Edgy comic George Carlin dies at 71

**bijou** · 06-23-2008, 09:37 AM

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs, dirty words and the demise of humanity, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday. He was 71. Carlin, who had a history of heart and drug-dependency problems, died at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...062300163.html

**linda22003** · 06-23-2008, 09:52 AM

He was right on target sometimes, and he misfired sometimes, but he'll be remembered for a large and varied body of work over many years. I'm glad he knew he had won the Mark Twain prize before he died.

My favorite line of his:
"When you're born into this world, you get a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in this country, you get a front-row seat."

**biccat** · 06-23-2008, 09:53 AM

He had gotten pretty bitter about President Bush in his latest few HBO 'specials' (rants), but he was a great comic.

He was no spring chicken, but he still had a lot to offer, and he will be remembered fondly.

**enslaved1** · 06-23-2008, 10:11 AM

I'm not big on the dirty comedy any more, but Carlin was a wordsmith. He worked all his words, even the famous 7, as opposed to folks nowadays who use obscenity to cover up their lack of talent. He will be missed.

**LogansPapa** · 06-23-2008, 12:11 PM

Meh. A little bit of Carlin went a long way. I got what he was saying - mostly, but he was repetitive and tedious some times. His attacks on GWB had a ring of animal cruelty.

**Rebel Yell** · 06-23-2008, 12:34 PM

Even though I disagreed with some of his stuff, he was funny. I'd be a hypocrit (spelling Linda?) to bash him for making jokes about things I believe in. My motto is either it's all OK or none of it is. And he helped make it all OK.