Everyone and their brother are writing about the death of George Carlin. Who am I to abstain?
George Carlin belongs to a group of counter-culture comedians I listened to when I was in Jr. High and High School (in other words, unlike many folks out there, I listened to their records when they first came out). In fact, I still have my “Class Clown” LP. Many of these folks have fallen by the wayside — who listens to Cheech and Chong anymore. But Carlin was special. He bridged the gap from his early years of more traditional comedy to the more drug enduced era. But unlike Cheech and Chong, his comedy was more about the absurdities of words and notions than the drugs. His was a form of standup that touched many generation, from my parents generation, to my generation, through all the generations that passed. Most folks who are remembering him are remembering the “seven words”. Me, I remember his astute observation about one word in particular, “Fuck” (a word about which Allen Sherman devoted an entire 7-page footnote). Carlin noted that our world would be much better off if the word “kill” in our movie dialogues were replaced by “fuck”: “We’re gonna kill you Sheriff, but we’re going kill you slow…”.
Comedy is a funny thing, no pun intended. The most long-lasting comedy is the timeless comedy, the non-attacking comedy. This is why comedians such as Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart, and the Smothers Brothers are so enduring. This is why satirists such as Stan Freberg, Allen Sherman, Tom Lehrer, and Al Yankovic are still funny today. The silly is also enduring, witness Chaplin, Keaton, Marx Brothers, or Monty Python. Language is always funny, as George Carlin and Steve Wright have discovered. But it is also why other comedians haven’t had as long of a run.
So, George, we’ll miss you. Perhaps now you can get some answers to those eternal Catholic questions that the Father could never answer.
Lastly, I should note that this completes the comedian trifecta: Dick Martin, Harvey Korman, and now George Carlin. All those who had this ticket should visit the parimutual window to collect your winnings. However, another may be starting, as news of Dody Goodman‘s death has just hit the wires, although she was more of a comic actress.
