I just heard the news that George Carlin died of heart failure yesterday in California at the age of 71, after reporting to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California complaining of chest pains...and all I can say is shit (and six or more other dirty words you can't say on television).
I'm one of those people who memorized the classic comedy LP Class Clown growing up, and though Carlin's stand-up tended to be more gimmicky (and much, much darker) in recent years, I always enjoyed Carlin's appearances on the big and small screens in the same way you look forward to seeing a favorite cranky, irascible uncle at family gatherings (even if you wouldn't necessarily want to go on a long car trip with them).
In addition to his hall-of-fame comedy career, Carlin moonlighted as a character and voice actor in more than a dozen movies, from With Six You Get Eggroll in 1968 to his final performance in Happily N'Ever After (2006). Film career highlights include his roles as mentor from the future Rufus in the Bill & Ted movies (1989 & 1991), as forward-thinking Catholic Cardinal Glick in Dogma (1999) and as himself, telling his version of the world's filthiest joke in The Aristocrats (2005).
Carlin, an avowed atheist, declared in his stand-up that "the secret of life is not dying" and fervently believed there was no Heaven or other form of afterlife...but here's hoping he's wrong and finally found a place for his stuff at the big casino in the sky.
