Comedians have been known to challenge the norms of society in their routines and very few of them did it better than George Carlin.
Carlin was a master of the English language. He could hold an audience’s attention through his intelligent use of different words. Oh, OK, sure, George cursed like a sailor. Expressing himself in this way brought him trouble, especially in the 1970s. And to this very day, George Carlin still matters in the world of comedy and entertainment.
But George Carlin did something quite brave for a performer of his stature. His popularity at first came through being a clean-cut comic. Look back at his work in the early to mid-1960s. You’ll see him on The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and other variety shows. He wore a suit and tie, plus Carlin was clean-shaven with a perfect haircut.
A Certain Restlessness Bothered Him
This George got laughs, but a restlessness was underneath his skin. What led to his move from “middle-American comic,” as he called himself, to the long-haired, T-shirt-wearing comic? George Carlin talked about this in his final interview with Psychology Today in 2008, just before he died.
“By the end of the 60s, all of my friends, the musician friends of mine, had gone through a transition in their dress, and especially in their music, and what I noticed was that all of these great artists—Bob Dylan, Buffalo Springfield, Joan Baez—all of these people were using their art to express themselves politically and socially,” Carlin said. “And I was not. I was still doing people-pleasing.”
That version of Carlin left the scene. A new, hip, more observant comedian took to the stage.
In the 1970s, albums provided a vehicle for him to get his newfound switch into the American mainstream. He did this in 1972 with FM & AM. Fans got the previous George Carlin version on the AM side, but the FM side showcased his new side. He ultimately won a Grammy for this record. When Class Clown came out, also in 1972, it had his famous “Seven Words” routine on there.
Carlin faced scrutiny for his work. Hell, he even was arrested in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1972 for violating obscenity laws. In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that his “Filthy Words” routine was “indecent but not obscene.” Some people who noticed Carlin’s switch compared his new work to Lenny Bruce.
Network television let the Carlin transformation happen in front of their audiences. In 1975, when a new late-night show titled NBC‘s Saturday Night debuted, he was the show’s first host. That show is now known as Saturday Night Live.
George Carlin Was A Student of His Craft
He also made a name for himself thanks to memorable HBO specials. George Carlin was one of the cable network’s first big stars.
Why does George Carlin still matter today? Because he thought about his craft. He worked at it religiously, a word which he might ruffle his feathers. George was famously anti-religion. Spending time noting what he heard on television or possibly read in a newspaper mattered to him.
Using an observer’s mind, Carlin could mine through society and take note of it all. He used his words like throwing darts at a dart board of humanity. Today’s comedians have the ability to do this as well. How well do they do it? That’s up to a listener’s choice.
It’s quite apparent from reading about Carlin that he thought about comedy, words, language, and rhythm. I point out rhythm because a good comedian has a cadence in their work. People make fun of Jerry Seinfeld’s type of rhythmic pattern when delivering a joke. They’ve picked up on it through seeing him on stage or doing short stand-up bits on his sitcom, Seinfeld.
In the Psychology Today piece, interviewer Jay Dixit pointed out that Seinfeld had spoken to Carlin just prior to doing this interview. Seinfeld credited Carlin with influencing him to become a comedian. Carlin was asked about this matter of influencing other comics from his work. “I hear that from some of them, who say, ‘I wouldn’t be doing this were it not for you,'” Carlin said.
Putting together an in-depth look at the life and career of George Carlin could take up hundreds of pages. It’s easy to pass off his breadth of comedic work as a bunch of dirty words. That’s not fair. He selectively took the English language and used it well. Carlin was not afraid to challenge those in authority. His career took center stage in the 2022 documentary George Carlin’s American Dream. It was directed by Judd Apatow and produced by George’s daughter, Kelly Carlin.
Carlin would have celebrated his birthday on Sunday, May 12. But his work still stands the test of time. And his routines, for the most part, are directing our attention from the ridiculous to the sublime. Comedy is hard work. It’s more than just writing down jibberish and standing before 20 or 2,000 people. Carlin worked hard at his craft. Being receptive or indignant to it all is up to you.
But George Carlin still matters to this very day.
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