The George Carlin of the 1960s
For most, memories of George Carlin on television come from his many HBO specials starting from the 1970s and continuing up until the present day. For others, it was his appearance during the very first Saturday Night Live back in 1975. But, there was another George Carlin that many don’t remember. That is the very young George Carlin from the 1960s.
Before the beard, and the long hair, and the swearing and his “the world is doomed” attitude, George Carlin was a traditional suit-and-tie stand-up comic. He began by teaming up with comedian Jack Burns in the late 1950s, then eventually went his own way. During that time he came up with a number of famous routines including “The Indian Sergeant,” “The Hippy-Dippy Weatherman,” and “Wonderful WINO.” Many of these routines would be performed on shows like The Tonight Show (both the Jack Paar and Johnny Carson versions) and the Ed Sullivan Show.
After the jump you’ll see two examples of his mid-60s television appearances.
The first one may or may not be from the Ed Sullivan Show. Either way, it features Carlin performing “The Indian Sergeant.” The second video is from a 1966 episode of The Tonight Show, with Carlin as Al Sleet — the Hippie-Dippie Weatherman. The Tonight Show video will probably more familiar to those viewers who have spent numerous early morning hours watching television since it was part of the Tonight Show DVD infomerical that aired for several years.
George Carlin dead at 71
Wow. I just got in from a very, very late flight from Denver, and the early-morning newscasts hit me with this wallop: my favorite comedian, George Carlin, passed away last night. On Sunday, he admitted himself into a local Santa Monica hospital, complaining of chest pains, and ended up dying that evening of heart failure. He was 71.
Carlin, of course, is most famous for the 1970s comedy routine “Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV.” It was a bit which not only got radio stations that played it in trouble with the FCC, leading to landmark First Amendment and decency rulings by the Supreme Court, but he was also arrested in Milwaukee on indecency charges after doing the routine on stage there.
During a long and varied career, Carlin went from doing goofy, straight-arrow comedy bits like “The Hippy-Dippy Weatherman” on The Ed Sullivan Show to being the ultimate counterculture spokesman, giving his observations — big and small — about the world on stage and TV. He was one of the first comedians to do hour-long specials on HBO, and his last one, It’s Bad for Ya, was well-received when it aired earlier this year. He also had a self-titled FOX series for a couple of years in the Nineties. So his tie to TV is quite strong.
Sigh. I’m sure Carlin’s fans will have more to say later today and this week. He’ll be sorely missed.
Funny Folk Salute [Expletive-Deleted] George Carlin
There may be seven words you can never say on television, but only five are needed to describe George Carlin. At least according to Robin Williams.
“He was one funny motherf–ker,” Williams said of his legendarily caustic comedic forebear, who died of heart failure Sunday evening at the age of 71.
“George Carlin was the living embodiment of the First Amendment. In the traditions of Mark Twain and Jonathan Swift, he dealt with the insanity of the world with the one-two punch of humor and honesty with no apologies,” added Williams.
“He was one of the greats,” Ben Stiller said in a more censor-friendly statement, “and he will be missed. [He] was a hugely influential force in stand-up comedy. He had an amazing mind, and his humor was brave and always challenging us to look at ourselves and question our belief systems, while being incredibly entertaining.”
Kevin Smith, who frequently cast Carlin in films and who gave the taboo breaker his last live-action big-screen role in 2004’s Jersey Girl, reacted to news of the death on his official website this morning.
“Dammit. My favorite memory of Carlin is sitting in the audience at one of his Vegas shows as he did his ’People I Can Do Without’ routine,” Smith wrote. “When he got to ’guys over the age of 10 who wear their baseball hats backwards,’ he tossed in ’Kevin, you’re exempt from this.’
“Changed my sense of humor forever. Sixteen years later, I was happy to have met the man, let alone worked with him. Honestly, I was lucky to have known him at all.”
Jay Leno also paid tribute to his fallen friend, who broke onto the national scene back in the 1960s as a hippy-dippy weatherman on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.
“If there was ever a comedian who was a voice of their generation, it was George Carlin,” Leno said. “Before George, comedians aspired to put on nice suits and perform in Las Vegas. George rebelled against that life.
“His comedy took on privilege and elitism, even railing against the game of golf. He never lost that fire. May he continue to inspire young people never to accept the status quo.”
Judd Apatow gave props to Carlin’s influence over today’s class of cutups.
“Nobody was funnier than George Carlin,” he said. “I spent half my childhood in my room listening to his records experiencing pure joy. And he was as kind as he was funny.”
Saturday Night Live mastermind Lorne Michaels was also in mourning for the comic genius who served as the first-ever host of SNL, albeit one who later admitted to having been on cocaine for the duration of his appearance.
“You never forget the people who were there at the beginning,” Michaels said. “George Carlin helped give Saturday Night Live its start as our first host. He was gracious, fearless and, most important of all, funny.”
HBO, which produced 14 Carlin-fronted comedy specials, also issued a statement on the funnyman’s death.
“Because HBO has had such a long and close relationship with George Carlin, his passing is like losing one of our own,” the cable net said in a statement.
“No performer was more important to helping our network define itself in its early years. And no performer was more committed to the ideal of freedom of speech, a principle he embodied for the 50 years he performed with his trademark wit.
“We will miss his humor and his righteous comic anger, and we will simply miss him.”
Jerry Seinfeld, meanwhile, is penning a eulogy to Carlin for tomorrow’s New York Times. He’s also set to speak about his comedic forebear on tonight’s Larry King Live.