In memoriam: George Carlin (1937 – 2008)

George Carlin died yesterday.

That seems so wrong to say, on so many levels. But there you have it — a legend, arguably the greatest stand up comedian ever, is gone as the result of heart failure at age 71.

I have so many memories of watching George Carlin on television and in movies. In the ‘70s, I watched him on “Saturday Night Live,” even though I was way too young to completely understand his material. In the ‘80s, I watched many of his HBO specials, and of course remember him as Rufus in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, as well as its sequel. In the ‘90s, I loved his short-lived “The George Carlin Show” on Fox, and more recently I adored his performances in Kevin Smith’s movies, especially Dogma. I still have my copy of his comedy book, Brain Droppings.

I couldn’t have explained it properly as a child, but I know now that I always loved George Carlin’s work because he shared my love of language and writing. Sure, he was very much known for his riff on the “Seven Dirty Words” (written long enough ago that you can actually use a couple of them with regularity on broadcast television today). But his use of profanity and his disdain of politeness never limited his ability to express himself. His work was genius, completely aside from his use of “inappropriate” language.

Some of his bits that stick in my mind include his questioning of why we “park on driveways but drive on parkways,” his rant about how spoiled we must be as a country to have eating disorders while so much of the world is starving for lack of food, and of course the perennial favorite “A Place for My Stuff.” I’ll never forget the line on his sitcom about how his character, New York cabbie George Grady, was so enraged when “Star Trek” was cancelled that his angry letter to the network was “still etched into the bar.”

But it was always the little observations that really got to me, and his gift for wordplay. “Pacifism is a nice idea, but it can get you killed.” “Most people with low self-esteem have earned it.” “As a matter of principle, I never attend the first annual anything.” “The planet is fine. The people are...” — well, I can’t really repeat that one here. He did occasionally use profanity, you know.

George Carlin had no patience for sentimentality. He would probably be irritated at all of the people eulogizing him — if for no other reason than he’s not around to hear it — but he will be missed. He was an inspiration, and the world is a far less interesting place without him in it.