George Carlin was born on May 12, 1937 in New York, New York. He is a master of stand up comedy. He is famous for his highly irreverent routines. Language, Religion, Politics, and even Natural Disasters are common targets for Carlin’s sharp and caustic wit. Carlin dropped out of high school at the age of 14, and went into the Air Force shortly afterwards. While stationed at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, he began working at a radio station in nearby Shreveport. During this time, he developed a comedy routine and began working local clubs. He was discharged from the Air Force before his enlistment was complete, and began a full time career in stand up comedy.
Early in his career he introduced a routine known as “The seven words you can not say on television”. This routine made Carlin extremely popular, but the fame came at the price of legal trouble. He was arrested after one public performance. Later, the FCC became embroiled in a case against a radio station that had performed the bit. The landmark ruling, FCC v Pacifica, in 1978, ruled the material was indecent, but not obscene. The decision allowed the FCC to restrict broadcasts during periods when children would likely be watching.
During this period, Carlin was a regular guest on the Johnny Carson show, and released several albums. He took a few years off at the height of his fame due to illness and when he returned he began to work in films. His appearance as Rufus in the movie,” Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”, introduced him to a whole new generation of fans. He followed up this success with several other movies, usually in small and supporting character roles. In his most recent film, “Cars”, an animated movie, he played the voice of the hippy van.
In 2004, when Comedy Central named its top 100 Stand Up Comedians of All Time, George Carlin was ranked second. Only Richard Pryor was ahead of him on the list. His style has changed very little over the years. He is a notorious atheist, and religion is the subject of much of his humor. He has also published several books that contain much of his material, and continues to be active in recording and live performances. He is known by many as the “hippy” comedian, and has shocked, outraged, offended, and been loved by several generations of comedy fans.
