Perhaps one of the most well known and well renowned stand up comedians is none other than George Denis Patrick Carlin (more commonly known as simply George Carlin). Carlin won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums, and the first of his 14 comedy specials on HBO was first aired in 1977. Carlin was the king of dark humor, and often times noted on politics, American culture, religion, and other taboo topics. Carlin placed second in Comedy Central's Top 100 comedians of all time behind Richard Pryor. He also hosted the first Saturday Night Live.
One of the most famous pieces is the "Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say on Television"
Although raised as Roman Catholic, Carlin became atheist and often denounced the idea of God in several of his routines, most notably in "You Are All Diseased". Check out this youtube video.
George Carlin's comedic themes often revolved around "observational humor" (George Carlin talks about Stuff and Similarities), "social commentary", and the English language, all of which revolve around his theme of "humanity's bullshit". During his "Life is Worth Losing" show, he gave this statement:
"I look at it this way... For centuries now, man has done everything he can to destroy, defile, and interfere with nature: clear-cutting forests, strip-mining mountains, poisoning the atmosphere, over-fishing the oceans, polluting the rivers and lakes, destroying wetlands and aquifers... so when nature strikes back, and smacks him on the head and kicks him in the nuts, I enjoy that. I have absolutely no sympathy for human beings whatsoever. None. And no matter what kind of problem humans are facing, whether it's natural or man-made, I always hope it gets worse."
Carlin's career as a comedian, actor, and author began in 1956 til June 22, 2008 when he died of heart failure.
Wiki Page
George Carlin Home Page
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