Editor's view: The genius of George Carlin truly an all-time comic legend By David Emanuel
I am still saddened at the loss of the man who stirred me and millions of others to fits of laughter and tears for decades.
But earlier this week, it was more tears than laughter for many a generation of legions of fans.
George Carlin died at the age of 71 of heart failure.
And I bet he'd even have something funny, some amazing wordplay, to even say about that.
This was the guy who was so much more than the seven dirty words you can never say on television.
He was a voice that made us think, and a visionary that made us see way beyond our own foibles.
And he even hosted a kid's show.
One of his mottos was: Always find that fine line in comedy you should never cross. Then cross it deliberately.
The man truly had a way with words, that will never be matched.
He was an artist, and even a comic who was probably the only comedian ever whose rhythms and timing are up there with some of our own music legends like my father had in his record collection, a record collection of which I first listened with my dad to some of the Carlin classics of the 1970s, like the Hippy Dippy Weatherman, and comic bit after bit of his amazing wordplay. (That was supposed to be a bit of a George Carlin comedic ramble, but it just didn't work, I know.)
I was so glad that just a couple of years ago, I saw him live on stage.
After listening to his records as a youngster (how wrong!), then watching all his HBO specials, and buying all his books (you can ever hear his voice as you read his rants) to finally see him on stage was something I'll never forget.
I wish I had the opportunity to meet him, and perhaps even found a way to congratulate him at the Kennedy Center Honors, where he was going to be awarded the prestigious Mark Twain prize for comedy, of which only a few people have received.
One of the staff writers for this paper, education reporter Matt Armes, also saw Carlin as something much more than just a stand-up comedian.
Armes said George Carlin was a master at illustrating comparisons in almost every area of life, always drawing out the differences in perspective.
For example, in his comedy bit known as "Euphemisms," he cites the way people or things were described several years ago and how that description changed over time, pointing out that Americans have trouble dealing with reality and facing the truth.
"So they invent this soft language to protect themselves from it," he said, "and for some reason, it just keeps getting worse over time."
He goes on to say, "Poor people used to live in slums. Now the economically disadvantaged occupy substandard housing in the inner cities. And they're broke. They don't have a negative cash-flow position. They're broke!"
There really wasn't any topic with which he couldn't familiarize himself and then poke fun at it. One of his famous pieces was one I'll cherish for a long time - "Baseball and Football."
Carlin always finished the dialogue by highlighting the object of the two games: "The object of the game in football is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short, bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack which punches holes in the forward walls of the enemy's defensive line. The object of the game in baseball is to go home!"
(Wow, Matt. Pretty impressive to remember that much verbatim!)
What I'll remember more than anything about Carlin was the manner in which he conveyed his humor. He appreciated the English language in ways that many people don't anymore, or at least not as often. His opinions about life, while not always well-received, were always well-developed and well-rehearsed, which usually made for a great delivery and laughter.
Couldn't agree more, Matt.
Carlin rallied against everything from stupid people to the state of the world to toenails to the wonder of Junior Mints to religion (no matter what your beliefs, you had to laugh, as he truly challenged you with his hilarious bitterness).
And we always learned something about ourselves, something about someone we know, something that drove us nuts. We recognized. We applauded. We gave him standing ovations.
George, may there be a place for your stuff on that big stage in the sky.
