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin", Da Capo Press, 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Carlin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jim Stingl, "Carlin's naughty words still ring in officer's ears", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 30, 2007; "Against Comedian: Charges Refused", The Tuscaloosa News, July 23, 1972 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Carlin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978); the court documents contain a complete transcript of the routine.; "FCC vs. Pacifica Foundation", Electronic Frontier Foundation, July 3, 1978 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Carlin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Allcroft, "The George Carlin I knew", Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2008; Allcroft, "The George Carlin I knew", Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2008; Allcroft, "The George Carlin I knew", Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Carlin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Comedians in Courthouses Getting Cuffed: Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, December 1962", The Critic's Comic, March 25, 2014; "Profanity" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Carlin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Kennedy Center" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Larry Getlen, "What I've Learned: George Carlin", Esquire.com, June 23, 2008. facts only, no text reused. esquire.com
- Wikipedia, "George Carlin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Larry Getlen, "What I've Learned: George Carlin", Esquire.com, June 23, 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "George Carlin enters rehab", CNN, December 29, 2004. facts only, no text reused. cnn.com
- Wikipedia, "George Carlin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dark Carlin", reviewjournal.com, December 4, 2004; "George Carlin enters rehab", CNN, December 29, 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Comedians in Courthouses Getting Cuffed: Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, December 1962", The Critic's Comic, March 25, 2014. facts only, no text reused. thecomicscomic.com
- "The Late George Carlin Returns to HBO!", HBO Watch, August 22, 2020. facts only, no text reused. hbowatch.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article George Carlin (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: George Carlin (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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