George Carlin: American stand-up comedian (1937–2008)

He was known for his dark comedy and jokes about politics, the English language, psychology, religion, and taboo.

George Carlin
Carlin in 1975
Born	George Denis Patrick Carlin (1937-05-12)May 12, 1937 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	June 22, 2008(2008-06-22) (aged 71) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart failure
Occupation(s)	Actor, writer, comedian.
Years active	1956–2008
Known for	Narrator of Thomas and Friends Mr. Conductor on Shining Time Station
Spouse(s)	Brenda Hosbrook (m. 1961–1997; her death) Sally Wade (m. 1998–2008; his death)
Children	1

Carlin was born and raised in Manhattan, New York City. Carlin said that he started to appreciate effective use of the English language because of his mother, though they had a difficult relationship and he often ran away from home. He grew up on West 121st Street in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, which he and his friends called "White Harlem" because it "sounded a lot tougher than its real name".

His mother had a television, which was a rare and new technology at the time, and Carlin became a fan of the late-night talk show Broadway Open House during its short run.

Carlin joined the U.S. Air Force and trained as a radar technician. During his time in the Air Force, he had been court-martialed three times and received many nonjudicial punishments and reprimands.

The first of Carlin's 14 stand-up comedy specials for HBO was filmed in 1977. From the late 1980s, his performances were focused on sociocultural criticism of American society.

Carlin acted in movies including Jersey Girl, Dogma, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (and its sequel), Scary Movie 3, and Disney's Tarzan 2. He also narrated the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends from 1984 to 1995 (Actor Alec Baldwin later took over the role in 1998), and Portrayed Mr. Conductor on Shining Time Station.

He was known for his "seven dirty words" routine. The routine was about seven words people should not say in the media. (The list was ironically used by many radio stations, as a guide to what kind of language was not allowed.) Comedy Central called Carlin one of the greatest stand-up comedians.

Carlin married Brenda Hosbrook on June 3, 1961, together they have a daughter named Kelly.^[source?] They remained married until her death in 1997, just a few day's before Carlin's 60th birthday.^[source?] Carlin then married Sally Wade on June 24, 1998, the married lasted until Carlin's death in 2008.^[source?]

Carlin had a history of heart problems. He had several heart attacks. He died of heart failure in Santa Monica, California at age 71.

Discography

Main

• 1963: Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight
• 1967: Take-Offs and Put-Ons
• 1972: FM & AM
• 1972: Class Clown
• 1973: Occupation: Foole
• 1974: Toledo Window Box
• 1975: An Evening with Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo
• 1977: On the Road
• 1981: A Place for My Stuff
• 1982: Carlin at Carnegie
• 1984: Carlin on Campus
• 1986: Playin' with Your Head
• 1988: What Am I Doing in New Jersey?
• 1990: Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics
• 1992: Jammin' in New York
• 1996: Back in Town
• 1999: You Are All Diseased
• 2001: Complaints and Grievances
• 2002: George Carlin on Comedy
• 2006: Life Is Worth Losing
• 2008: It's Bad for Ya

Compilations

• 1978: Indecent Exposure: Some of the Best of George Carlin
• 1984: The George Carlin Collection
• 1992: Classic Gold
• 1999: The Little David Years

Filmography

Television

• The Kraft Summer Music Hall (1966)
• That Girl (Guest appearance) (1966)
• The Ed Sullivan Show (multiple appearances)
• The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (season 3 guest appearance) (1968)
• What's My Line? (Guest Appearance) (1969)
• The Game Game (Guest Appearance) (1969)
• The Flip Wilson Show (writer, performer) (1971–1973)
• The Mike Douglas Show (Guest) (February 18, 1972)
• Welcome Back, Kotter (Guest Appearance) (1978)
• Saturday Night Live (Host, episodes 1 and 183) (1975 & 1984)
• Nick at Nite (station IDs) (1987)
• Justin Case (as Justin Case) (1988) TV movie directed Blake Edwards
• Thomas and Friends (as US Narrator: Series 1–4) (1984–1996)
• Shining Time Station (as Mr. Conductor/Narrator for Thomas the Tank Engine segments) (1991–1993; Family Specials for 1995)
• Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales (as Mr. Conductor/Narrator for Thomas the Tank Engine segments) (1996)
• Storytime with Thomas (as Mr. Conductor/Narrator for Thomas the Tank Engine segments) (1999)
• The George Carlin Show (as George O'Grady) (1994–1995) Fox
• Streets of Laredo (as Billy Williams) (1995)
• The Simpsons (as Munchie, episode "D'oh-in in the Wind") (1998)
• I'm Telling You for the Last Time
• The Daily Show (guest on February 1, 1999; December 16, 1999; and March 10, 2004)
• MADtv (Guest appearance in episodes 518 & 524) (2000)
• Inside the Actors Studio (2004)
• Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales (as Fillmore) (archive footage) (2008)

Video games

• Cars (2006) (as Fillmore)

HBO specials

Bibliography

Books

• Sometimes a Little Brain Damage Can Help. 1984. ISBN 0-89471-271-3
• Brain Droppings. 1997. ISBN 0-7868-8321-9
• Napalm and Silly Putty. 2001. ISBN 0-7868-8758-3
• When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?. 2004. ISBN 1-4013-0134-7
• Three Times Carlin: An Orgy of George. 2006. ISBN 978-1-4013-0243-6. A collection of the 3 previous titles.
• Watch My Language. 2009. ISBN 0-7868-8838-5