George Carlin dead

**Bob Loblaw** · 06-23-08, 02:11 AM

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...rtainment/home

Reuters
June 23, 2008 at 1:13 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES — Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71.
Carlin, who had a history of heart and drug-dependency problems, died at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.
Known for his edgy, provocative material, Carlin achieved status as an anti-Establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine called "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television." A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of the routine ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the 1978 case, Federal Communications Commission vs. Pacifica Foundation, the top U.S. court ruled that the words cited in Carlin's routine were indecent, and that the government's broadcast regulator could ban them from being aired at times when children might be listening.

Carlin's comedic sensibility often came back to a central theme: humanity is doomed.
"I don't have any beliefs or allegiances. I don't believe in this country, I don't believe in religion, or a god, and I don't believe in all these man-made institutional ideas," he told Reuters in a 2001 interview.
Carlin, who wrote several books and performed in many television comedy specials, is survived by his wife Sally Wade, and daughter Kelly Carlin McCall.

**Just KC** · 06-23-08, 02:26 AM

Just saw this on the news. I think he smoked too, which didn't help.......
Sad.....

RIP

**Bob Loblaw** · 06-23-08, 02:34 AM

Originally Posted by Just KC

I think he smoked too

yes...I'm QUITE sure he did.

**Bob Loblaw** · 06-23-08, 02:35 AM

Wait..you probably meant tobacco, Just KC. That I'm not sure about.

**Ducky** · 06-23-08, 02:56 AM

Say what you will about him, he was damn funny and made you think.

RIP

**Xiphos** · 06-23-08, 03:27 AM

I was never a fan. Bummer for his family though!

**Shoestring** · 06-23-08, 03:43 AM

Funny man, 71 is not a bad age though, prayers for the family

**mack** · 06-23-08, 04:42 AM

Great man, Great comedian, he will be missed. He opened the door for the comedy we enjoy today.

**Cool Breeze** · 06-23-08, 10:27 AM

Glad I got to see him before he passed. I'll certainly miss his work.

**Just KC** · 06-23-08, 10:31 AM

Originally Posted by Bob Loblaw

Wait..you probably meant tobacco, Just KC. That I'm not sure about.

LOL....yeah, i meant cigarettes on top of everything else

**Pudge** · 06-23-08, 01:04 PM

RIP

**Bob Loblaw** · 06-23-08, 01:58 PM

Not a big fan of his, but I do recognize that his influence helped re-define comedy, so I will always be grateful. Without his work, there would have been no Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., or Mitch Hedberg. Or Bill Engvall (which isn't such a bad thing).

**MacLean** · 06-23-08, 02:03 PM

I wonder if he believes in God now?

**armsmaster270** · 06-23-08, 03:15 PM

Too bad he was a funny man, but he ran a good race for his lifestyle.

**TXCharlie** · 06-23-08, 09:10 PM

RIP - The only over-age hippy I knew who could do a hilarious 45-minute stand-up routine about "stuff in your closet"

Ironically, the "hippy-dippy weatherman" was probably his worst routine, but the one he's most remembered by (after the 7 deadly words you can't say over the air).