The Day the Laughter Died

By David Mirsky

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 6/23/08 – George Carlin, an articulate Irishman who led an entire generation to think outside the lines, passed away Sunday night after being rushed to St. Johns Medical Center in Santa Monica.  The cause of death is thought to be from a cardiac condition, which the comedian had been treated for in past years.

Carlin was cutting edge.  He took chances no one else would dare to take.  He created the famous list of “those seven words” you will never hear on TV.  As it turned out, Carlin had to revise that list when the censor’s loosened up their normally strict standards in order for network television to compete with the expanding cable shows, and their increased viewership.  But he did add some new words to that list too.

Instead of rolling off jokes, Carlin would talk to his audience as if he were a college professor, educating his students of the ways of the world…and just how messed up it could be.  He challenged his audience, daring us to think, to question, and ultimately, to speak our minds. He was the master at pointing out the obvious when it matched up to the insane.

Carlin was the most entertaining and enlightening comedian of a generation, to the Baby Boom generation Carlin was what Bob Hope was to a prior generation. It’s going to be strange, knowing that George Carlin, who gave us so much is no more. A great man, known as a political observer, a social observer, a jokester, a clown, an intellect, a humanitarian…a man who told it as he saw it.

George Carlin is survived by his wife and daughter….and millions of devoted fans. Good bye, George.