George Carlin 1937-2008

George Carlin passed away yesterday. We have truly lost not just one of the funniest men in the business, but a genius as well. He will be missed.

My first exposure to the man's comedy was TV of the early 1970s when he would appear occasionally as the 'hippy-dippy weatherman,' of which I loved when he would say, "the forecast for tonight is ...dark." I remember him on "Saturday Night Live" doing the bit on the differences between baseball and football which I thought it was brilliant. I remember his cab driver in Car Wash as well.

My next important exposure to George Carlin was as a comic, specializing in observational if controversial humor. Cassette tapes of Carlin and Richard Pryor would circulate through school like dirty magazines. "Shh, keep this on the downlow." I remember one routine where he's talking about a single parent saying, "I have to be both mother and father to you," to which the child replies, "Go f*** yourself." And then there was the "Seven Dirty Words" routine that became important when I was in radio. Great teaching tool.

Later in life, I loved him (as did a whole new generation) in the Bill and Ted movies and more recently in Kevin Smith's work. He was a giant among comics, speakers and thinkers. I was fortunate enough to see him in concert recently. I remember being concerned when he struggled at times during the performance, but that's the point - concern, like you would have for someone you cared about. He'll be missed. Some say he was the next Lenny Bruce, but now that he's gone, there'll never be another George Carlin.