The death of comedy legend George Carlin stunned the comedy world yesterday as comedians expressed their sadness and paid tribute to one of the last greatest comedians who changed stand-up comedy.
Liz Miele, Stand Up is Dead
“I was woken up twice by calls from friends letting me know that George Carlin had passed away. There’s something that initially feels wrong to me when I feel sad for a celebrity. Why do I feel sad for someone i don’t really know, someone I’m not super close with like my friends and family? But my logic doesn’t wipe away my feelings of sadness and the truth is he’s not just a celebrity. He is someone that has pushed so many boundaries both socially and in comedy and because of him has made it possible for me to do what I do.
I think this is the first great comedians death that has really effected me. I wasn’t around for the career or death of Lenny Bruce, I was unaware of Hicks or Kaufman when they died and while Richard Pryor died not too long ago because of his illness I feel like he had really died in the 90s when his disease prevented him from performing because really that is an artist’s true death when they can no longer express themselves.
I am deeply sadden by the loss of George Carlin. While I know he lived a long life and produced a career and material that will outlive us all – Comedy and this society are at a great loss.”
“I received the news of George Carlin’s death at 2:30am via text message from a fellow comic. I can’t believe that one of my comedy heroes is gone. In almost every interview I’ve ever done, I’ve been asked who inspires me: George Carlin. He is the embodiment of what I think great stand-up comics should do: Make people laugh and think at the same time. Nobody does it better. But I will always think of him when I’m trying to figure out — yet again — what to do with all my stuff.”
Riley Fox, My Tribute to George Carlin
“When I saw Carlin live in 2004, I was barely a fan. By 2006, I was a huge fan. When I found out that summer that Carlin was making another stop at the Ryman in October 2006, I was rabid with excitement. I did something I have never done before for a concert nor have I ever done since: I bought my ticket two months in advance the very instant they went on sale…
He makes me want to be equally great at all of those elements of stand-up. He makes me want to be versatile, and I think to a small extent I am succeeding in that, because I do have jokes ranging from modern politics to more trivial issues like P. Diddy’s name. But also as a sharpshooting truth-teller, Carlin showed me through his work that it’s okay to joke about anything. Just as long as it’s funny. Be funny, and be honest. Don’t be disingenuous in your work. That was another big lesson I picked up from Carlin. Be honest with yourself, say what you feel to be true, and be fucking funny…
I am going to miss George Carlin. It is a sad realization knowing that he will no longer be around to comment on the state of affairs in our society. I can already feel that void. It’s the same void we comics and comedy fans feel anytime we lose one of the all-time greats. I just hope that Carlin’s spirit got flung up to a nice roof–and if you caught that reference, kudos on you.”
Al Del Bene, Sh*t, piss, f*ck, cunt, cocksucker, motherf*cker & tits.
“My friend called me…he has a bit about calling people when some one dies. ‘Dude,’ he said. ‘I hate to be my act, but George Carlin is dead.’ Of course I waited for the punch line, but it was true…Anyway, the first seven words to pop into my head were ‘sh*t, piss, f*ck, cunt, cocksucker, motherf*cker and tits.’ I’ll never forget those words. I learned them when I was seven years-old, and I would recite them like poetry to the amazement of my school friends.
I know a lot of comedians claim George Carlin as their inspiration to do comedy, and I’m no different. Soon after my dad died, when I was seven, I latched on to two things: an eight- track tape of Black Sabbath Paranoid and George Carlin’s Class Clown album. I would listen to these over and over back to back, for what had to be two years. I remember not understanding a lot of what Carlin was talking about at the time, but the album cover was funny and I liked the sound of his voice…
My point is Carlin really affected me. He was a my favorite comedian of all time and a wordsmith. Although I never got to meet him, my wife and I did see him live on our wedding day in August 2001. I Kinda Like It When a Lot of People Die was the working title of the show, but when it aired on HBO post 9/11, it was called Complaints and Grievances and Carlin did those two things like nobody.”
“The world lost a true genius today. George Carlin was not simply a comedian, he was a voice of reason that challenged all topics most of us will dare not mention in public. He paved the road for countless comedians and will continue to do so in the future. The world is not as funny today as it was yesterday.”
Loni Love, Good Night King George
“I was so happy to see George Carlin perform but to be a young comic and meet him was a dream come true. That was 1995. He was fearless and entertaining with his stories and jokes. Fast forward to 2008. George Carlin is going to be preparing for his 14th HBO special and he would be at the Hermosa Beach Comedy and Magic Club. I was going to see one of the masters…but then I get a last minute call from the club, George had to cancel so would you like to perform? I was more disappointed than any of the fans that had to get their tickets refunded…
Carlin was his own comic, but at first he tried to do comedy the “network way” (no cussing, no talking about religion, sex, etc). But that was not him, and he took the chance to express himself and he learned to make a living making us laugh and think at the same time. Comics are very lonely souls; we want the best for the world but tend to do the worst to our own world. Carlin was known to use coke which may have been an escape for the mess that he tried to process in the world. Or maybe it was his friend when no one else could understand what he was trying to do, I know that feeling.
Well, King George, you have done well, you have made your point, now make God laugh.”
Jamie Kilstein, Carlin
“Watching stand up on TV today you would think the quote was “I think the duty of the comedian is to find the line, then run from that line as fast as humanly possible, hide behind a nearby tree, then write that family comedy spec-script you’ve been kicking around for years.”
When Carlin and Bruce were playing dives, stand up was still counter-culture. You could get arrested for speaking. They got arrested for speaking. George used to be a wacky-faced suit-and-tie observational stand up until the day he saw Lenny Bruce — until he saw what stand up could truly be: the art of pushing peoples’ buttons. I know a lot of people felt the same way when they saw Carlin for the first time. That “oh shit” moment when you realize you’re a fraud and everything you’re doing is dog sh*t. Many comics ran home to their notebooks after hearing Carlin talk about drugs, censorship, or religion. Most, after that long night of soul-searching, got on stage two days later and talked about their girlfriends’ periods, completely selling out last night’s soul, instead opting for the easy road to Nowhere. How many comics still talk about what people already know, and what no one is afraid of because they figure there will always be guys like George? Well, now there aren’t.
Anytime a club owner, a member of the audience, a parent, an agent, a college agent, a manager, or a TV executive tells you ‘You can’t say that,’ say ‘F*ck you. I just did. That means you’re wrong.’ Then, think of George: hippy in handcuffs being dragged out of a club after knowingly breaking the law by saying what he wanted to say, smiling big, and thinking about how he would work this into the act.
I only met him once. I was with my best friends at the time and we thanked him for paving the way for edgy comics. He looked at us, and referring to the many people that would tell us what we could and could not say, he said Eh! Put a finger in their eye!” Perfect.
The good news is this: the comics he did influence will take this art form even further, and find more lines to cross. There may only be a few, but there was only one Carlin and look what that motherfucker did. George Carlin died today. He got high and wrote jokes ’til his last breath. Perfect.”
Comedy Radio Tributes to George Carlin
