Counterculture comedian, social commentator and satirist George Carlin passed away on Sunday evening. He had a history of heart problems, which is believed to be the cause of death. He was 71.
I remember laughing hysterically at his most famous comedy routine, “Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television.” I was working at a radio station in the early seventies when the album (”Class Clown”) first came out. Stations typically got promotional copies of albums, which is how I first heard it. I laughed so hard I actually cried. Oh man, it was so funny back then, especially while working in radio and laughing at something so taboo, at least by FCC standards.
The other routine I really liked was Carlin’s “Hippie-Dippie Weather Man,” which I mimicked all through my radio career, right down to his “golden-oldie the-hits-just-keep-on-comin” Top 40 type announcer voice.
George Carlin is a true icon of American comedy and culture, and will be sorely missed. An AP news story says that Carlin will be awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which will be presented November 10th in Washington and broadcast on PBS.
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