Still reverberating from the stunning loss of the beloved Tim Russert along comes Mr. Death to twist the knife of unanticipated loss and drown us once again in grief.
George Carlin is in the rarefied pantheon of the few, too few, truly great stand-up comedians. Along with Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, Dick Gregory and Richard Pryor, George Carlin embodied the Swiftian, Twainish culturally astute rapier wit and wisdom that every era needs. The love of language the horror, ecstasy and sublime ridiculousness of human behavior along with the sensibility to synthesize psychology and sociology into the unique poetry of joke-telling is the very recipe for comic greatness.
And now immortality...
Good night sweet Prince.
I have not yet recovered...
Still, I will not give up eccentric observationism, nor will I give in to culturally puposeless whims. Thank you, George for clearing the path so the "different drummer" could follow your example. You were a rare bird, but thankfully, the "sacred fool" will never be exterminated. (So there, Orkin Man - go play Old Maid with the Maytag repair guy.)
The "foolish" will always confound the automated wise.
Katie Kat.
I Corinthians 1:27
=^..^=
George, you achieved immortality without the trappings of religion or a personal god. You will be missed. Never forgotten.
Saw you on "Morning Joe" when your dog barfed on Mika and the chaos it created was almost a perfect way to pay tribute to Carlin. You're reaction when they informed you that SNL was going to air the first time he hosted SNL this weekend was raw and real.
Belz, you are also a comic's comic and I'm glad you're out there talking so fondly about the iconic Carlin.
I can't help but to also lament the distant loss of Bill Hicks, who also may have aspired to the hall of fame.
I was happy to hear Jon Stewart declare George was a personal hero. I don't suffer heroes gladly, but George was heroic to me. And truly brilliant. My guess is his fluid effortless performances overshadow his underlying work ethic, which must have been tremendous. I'm just so grateful for the extraordinary body of work he gave us.
George, I know you'd think me a sentimental fool, but ... well ... you know.
I said "oh well, no more stupid questions" when I heard Russert died.
George, words can not do you justice. A team captain. Bigger than life. We the people could never get it together to make the play, seal the deal. The Great Pussification of America. Sorry us. Sorry loss. I'm am sadder now than I will be when my blood relatives die. An energy that can not be matched.
Russerts name shouldn't be on the same page as George Carlin's. Carlin spoke truth. The more 'popular' TR became, the stupider he/we became. After hearing him waste 1 of only 3 questions to Dennis Kucinich in the 'debates' to Do you believe in UFO's ? was about as dumbed down as I could stand. He also did NOTHING on impeachment. He joined the opposite team of Carlin, thats why everyone knew him, his team owns the airwaves.
As I cried and perused the web yesterday, I watched again George's 7 words. And it still made me laugh. That man was so full of life. That's the way I will always remember him.
Thanks for giving me a place to say it.
Thank you so much for this succinct and fitting tribute. Mr. Carlin changed our minds while he gave us punchlines we've recited, within and to others, forever after.
Thank you for mentioning the seminal Mr. Gregory as well, who is so often overlooked when mentioning those who reinvented standup performance in the last half of the 20th century. I had the honor of running into him in DC recently and am gratified to know he's alive and well.
And you, sir, belong in that company as well. I bust a gut watching you perform at the comedy festival in Montreal several years ago.
George Carlin was an essential figure in our culture, and will continue to inspire through his immense body of work. I miss him already.
Your fan,
David
George, though.. Had just started to rediscover *and* enjoy the Rebel in him via the Net.. Makes our loss of him feel more untimely somehow..
In Love and Peace from Talking Rock..