Page 20 - Holly Carney Issue (3)

George Carlin - Remembered

By Robert Tussey

Everyone has his or her favorite memory of George: The who railed against his work (most especially the court case
seven dirty words seem to be the one most often quoted. brought by a lone mid-western pastor who had heard his
Language can shock and repulse. It can enlighten and ex- seven dirty words on a pirate radio station in the wee hours
plain. It can endear, and it can free. He knew this far before of the morning, thus leading to the Supreme Court), he said:
most of us. But language, simple words, can get you arrest- “There are two knobs on the radio sir, one to change the
ed and ostracized. He knew this too. George was in good channel, and one to turn it off. It’s called freedom…”
company here. Lenny Bruce. Richard Pryor. Kindred spirits Rest in peace George.
leavened by words.
There were the ‘blue’ comics of the forties and fifties: Redd
Foxx, Bert Henry, Woody Woodbury, Rusty Warren, and
dozens of others that worked the fringe. Their appearances
were scandalous and drew much attention. Despite this,
their following were legion and dedicated: There has always
been an audience for language that speaks outside the soci-
etal box.
Carlin’s early career was milque-toast in comparison.
Through his many appearances on Merv Griffin and Mike
Douglas he found his own following. Even then the charac-
ters he created were memorable: Al Sleet, the hippie-dippie
weather man was a staple in his act during the 60’s. He was
a staff writer on several shows and even had his own sitcom
for two seasons (The George Carlin Show). But somewhere
in the late sixties he began using cocaine and credits this
period as his catharsis; “That was concurrent with my change
from a straight comic to the album and counterculture period,
and those drugs served their purpose. They helped open me
20 up.”
His long hair, beard, and tie-dyed shirts set him apart from
the current flock of comedians and his language widened the
chasm. The seven dirty words changed everything. Cen-
sorship, arrests and jail, and drugs fueled his anger and he
continued to push the limits. But no matter what you thought
about him, he made us laugh despite ourselves. I remem-
ber sitting cross-legged on the gymnasium floor of Cal State
Northridge in 1971 and laughing so hard my whole body
ached. This was my first glimpse at the new Carlin and it
was liberating. His use of language, and the freedom he felt
doing it excited me. He made people think about what they
said and the thoughts they had. He changed a generation
without missing a beat, much the way Lenny Bruce had done
a decade earlier.
The freedom to write and say the verboten came with a price.
The religious community railed not only at Carlin and his ilk,
but the direction their behavior was taking us as a society.
The disagreements were loud and well covered in the media.
Still, the tide had changed and, for the most part, we were
better for it. Unfortunately, the use of language has denigrat-
ed to the point where ‘foul’ verbiage was used just because a
comedian could. This countered the purpose of Lenny Bruce
and George Carlin: They wanted to free us in the use of
words, not shock us.
History proves the pendulum effect: A thing, in order to
change, must swing radically to both sides to (ultimately)
find its middle ground. George understood this and fought
to push that pendulum further and further. To his detractors,
July/August 2008