George Carlin#Religion

George Denis Patrick CarlinGeorge Carlin's American Dream (2022){{cite book |last=Sullivan |first=James |year=2010 |title=Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin |url=https://archive.org/details/sevendirtywordsl00sull |url-access=registration |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306818295 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} was born at New York Hospital (now Weill Cornell Medical Center) on Manhattan Island on May 12, 1937, the son of Mary (née Bearey; 1896–1984) and Patrick John Carlin (1888–1945).{{cite AV media |last=Carlin |first=George |title=Complaints and Grievances |medium=TV |publisher=HBO |date=November 17, 2001}}{{harvnb|Carlin|Hendra|2009|p=[https://archive.org/details/lastwords0000carl/page/6 6]}} "Lying there in New York Hospital, my first definitive act on this planet was to vomit." He had an older brother, Patrick Jr. (1931–2022), who had a major influence on his comedy and was sometimes directly involved.{{Cite news |title=Patrick Carlin, Comedy Raconteur and Influence on Brother George Carlin, Dies at 90 |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/patrick-carlin-dead-90-george-carlin-brother-1235234338/ |last1=Murphy |first1=J |date=April 17, 2022 |access-date=May 22, 2022 |work=Variety |last2=Littleton |first2=Cynthia}} Carlin called himself "fully Irish"; his mother was born in New York to Irish immigrants and his father was an Irish immigrant from Cloghan, County Donegal.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OnWnwwxNPA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/-OnWnwwxNPA |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live |title=George Carlin - pride |publisher=YouTube |date=February 2, 2010 |access-date=May 10, 2021}}{{cbignore}} In his autobiography Last Words, he wrote about a fantasy of Ireland he often had when his first wife was alive: "The southeastern parts so that it would be a little warmer, and the two of us there, close enough to Dublin that you could go buy things you needed."George Carlin, Last Words (New York: Free Press, 2010), p. 288 Carlin's maternal grandfather was an NYPD police officer who wrote out the works of William Shakespeare by hand for fun.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCGGWeD_EJk |title=Jon Stewart Interviews George Carlin |publisher=YouTube |date=August 16, 2016 |access-date=October 19, 2021}}{{Citation |title=George Carlin - Unmasked with George Carlin |date=March 6, 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-clvDxl8qI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/s-clvDxl8qI |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live |language=en |access-date=November 12, 2021}}{{cbignore}} Carlin's parents separated when he was two months old due to the alcoholism of his father, who Carlin said was "never around". His mother raised him and his brother on her own.{{cite web |title=Jon Stewart Interviews George Carlin |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCGGWeD_EJk&feature=youtu.be&t=146 |website=George Carlin Official YouTube Channel |date=August 16, 2016 |access-date=August 24, 2020}} When Carlin was eight years old, his father died.

Carlin said that he picked up an appreciation for effective use of the English language from his mother,{{cite book |title=Conversations on the Edge of the Apocalypse |url=https://archive.org/details/conversationsone00brow |url-access=limited |last=Brown |first=David Jay |author-link=David Jay Brown |page=[https://archive.org/details/conversationsone00brow/page/n208 196] |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2005 |isbn=9781403965325}} though they had a difficult relationship and he often ran away from home.{{Cite magazine |title=Playboy Interview: George Carlin |magazine=Playboy |last=Merrill |first=Sam |date=January 1982}} He grew up at 519 West 121st Street, in Manhattan's Morningside Heights neighborhood, which he and his friends called "White Harlem" because it "sounded a lot tougher than its real name".{{cite news |url = http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/brainstorm/200806/george-carlins-last-interview |archive-url = https://archive.today/20080626081637/http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/brainstorm/200806/george-carlins-last-interview |archive-date = June 26, 2008 |work = Psychology Today |title = George Carlin's last interview |first = Jay |last = Dixit |date =June 10, 2008 | access-date =November 16, 2024 |url-status=dead }} He attended Corpus Christi School, a Catholic parish school of the Corpus Christi Church in Morningside Heights.{{cite web |url=http://www.georgecarlin.com/update_10-29-08/timeline/early_years.html |title=George Carlin: Early Years |publisher=George Carlin website (georgecarlin.com) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708072213/http://www.georgecarlin.com/update_10-29-08/timeline/early_years.html |archive-date=July 8, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2014}}{{cite news | last=Flegenheimer | first= Matt | url = http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/pondering-a-carlin-street-and-keeping-the-7-words-in-check/ | title = Carlin Street' Resisted by His Old Church. Was It Something He Said? | work = The New York Times | date =October 25, 2011 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} One of Carlin's closest childhood friends was Randy Jurgensen, who became one of the most decorated homicide detectives in NYPD history.{{Cite web|title=About|url=http://www.randyjurgensen.com/about.html|access-date=September 5, 2021|website=Randy Jurgensen|language=en|archive-date=September 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905214907/http://www.randyjurgensen.com/about.html|url-status=dead}} His mother had a television set, a new technology few people owned at the time, and Carlin became an avid fan of the pioneering late-night talk show Broadway Open House.{{cite AV media | last = Carlin | first = George | date = December 17, 2007 | title = George Carlin Interview Part 1 of 7 - TelevisionAcademy.com/Interviews | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnVkUcGJyjU | access-date = January 18, 2020 | time = 20:23 | publisher = Academy of Television Arts & Sciences}} He went to the Bronx for high school, but was expelled from Cardinal Hayes High School after three semesters at age 15. He briefly attended Bishop Dubois High School in Harlem and Salesian High School in Goshen.{{cite news |first=David |last=Gonzalez |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/nyregion/24hayes.html |title=George Carlin Didn't Shun School That Ejected Him |work=The New York Times |date=June 24, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} He spent many summers at Camp Notre Dame in Spofford, New Hampshire, where he regularly won the camp's drama award; upon his death, some of his ashes were scattered at Spofford Lake per his request.{{cite web |url=http://www.nhtourguide.com/nh_facts.htm |title=Interesting, Strange & Weird New Hampshire Facts |publisher=NHTourGuide.com |access-date=June 12, 2014}}

Carlin idolized Danny Kaye and wanted to be just like him. His career plan was to work his way up through various performing occupations to eventually become a comedic actor like Kaye, and although he eventually realized he did not possess the skills to be a top-notch actor, he constantly referred in interviews to his sad realization of not being able to attain his boyhood dream. Near the end of his life, he took more acting roles as he never really gave up on his lifelong dream.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2009-02-10 |title=Tributes ~ George Carlin on Danny Kaye {{!}} Make 'Em Laugh |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/makeemlaugh/video/all-interviews/tributes-george-carlin-on-danny-kaye/124/#:~:text=He%20did%20things%20I%20wanted,to%20be%20like%20Danny%20Kaye. |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Make 'Em Laugh}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2007-10-04 |title=George Carlin still furious 50 years on |url=https://variety.com/2007/scene/markets-festivals/george-carlin-still-furious-50-years-on-1117973286/ |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=George Carlin with Tony Hendra |url=https://www.writersblocpresents.com/archives/carlin/carlin.htm |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=www.writersblocpresents.com}}

Carlin joined the U.S. Air Force and was trained as a radar technician. He was stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana, and began working as a DJ at radio station KJOE in nearby Shreveport in July 1956.{{Cite web |title=The Official George Carlin Biography- georgecarlin.com |url=https://georgecarlin.com/biography/ |access-date=January 10, 2025 |website=georgecarlin.com |language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/george-carlin/|title=George Carlin|first=Patricia|last=McConnico|date=December 1, 1999|website=Texas Monthly}} Called an "unproductive airman" by his superiors, he received a general discharge on July 29, 1957. During his time in the Air Force, he was court-martialed three times and received many nonjudicial punishments and reprimands.{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/2008/film/news/comedian-george-carlin-dies-at-71-1117987925/ |title=Comedian George Carlin dies at 71 |magazine=Variety |date=June 22, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014}}

File:Away We Go (1967) Press Photo of George Carlin and Buddy Greco (2).jpg in 1967]]

In 1959, Carlin met Jack Burns, a fellow DJ at radio station KXOL in Fort Worth, Texas.{{cite web |url=http://www.texasradiohalloffame.com/georgecarlin.html|title=Texas Radio Hall of Fame: George Carlin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040923044145/http://www.texasradiohalloffame.com/georgecarlin.html |archive-date=September 23, 2004 |access-date=June 11, 2014}} They formed a comedy team and after successful performances at Fort Worth's beat coffeehouse The Cellar, Burns and Carlin headed for California in February 1960.

Within weeks of arriving in California, Burns and Carlin put together an audition tape and created The Wright Brothers, a morning show on KDAY in Hollywood. During their tenure at KDAY, they honed their material in beatnik coffeehouses at night.{{Cite news |url=http://www.georgecarlin.com/time/time3B.html |title=Timeline – 1960s |work=George Carlin Biography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000621020616/http://www.georgecarlin.com/time/time3B.html |archive-date=June 21, 2000 |access-date=June 12, 2014}} Years later, when he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Carlin requested that it be placed in front of the KDAY studios near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street.{{cite web|url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entity_id=19830&source_type=A|title=Biographical information for George Carlin|publisher=Kennedy Center|access-date=July 30, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220184243/http://kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entity_id=19830&source_type=A|archive-date=February 20, 2009}} Burns and Carlin recorded their only album, Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight, in May 1960 at Cosmo Alley in Hollywood. After two years as a team, they parted to pursue individual careers, but "remain[ed] the best of friends".{{sfn|Carlin|Hendra|2009|pp=47–8}}

File:George Carlin 1969.JPG in 1969]]

In the 1960s, Carlin began appearing on television variety shows, where he played various characters, including a Native American sergeant, a stupid radio disc jockey, and a hippie weatherman. Variations on these routines appear on Carlin's 1967 debut album, Take-Offs and Put-Ons, which was recorded live in 1966 at The Roostertail in Detroit and issued by RCA Victor in 1967.{{cite web |url=http://www.georgecarlin.com/home/home.html |title=George Carlin's official site (see Timeline) |publisher=Georgecarlin.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008001351/http://www.georgecarlin.com/home/home.html |archive-date=October 8, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} During this period, Carlin became a frequent performer and guest host on The Tonight Show, initially with Jack Paar as host, and then with Johnny Carson. Carlin became one of Carson's most frequent substitutes during his three-decade tenure. Carlin was also cast in Away We Go, a 1967 CBS comedy show.{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061235/fullcredits | title=Away We Go (1967– ) Full Cast & Crew | website=IMDb | access-date=June 18, 2016}} His material during his early career and his appearance—he wore suits and had short-cropped hair—was seen as conventional, particularly compared to his later anti-establishment material.ABC World News Tonight; June 23, 2008.

Carlin was present at Lenny Bruce's arrest for obscenity at the Gate of Horn club in Chicago on December 5, 1962. As the police began detaining audience members for questioning, they asked Carlin for identification. After responding that he did not believe in government-issued IDs, Carlin was arrested and taken to jail with Bruce in the same vehicle.{{cite web|title=Comedians in Courthouses Getting Cuffed: Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, December 1962|url=http://thecomicscomic.com/2014/03/25/comedians-in-courthouses-getting-cuffed-lenny-bruce-and-george-carlin-december-1962/|website=The Critic's Comic|date=March 25, 2014 |access-date=February 28, 2015}}{{cite episode|title=Profanity|episode-link=List of Bullshit! episodes|series=Penn & Teller: Bullshit!|series-link=Penn & Teller: Bullshit!|network=Showtime|air-date=August 12, 2004|season=2|number=10}}

In the late 1960s, Carlin made about $250,000 annually. In 1970, he changed his routines and his appearance; he grew his hair long, sported a beard and earrings, and typically dressed in T-shirts and blue jeans. He lost some TV bookings by dressing strangely for a comedian at a time when clean-cut, well-dressed comedians were the norm. He hired talent managers Jeff Wald and Ron De Blasio to help him change his image, making him look more "hip" for a younger audience. Wald put Carlin into much smaller clubs such as The Troubadour in West Hollywood and The Bitter End in New York City, and later said that Carlin's income declined by 90% but his later career arc was greatly improved.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xg1h5lBheQC&pg=PT34 |pages=34–35 |last=Zoglin |first=Richard |title=Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2008 |isbn=9781596919440 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}

File:George Carlin In concert at the Zembo Mosque, Harrisburg, Pa.jpg

In 1970, record producer Monte Kay formed the Little David Records subsidiary of Atlantic Records, with comedian Flip Wilson as co-owner.{{sfn|Sullivan|2010|p=114}} Kay and Wilson signed Carlin away from RCA Records and recorded a Carlin performance at Washington, D.C.'s Cellar Door in 1971, which was released as the album FM & AM in 1972. De Blasio was busy managing the fast-paced career of Freddie Prinze and was about to sign Richard Pryor, so he released Carlin to Little David general manager Jack Lewis, who, like Carlin, was somewhat wild and rebellious.{{sfn|Sullivan|2010|p=158}} Using his own persona as a springboard for his new comedy, he was presented by Ed Sullivan in a performance of "The Hair Piece" and quickly regained his popularity as the public caught on to his style.{{cite web|last=Goldmark|first=Tony|title=George Carlin – Biography|url=http://www.amoeba.com/george-carlin/artist/146678/bio|website=Amoeba Music|access-date=September 1, 2016|quote=He bridged these two sides of his persona with 'The Hair Piece,' a whimsical poem about public aversion to long hair that he performed on Ed Sullivan, effectively reintroducing and reinventing himself to America. FM & AM went Gold, got him a gig at Carnegie Hall, and won the Grammy award for Best Comedy Album.}}

Starting in 1972, singer-songwriter Kenny Rankin was Carlin's label-mate on Little David Records, and Rankin served many times as Carlin's musical guest or opening act during the early 1970s. The two flew together in Carlin's private jet; Carlin says that Rankin relapsed into using cocaine while on tour since Carlin had so much available.{{harvnb|Carlin|Hendra|2009|p=[https://archive.org/details/lastwords0000carl/page/151 151]}} FM & AM proved very popular and marked Carlin's change from mainstream to counterculture comedy. The "AM" side was an extension of Carlin's previous style, with zany but relatively clean routines parodying aspects of American life. The "FM" side introduced Carlin's new style, with references to marijuana and birth control pills, and a playful examination of the word "shit". In this way, Carlin renewed a style of radical social commentary comedy Lenny Bruce had pioneered in the late 1950s.

File:George Carlin and a cardboard cutout of himself from a few years ago, c. 1973.jpg

In this period, Carlin perfected his well-known "seven dirty words" routine, which most notably appears on Class Clown as follows: "'Shit', 'piss', 'fuck', 'cunt', 'cocksucker', 'motherfucker', and 'tits'. Those are the heavy seven. Those are the ones that'll infect your soul, curve your spine and keep the country from winning the war." On July 21, 1972, Carlin was arrested after performing the routine at Milwaukee's Summerfest and charged with violating obscenity laws.{{cite news|url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=626471|title=Carlin's naughty words still ring in officer's ears|author=Jim Stingl|newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|date=June 30, 2007|access-date=March 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929124942/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=626471|archive-date=September 29, 2007}} The case, which prompted Carlin for a time to call the words the "Milwaukee Seven", was dismissed in December when the judge declared that the language was indecent but that Carlin had the freedom to say it as long as he caused no disturbance.{{cite news |date=July 23, 1972 |title=Against Comedian: Charges Refused |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19720723&id=3RcfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3488,3633489 |work=The Tuscaloosa News |access-date=April 8, 2019}} In 1973, a man complained to the FCC after listening with his son to a similar routine, "Filthy Words", from Carlin's Occupation: Foole, which was broadcast one afternoon on radio station WBAI. The FCC cited Pacifica for violating regulations that prohibit broadcasting "obscene" material. The Supreme Court upheld the FCC action by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling that the routine was "indecent but not obscene" and that the FCC had authority to prohibit such broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience.F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978); the court documents contain a complete transcript of the routine.{{cite web |url=https://w2.eff.org/legal/cases/FCC_v_Pacifica/fcc_v_pacifica.decision |title=FCC vs. Pacifica Foundation |date=July 3, 1978 |publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation |access-date=June 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211103830/http://w2.eff.org/legal/cases/FCC_v_Pacifica/fcc_v_pacifica.decision |archive-date=December 11, 2014 |url-status=dead}}

The controversy increased Carlin's fame. He eventually expanded the "dirty words" theme with a seemingly interminable end to a performance, finishing with his voice fading out in one HBO version and accompanying the credits in the Carlin at Carnegie special for the 1982–83 season, and a set of 49 webpages organized by subject and embracing his "Incomplete List of Impolite Words".{{cite web |url=http://www.georgecarlin.com/dirty/2443.html |title=BBS – Incomplete List of Impolite Words |publisher=George Carlin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406052624/http://www.georgecarlin.com/dirty/2443.html |archive-date=April 6, 2012 |access-date=June 12, 2014}} On stage, during a rendition of this routine, Carlin learned that his previous comedy album FM & AM had won a Grammy. Midway through the performance on the album Occupation: Foole, he can be heard thanking someone for handing him a piece of paper. He then exclaims "shit!" and proudly announces his win to the audience.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55pfcmUzGhw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/55pfcmUzGhw| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=George Carlin - Occupation: Foole|date=July 27, 2012 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} Over his career, Carlin was arrested seven times for reciting the "Seven Dirty Words" routine.{{Cite news|last1=Watkins|first1=Mel|last2=Weber|first2=Bruce|date=June 24, 2008|title=George Carlin, Comic Who Chafed at Society and Its Constraints, Dies at 71|language=en|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24carlin.html|access-date=April 7, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}

Carlin hosted the premiere broadcast of NBC's Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975. Per his request, he did not appear in its sketches.{{cite web|publisher=Geoffrey Hammill, The Museum of Broadcast Communications |url=http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/saturdaynigh/saturdaynigh.htm |title=Saturday Night Live |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020820194836/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/saturdaynigh/saturdaynigh.htm |archive-date=August 20, 2002 |access-date=June 12, 2014}} The next season, 1976–77, he appeared regularly on CBS Television's Tony Orlando & Dawn variety series.{{cite web|title=Tony Orlando and Dawn 1974 TV SHOW|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/tony-orlando-and-dawn/cast/205090/|website=TVGuide.com|access-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901182949/http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/tony-orlando-and-dawn/cast/205090/|archive-date=September 1, 2016 }} Carlin unexpectedly stopped performing regularly in 1976, when his career appeared to be at its height. For the next five years, he rarely performed stand-up, although it was at this time that he began doing specials for HBO as part of its On Location series; he did 14 specials, including 2008's It's Bad for Ya.{{cite web |url=http://www.biography.com/people/george-carlin-9542307#comic-great |title=George Carlin stand up comedian does 14 specials for On Location |publisher=Biography.com (FYI / A&E Networks) |access-date= October 8, 2016}} He later revealed that he had suffered the first of three heart attacks during this layoff period.{{cite episode|title=George Carlin|series=Inside the Actors Studio|series-link=Inside the Actors Studio|network=Bravo TV|air-date=October 31, 2004|season=11|number=4}} His first two HBO specials aired in 1977 and 1978.{{cite news|last1=Ess|first1=Ramsey|title=How George Carlin Changed comedy In His First HBO Special|url=http://splitsider.com/2015/04/how-george-carlin-changed-comedy-in-his-first-hbo-special/|newspaper=Splitsider|access-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160617094322/http://splitsider.com/2015/04/how-george-carlin-changed-comedy-in-his-first-hbo-special/|archive-date=June 17, 2016 |date=April 24, 2015}}{{cite book|last1=Leverette|first1=Marc|last2=Ott|first2=Brian L|last3=Buckley|first3=Cara Louise|title=It's Not TV: Watching HBO in the Post-Television Era|date=March 23, 2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135902742|page=128|url=https://www.routledge.com/Its-Not-TV-Watching-HBO-in-the-Post-Television-Era/Leverette-Ott-Buckley/p/book/9780415960380|access-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901182100/https://www.routledge.com/Its-Not-TV-Watching-HBO-in-the-Post-Television-Era/Leverette-Ott-Buckley/p/book/9780415960380|archive-date=September 1, 2016}}

In 1981, Carlin returned to the stage, releasing A Place for My Stuff and returning to HBO and New York City with the Carlin at Carnegie TV special, which was filmed at Carnegie Hall and aired during the 1982–83 season. Carlin continued doing HBO specials every year or two over the following decade and a half. All of Carlin's albums from this time forward are from the HBO specials.{{cite web|date=August 22, 2020|title=The Late George Carlin Returns to HBO!|url=https://hbowatch.com/the-late-george-carlin-returns-to-hbo/|access-date=August 13, 2021|language=en}}{{cite magazine|last=Shaffer|first=Claire|date=August 10, 2020|title=George Carlin to Get Two-Part Documentary From HBO and Judd Apatow|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/george-carlin-documentary-hbo-judd-apatow-1041957/|access-date=August 13, 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en}} He hosted SNL for the second time on November 10, 1984, this time appearing in several sketches.{{cite web|title=Monologue: George Carlin Returns to Host SNL|url=http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/george-carlin-monologue/n9279|website=NBC.com|access-date=September 1, 2016}}

Carlin began to achieve prominence as a film actor with a major supporting role in the 1987 comedy hit Outrageous Fortune, starring Bette Midler and Shelley Long; it was his first notable screen role after a handful of previous guest roles on television series. Playing drifter Frank Madras, he poked fun at the lingering effect of the 1960s counterculture.

Beginning in 1988, Carlin evolved and adopted both a new appearance and a new direction. As he did in his first change of direction in the early 70s, Carlin blended his old and new styles by bringing in politics and disdain for society with nihilist humor while using some of the previous material direction of pointing out the odd things we all do and continued his fascination with language, but with disdain for its current uses by society. He also began growing a ponytail at this time. This led to darker material and an aggressive tone over the next 2 decades, which were his most popular and widely seen shows via HBO specials which he continued to do until his death.{{cite web|title=George Carlin Changes His Act|url=https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/comedy/george-carlin-what-am-i-doing-in-new-jersey-transcript/|website=Scraps From The Loft|date=May 14, 2019 |access-date=January 12, 2025}}

In 1989, he gained popularity with a new generation of teens when he was cast as Rufus, the time-traveling mentor of the title characters in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. He reprised the role in the sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), and in the first season of the cartoon series. In 1991, Carlin had a major supporting role in the film The Prince of Tides, which starred Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand, as the gay neighbor of the main character's suicidal sister.{{cite web|last1=Grimes|first1=William|author-link=William Grimes (journalist)|title=George Carlin, Small but Amusing|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/21/news/george-carlin-small-but-amusing.html|website=New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526055649/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/21/news/george-carlin-small-but-amusing.html|archive-date=May 26, 2015 |date=January 21, 1992}}

In 1991, Carlin became the second American narrator of the children's television series Thomas & Friends, narrating the series' first four seasons. He played Mr. Conductor on the PBS show Shining Time Station until 1996, replacing Ringo Starr on both programs. According to Britt Allcroft, who developed both shows, on the first day of the assignment, Carlin was nervous about recording his narration without an audience, so the producers put a stuffed teddy bear in the booth.{{cite news|last=Allcroft |first=Britt |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-oew-allcroft26-2008jun26,0,3849505.story |title=The George Carlin I knew |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 26, 2008 |access-date=May 5, 2012}}

Carlin's Jammin' In New York, a new HBO special in 1992, highlighted the directional change he'd been honing the last few years as he wore all black with longer hair and a new biting humor. Critics applauded the show and he continued down this path of more serious subjects and nihilistic tone for the remainder of his life. Carlin opined that this show was his favorite.{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/22409|title=Jammin' In New York|access-date=January 12, 2025}}

In 1993, Carlin began a weekly Fox sitcom, The George Carlin Show, playing New York City taxicab driver George O'Grady. The show, created and written by The Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon, ran for 27 episodes, through December 1995.{{cite web|url=http://www.georgecarlin.com/time/time3E.html |title=1990–1999 |publisher=GeorgeCarlin.com |access-date=July 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130011335/http://www.georgecarlin.com/time/time3E.html |archive-date=January 30, 2009 }} In Last Words, Carlin wrote of The George Carlin Show, "I had a great time. I never laughed so much, so often, so hard as I did with cast members Alex Rocco, Chris Rich, Tony Starke. There was a very strange, very good sense of humor on that stage ... [but] I was incredibly happy when the show was canceled. I was frustrated that it had taken me away from my true work."{{sfn|Carlin|Hendra|2009}}{{page needed|date=November 2021}} Carlin was honored at the 1997 Aspen Comedy Festival with a retrospective, George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy, hosted by Jon Stewart. His first hardcover book, Brain Droppings (1997), sold nearly 900,000 copies and spent 40 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.{{cite web|url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/artists/?entity_id=19830|title=The Kennedy Center|access-date=June 12, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224111638/http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/artists/?entity_id=19830|archive-date=December 24, 2013}}

File:Loz carlinbd2.jpg in 2004]]

Carlin later said that there were other, more pragmatic reasons for abandoning his acting career in favor of standup. In an interview for Esquire magazine in 2001, he said, "Because of my abuse of drugs, I neglected my business affairs and had large arrears with the IRS, and that took me eighteen to twenty years to dig out of. I did it honorably, and I don't begrudge them. I don't hate paying taxes, and I'm not angry at anyone, because I was complicit in it. But I'll tell you what it did for me: it made me a way better comedian. Because I had to stay out on the road and I couldn't pursue that movie career, which would have gone nowhere, and I became a really good comic and a really good writer."{{cite web |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/george-carlin-quotes-0102 |title=What I've Learned: George Carlin |publisher=Esquire.com |date=June 23, 2008 |author=Larry Getlen |access-date=June 10, 2014}}

In 2001, Carlin was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 15th Annual American Comedy Awards. In 2003, Representative Doug Ose introduced a bill (H.R. 3687) to outlaw the broadcast of Carlin's "seven dirty words",{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/house-bill/3687|title=H.R.3687 - To amend section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, to provide for the punishment of certain profane broadcasts, and for other purposes.|date=December 8, 2003|website=congress.gov}} including "compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms)". The bill omitted "tits", but included "asshole", not one of Carlin's original seven words. It was referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution in 2004 and was tabled.

File:Jesus is coming.. Look Busy (George Carlin).jpg

Carlin performed regularly as a headliner in Las Vegas, but in 2004 his run at the MGM Grand Las Vegas was terminated after an altercation with his audience. After a poorly received set filled with dark references to suicide bombings and beheadings, Carlin complained that he could not wait to get out of "this fucking hotel" and Las Vegas; he wanted to go back east, he said, "where the real people are". He continued: "People who go to Las Vegas, you've got to question their fucking intellect to start with. Traveling hundreds and thousands of miles to essentially give your money to a large corporation is kind of fucking moronic. That's what I'm always getting here is these kind of fucking people with very limited intellects." An audience member shouted, "Stop degrading us!" Carlin responded, "Thank you very much, whatever that was. I hope it was positive; if not, well, blow me." He was immediately fired, and soon thereafter his representative announced that he would begin treatment for alcohol and prescription painkiller addiction on his own initiative.{{cite news |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Dec-04-Sat-2004/news/25407915.html |title=Dark Carlin |newspaper=reviewjournal.com |date=December 4, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041207042940/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Dec-04-Sat-2004/news/25407915.html |archive-date=December 7, 2004 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/12/27/george.carlin/index.html? |title=George Carlin enters rehab |publisher=CNN |date=December 29, 2004 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}

After his 13th HBO special on November 5, 2005, Life Is Worth Losing,{{cite web |url=http://www.hbo.com/events/gcarlin/?ntrack_para1=insidehbo3_text|title=Carlin: Life is Worth Losing |publisher=HBO |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060115070120/http://www.hbo.com/events/gcarlin/?ntrack_para1=insidehbo3_text |archive-date=January 15, 2006 |access-date=June 12, 2014}} Carlin toured his new material through the first half of 2006. Topics included suicide, natural disasters, cannibalism, genocide, human sacrifice, threats to civil liberties in the U.S., and his theory that humans are inferior to other animals. At the first tour stop, at the Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, California, he said the appearance was his "first show back" after a six-week hospitalization for heart failure and pneumonia.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} In the 2006 Pixar animated film Cars, Carlin voiced Fillmore, an anti-establishment hippie VW Microbus with a psychedelic paint job and the license plate "51237" (Carlin's birthday in m/dd/yy format).{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} In 2007, he voiced the wizard in Happily N'Ever After, his last film.

Carlin's last HBO stand-up special, It's Bad for Ya, aired live on March 1, 2008, from the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, California.{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2007-09-24-carlin-collection_N.htm |title=George Carlin reflects on 50 years (or so) of 'All My Stuff' |author=Wloszczyna, Susan |newspaper=USA Today |date=September 24, 2007 |access-date=June 12, 2014}} Themes included "American bullshit", rights, death, old age, and child-rearing. He repeated the theme to his audience several times throughout the show: "It's all bullshit, and it's bad for ya".{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyr_ec6etjo |title=George Carlin - It's all bullshit, and it's bad for you. |website=YouTube |date=March 14, 2016 }} When asked on Inside the Actors Studio what turned him on, he responded, "Reading about language". When asked what made him proudest of his career, he cited the fact that his books had sold close to a million copies.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

In August 1960, while touring with comedy partner Jack Burns in Dayton, Ohio, Carlin stopped at a roadside diner, where he met waitress Brenda Hosbrook. They began dating and were married at her parents' home in Dayton on June 3, 1961.{{sfn|Carlin|Hendra|2009|pp=[https://archive.org/details/lastwords0000carl/page/89 89–92]}} Their only child, Kelly Marie Carlin (born June 15, 1963), became a radio host. Carlin and Hosbrook renewed their wedding vows in Las Vegas in 1971.

Their marriage was often marred by his cocaine use and her alcoholism, the latter of which worsened when Carlin's mother came to stay with them and would secretly pour Hosbrook drinks while derogating Carlin. When Hosbrook was hospitalized due to her drinking, she told Carlin that she would not return home if his mother was there; he immediately went home, booked his mother a flight to New York, and took her to the airport. The couple soon addressed their addiction issues; the marriage improved so much that Kelly later said it felt like it had been rebooted. Hosbrook died of liver cancer on May 11, 1997, just one day before her husband's birthday.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1997/scene/vpage/brenda-carlin-dies-at-57-1117341677/|title=Brenda Carlin dies at 57|date=May 15, 1997|website=Variety}}

Carlin met comedy writer Sally Wade six months after Brenda's death and said it was "love at first sight", but told her he was hesitant to act on his feelings so soon after being widowed.{{sfn|Carlin|Hendra|2009|pp=[https://archive.org/details/lastwords0000carl/page/272 272]}} He said he needed to be alone, potentially for up to a year, before he would be ready to date again. They had no contact for eight months and she assumed he had moved on, but then he called her to ask her out. They wed in a private, unregistered ceremony on June 24, 1998, and remained married until Carlin's death.{{cite news|title=George Carlin's Loved Ones Speak Out |url=http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/06/62841/index.html |work=Entertainment Tonight|date=June 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625032232/http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/06/62841/index.html |archive-date=June 25, 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 10, 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/comedian-george-carlin-dead-at-age-71-1/|title=Comedian George Carlin dead at age 71 |date=June 23, 2008|work=Seattle Times}}

In a 2008 interview, Carlin said that using cannabis, LSD, and mescaline had helped him cope with life. He also said several times that he had battled addiction to alcohol, cocaine, and Vicodin,Carlin's own audio book Last Words, chapter 19. Also in his own words (at the 46:52 mark on the YouTube video) from a conference he did for the National Press Club on May 13, 1999. and spent some time in a rehab facility in 2004.{{Cite news|title=George Carlin enters rehab|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/12/27/george.carlin/index.html|work=CNN|date=December 29, 2004|access-date=June 10, 2014|archive-date=October 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019171629/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/12/27/george.carlin/index.html|url-status=dead}} During the taping of his stand-up special Life Is Worth Losing on November 5, 2005, he said he had been sober for 341 days.Life Is Worth Losing (2005)

Although born into a Catholic family, Carlin outspokenly rejected religion, criticizing and mocking it in his routines.{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/top-george-carlin-quotes-on-religion-4072040 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414040354/https://www.thoughtco.com/top-george-carlin-quotes-on-religion-4072040 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 14, 2018 |title=Top George Carlin Quotes on Religion |last=Cline |first=Austin |date=May 30, 2018 |website=ThoughtCo |access-date=March 5, 2019 }} When asked if he believed in God, he responded, "No, there's no God{{emdash}}but there might be some sort of an organizing intelligence, and I think to understand it is way beyond our ability."{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/is-there-a-god-1798208305|first=Stephen|last=Thompson|title=Is there a God?|newspaper=The A.V. Club|date=September 6, 2000|access-date=January 5, 2021}}

Carlin had a history of heart problems,{{cite news |url=http://www.cleveland.com/people/index.ssf/2008/06/george_carlin_counterculture_c.html |title=George Carlin, counterculture comedians' dean, dies at 71 |first=Michael |last=Norman |work=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |date=June 23, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/arts/23iht-24carlin.13905378.html |title=George Carlin, irreverent comedian, dies at 71 |first=Mel |last=Watkins |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 23, 2008 |access-date= December 22, 2020}} including heart attacks in 1978, 1982, and 1991. He also had an arrhythmia requiring an ablation procedure in 2003, a significant episode of heart failure in 2005, and two angioplasties on undisclosed dates.{{sfn|Carlin|Hendra|2009|pp=75–76}} In the 2022 documentary George Carlin's American Dream, Jerry Hamza{{emdash}}Carlin's manager from 1980 until his death{{emdash}}said Carlin underwent many heart surgeries in a short period toward the end of his life. Carlin's publicist Jeff Abraham said that he once lifted his shirt after coming to a gig from the hospital to show Abraham his torso, whereupon Abraham said it looked like a science project.

On June 22, 2008, at age 71, Carlin died from heart failure at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24carlin.html |title=George Carlin, Comic Who Chafed at Society and Its Constraints, Dies at 71 |last1=Watkins |first1=M. |last2=Weber |first2=B. |date=June 24, 2008 |newspaper=The New York Times |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140128105920/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24carlin.html |archive-date=January 28, 2014 |access-date=June 10, 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/counterculture-comedian-george-carlin-dies-at-71/ |title=Grammy-Winning Comedian, Counter-Culture Figure George Carlin Dies at 71 |date=June 23, 2008 |publisher=Foxnews.com |access-date=June 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110102833/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/06/23/counterculture-comedian-george-carlin-dies-at-71/ |archive-date=January 10, 2014 |url-status=live}} His death occurred one week after his final performance at The Orleans Hotel and Casino. Per his wishes, his body was cremated and his ashes scattered in front of various New York City nightclubs and over Spofford Lake in New Hampshire, where he had attended summer camp as an adolescent.{{cite news|url=http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20080730/NEWS/80730031|title=Comedian Carlin's ashes spread in New Hampshire|work=seacoastline.com|via=Associated Press|access-date=May 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109184618/http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20080730/NEWS/80730031|archive-date=January 9, 2016}} His will stated that there was to be no funeral and that he wished only for his widow and daughter to host a small gathering at his home for loved ones to share stories of him.

{{main|List of awards and nominations received by George Carlin}}

Along with numerous other accolades, Carlin won five Grammy Awards and was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards and two Daytime Emmy Awards. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMX1M3lwAN4 |title=Flowers were placed on the Walk of Fame star of comic George Carlin, who died Sunday |date=July 21, 2015 |last=AP Archive |access-date=January 18, 2025 |via=YouTube}} in January 1987{{Cite web |date=October 25, 2019 |title=George Carlin |url=https://walkoffame.com/george-carlin/ |access-date=January 18, 2025 |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |language=en-US |quote=Category Live Performance Address 1555 Vine Street Ceremony date 01/21/1987}} and was a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2008.

Carlin's influences included Danny Kaye,{{Cite news |url=https://www.avclub.com/content/node/42195 |title=Interviews: George Carlin |last=Murray |first=Noel |date=November 2, 2005 |publisher=The Onion |work=The A.V. Club |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051104040743/http://avclub.com/content/node/42195 |archive-date=November 4, 2005 |access-date=June 12, 2014}} Jonathan Winters, Lenny Bruce,{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4136881|title=Comedian and Actor George Carlin |last=Carlin |first=George|date=November 1, 2004|publisher=National Public Radio |access-date=June 11, 2014}}Carlin, George, George Carlin on Comedy, "Lenny Bruce", Laugh.com, 2002. Richard Pryor, Nichols and May,{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/videos/entertainment/2017/01/09/george-carlin-1990-larry-king-live-interview.cnn|title=How George Carlin became George Carlin (1990)|first=Larry|last=King|date=1990}} Jerry Lewis, the Marx Brothers, Mort Sahl, Spike Jones, Ernie Kovacs, and the Ritz Brothers. His daughter Kelly said in 2022 that he took more acting roles in the latter half of his career because he "never gave up on the Danny Kaye dream".

Comedians who have claimed Carlin as an influence include Adam Ferrara,{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r92aSl_8YoI| title=Adam Ferrara Part 2 of 3: On His Idol George Carlin | website=YouTube | date=June 5, 2015 }} Bill Burr,{{cite web|url=http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/bill-burrs-top-five-stand-ups|title=Bill Burr's top 5 stand ups|date=October 2, 2013}} Chris Rock,{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2008/07/06/chris-rock-salutes-george-carlin/ |title=Chris Rock Salutes George Carlin |last=Rock |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Rock |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=July 6, 2008 |access-date=January 28, 2023}} Jerry Seinfeld,{{cite AV media|last=Seinfeld|first=Jerry|title=Jerry Seinfeld: The Comedian Award|medium=TV|publisher=HBO|date=April 1, 2007}} Louis C.K.,{{cite web|url=http://www.louisck.net/2008/06/goodbye-george-carlin.html|title=Goodbye George Carlin|last=C.K.|first=Louis|author-link=Louis C.K.|publisher=LouisCK.net|date=June 22, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080701054320/http://www.louisck.net/2008/06/goodbye-george-carlin.html|archive-date=July 1, 2008|access-date=May 10, 2014}} Lewis Black,{{cite web|url=http://origin.avclub.com/content/node/49217|title=Lewis Black|publisher=The Onion|work=The A.V. Club|author=Gillette, Amelie|date=June 7, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707005744/http://origin.avclub.com/content/node/49217 |archive-date=July 7, 2007 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} Jon Stewart,{{cite video|people=Stewart, Jon|title=George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy|medium=TV|publisher=HBO|date=February 27, 1997}} Stephen Colbert,{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/content/node/44705|title=Stephen Colbert|publisher=The Onion |work=The A.V. Club|author=Rabin, Nathan|date=January 25, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060202094518/http://www.avclub.com/content/node/44705 |archive-date=February 2, 2006 |access-date=June 11, 2014}} Bill Maher,{{cite episode|title=episode 38|air-date=October 1, 2004|series=Real Time with Bill Maher|series-link=Real Time with Bill Maher|network=HBO|season=2|number=18}}{{cite news|last=King|first=Larry|author-link=Larry King|title=Bill Maher Discusses Religulous on Larry King|work=Larry King Live |publisher=CNN|date=August 20, 2008|url=http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/08/20/lkl.bill.maher.cnn}} Liz Miele,{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HnkVZCUtjs |title=Liz Miele: Advice from George Carlin|publisher=Irie Chat|date=July 3, 2020 |access-date=September 1, 2022 | website=YouTube}} Patrice O'Neal,{{cite web |url=http://www.comedycentral.com/comedians/browse/o/patrice_oneal.jhtml |title=Comedians: Patrice O'Neal|publisher=Comedy Central|date=October 30, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081108085406/http://www.comedycentral.com/comedians/browse/o/patrice_oneal.jhtml |archive-date=November 8, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} Colin Quinn,{{cite web|title=Colin Quinn|publisher=The Onion|work=The A.V. Club|url=https://www.avclub.com/content/node/22529|last=Rabin |first=Nathan|date=June 18, 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518104531/http://www.avclub.com/content/node/22529 |archive-date=May 18, 2007 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} Steven Wright,{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/content/node/54975|title=Steven Wright|publisher=The Onion |work=The A.V. Club|last=Rabin |first=Nathan |date=November 9, 2006 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} Mitch Hedberg,{{cite web | url = https://allmusic.com/artist/mitch-hedberg-p602821|title=Mitch Hedberg|publisher=Allmusic|work=Biography|last=Jeffries |first=David |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319084833/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mitch-hedberg-p602821 |archive-date=March 19, 2011 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} Russell Peters,{{cite web |author=Alan Cho |url=http://www.thegauntlet.ca/story/comedy-preview-russell-peters-wont-hurt-you-real-bad |title=Comedy Preview: Russell Peters won't hurt you real bad |publisher=Gauntlet.ucalgary.ca |date=November 24, 2005 |access-date=June 10, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140610160339/http://www.thegauntlet.ca/story/comedy-preview-russell-peters-wont-hurt-you-real-bad |archive-date=June 10, 2014}} Bo Burnham,{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/bo-burnham-im-a-complete-hypocrite-2288858.html|title=Bo Burnham: 'I'm a complete hypocrite'|work=The Independent|access-date=July 19, 2018|language=en}} Jay Leno,{{cite web|last1=Breuer|first1=Howard|author2=Stephen M. Silverman|date=June 24, 2008|title=Carlin Remembered: He Helped Other Comics with Drug Problems|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20208460,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627150403/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20208460,00.html|archive-date=June 27, 2008|url-status=dead|access-date=June 11, 2014|work=People|publisher=Time Inc.}} Ben Stiller, Kevin Smith,{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/142975/page/1 |title=A God Who Cussed |author=Smith, Kevin |author-link=Kevin Smith |magazine=Newsweek |date=June 23, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626120736/http://www.newsweek.com/id/142975/page/1 |archive-date=June 26, 2008 |access-date=June 11, 2014}} Chris Rush,{{cite web|url=http://www.natural-humor-medicine.com/Chris_Rush.html |title=An Interview with Comic Legend, Chris Rush |last=Kuhn |first=Clifford |publisher=Natural-Humor-Medicine.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041121165633/http://www.natural-humor-medicine.com/Chris_Rush.html |archive-date=November 21, 2004 |access-date=June 12, 2014}} Rob McElhenney,{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1olm4y/i_am_rob_mcelhenney_ama/cct6cy5/?context=1 |title=I am Rob McElhenney AMA! |date=October 16, 2013 |access-date=July 14, 2015}} and Jim Jefferies.{{Cite news|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/05/jim-jefferies-interview.html|title=Jim Jefferies. - Interview|work=pastemagazine.com|access-date=May 14, 2017|language=en}}

After Carlin's seven dirty words routine and subsequent FCC v. Pacifica Foundation Supreme Court ruling in 1978, broadcasters started to use the "Carlin Warning" to remind performers of the words they could not say during a live performance.{{Cite web |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/438/726.html |title= FCC v. Pacifica Foundation |website=Findlaw}}

Image:GeorgeCarlinWay.jpg

Upon Carlin's death in 2008, HBO broadcast 11 of his 14 HBO specials from June 25 to 28, including a 12-hour marathon block on the HBO Comedy channel. NBC scheduled a rerun of the first episode of Saturday Night Live, which Carlin hosted.{{cite web|url=http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/1021949,carlintv062408.article |title=Networks remembering George Carlin in classic reruns, specials |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627160725/http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/1021949%2Ccarlintv062408.article |archive-date=June 27, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014 }}{{cite web |url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/george-carlins-televised-stage/ |title=George Carlin's Televised Stage |date=June 23, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_TODAY=TODAY |title=HBO schedule |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627023829/http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_TODAY=TODAY |archive-date=June 27, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} Both Sirius Satellite Radio's "Raw Dog Comedy" and XM Satellite Radio's "XM Comedy" channels ran a memorial marathon of Carlin recordings the day after he died. Sirius XM Satellite Radio has since devoted an entire channel to Carlin, Carlin's Corner, featuring all his comedy albums, live concerts, and works from his private archives.{{cite news|url=https://www.siriusxm.com/carlinscorner|title=Carlin's Corner - One & Only George Carlin XL|newspaper=Siriusxm |access-date=November 13, 2019|publisher=Liberty Media/Sirius XM Radio Inc.}} Larry King devoted his June 23 show to a Carlin tribute, featuring interviews with Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher, Roseanne Barr, Lewis Black, Carlin's brother, Patrick Jr., and his daughter, Kelly. On June 24, The New York Times printed an op-ed piece on Carlin by Jerry Seinfeld.{{cite news |last=Seinfeld |first=Jerry |title=Dying Is Hard. Comedy Is Harder |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/opinion/24seinfeld.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 24, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} Cartoonist Garry Trudeau paid tribute in his Doonesbury comic strip on July 27.{{cite web |url=http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/2008/07/27 |title=Doonesbury comic strip |date=July 27, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014}}

File:Make God Laugh.jpg two days after Carlin died]]

Four days before Carlin's death, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts named him its 2008 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor honoree.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/17/AR2008061702519.html |author=Trescott, Jacqueline |title=Bleep! Bleep! George Carlin To Receive Mark Twain Humor Prize |newspaper=washingtonpost.com |date=June 18, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} He became its first posthumous recipient on November 10, 2008.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-carlin-twain-idUSN2328397920080623?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews |title=George Carlin becomes first posthumous Mark Twain honoree |date=June 23, 2008 |work=Reuters |access-date=June 12, 2014}} Comedians honoring him at the ceremony included Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Lily Tomlin (a past winner of the prize), Lewis Black, Denis Leary, Joan Rivers, and Margaret Cho. Louis C.K. dedicated his stand-up special Chewed Up to Carlin, while Lewis Black dedicated the second season of Root of All Evil to him.

For years, Carlin had been compiling and writing his autobiography, to be released in conjunction with a one-man Broadway show tentatively titled New York Boy. After his death, his collaborator on both projects Tony Hendra edited the autobiography for release as Last Words. The book, chronicling most of Carlin's life and future plans including the one-man show, was published in 2009. The abridged audio edition is narrated by Carlin's brother Patrick Jr.{{Cite news |last=Deahl |first=Rachel |title=Free Press Acquires Posthumous Carlin Memoir |newspaper=Publishers Weekly |date=July 14, 2009 |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6670970.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090716142423/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6670970.html |archive-date=July 16, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2014}} In 2011, Carlin's widow Sally Wade published The George Carlin Letters: The Permanent Courtship of Sally Wade, a collection of previously unpublished writings and artwork by Carlin interwoven with Wade's chronicle of their decade together.Wade, Sally (March 8, 2011). The George Carlin Letters: The Permanent Courtship of Sally Wade. Gallery. {{ISBN|1-4516-0776-8}}. The subtitle is a phrase on a handwritten note that Wade found next to her computer upon returning home from the hospital after his death.{{cite news |url=http://www.laweekly.com/2011-03-03/calendar/carlin-s-darlin/ |newspaper=LA Weekly |title=Carlin's Darlin' |date=March 3, 2011 |author=Michael Simmons |access-date=June 10, 2014}} In 2008, Kelly Carlin announced plans to publish an "oral history", a collection of stories from Carlin's friends and family.USA Today "Daughter to shed light on Carlin's life and stuff." Wloszczyna, Susan. November 4, 2008. She later said the project had been shelved in favor of completion of her own project,{{cite web |url=http://www.comedyland.net/2009/12/kelly-carlin-mccall.html |title=Kelly Carlin-McCall |date=December 30, 2009 |publisher=Comedy Land |access-date=June 10, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214120544/http://www.comedyland.net/2009/12/kelly-carlin-mccall.html |archive-date=December 14, 2013}} an autobiographical one-woman show called A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George.{{cite web |url=http://allforonetheater.org/shows/a-carlin-home-companion/ |title=A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George |access-date=June 10, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620224953/http://allforonetheater.org/shows/a-carlin-home-companion/ |archive-date=June 20, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://thekellycarlinsite.com/companion/ |title=Kelly Carlin |url-status=dead |access-date=June 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140619103530/http://thekellycarlinsite.com/companion |archive-date=June 19, 2014}}

On October 22, 2014, part of West 121st Street in Morningside Heights was renamed "George Carlin Way".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/nyregion/honoring-george-carlin-with-his-own-manhattan-block.html |title=Honoring George Carlin With His Own Manhattan Block |first=Matt |last=Flegenheimer |date=October 22, 2014 |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028160023/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/nyregion/honoring-george-carlin-with-his-own-manhattan-block.html |archive-date=October 28, 2014 |url-status=live}} Moneyball screenwriter Stan Chervin announced in 2018 that a biopic of Carlin was being written.{{Cite news|url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/10/george-carlin-biopic-in-development-from-moneyball-writer.html|title=So, Which Comic Will Make His Dramatic Turn With This George Carlin Biopic?|last=Kiefer|first=Halle|work=Vulture|access-date=October 2, 2018|language=en}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/estate-approved-george-carlin-biopic-731772/|title=Estate-Approved George Carlin Biopic in the Works|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=October 2, 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=October 2, 2018|language=en}}

George Carlin's American Dream, a documentary about Carlin's life, was released on HBO Max on May 20, 2022. It is directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, and produced by Carlin's daughter Kelly.{{Cite magazine |title=George Carlin Gets the King of Comedy Treatment in New Doc Trailer |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/george-carlin-documentary-judd-apatow-trailer-1346356/ |last=Bilstein |first=Jon |date=May 2, 2022 |access-date= May 15, 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} In a Netflix stand-up special released in 2022, The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up, Carlin was inducted into the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York.[https://comedycenter.org/thehall/ National Comedy Center], The Hall is a new wing of the museum complex devoted to brilliant comics.

Many quotations have been falsely attributed to Carlin, including various joke lists, rants, and other pieces. The website Snopes, which debunks urban legends and myths, has addressed these hoaxes.

• {{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/glurge/aging.asp |last=Mikkelson |first=Barbara |title=George Carlin on Aging |website=Snopes.com |date=June 27, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/paradox.asp |last=Mikkelson |first=Barbara |title=The Paradox of Our Time |date=November 1, 2007|website=Snopes.com |access-date=June 12, 2014}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/carlin.asp |last=Mikkelson |first=Barbara |title=The Bad American |date=October 2, 2005|website=Snopes.com |access-date=June 12, 2014}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/katrina/soapbox/carlin.asp |last=Mikkelson |first=Barbara |title=Hurricane Rules |date=October 23, 2005|website=Snopes.com |access-date=June 12, 2014}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/carlingas.asp |last=Mikkelson |first=Barbara |title=Gas Crisis Solution |date=February 5, 2007|website=Snopes.com |access-date=June 11, 2014}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/newrules.asp |last=Mikkelson |first=Barbara |title=New Rules for 2006 |date=January 12, 2006|website=Snopes.com |access-date=June 10, 2014}} Many of them contain material that runs counter to Carlin's viewpoints; some are especially hostile toward racial groups, gay people, women, the homeless, and other targets. Carlin was aware of this and debunked the quotes, writing on his website, "Here's a rule of thumb, folks: nothing you see on the Internet is mine unless it comes from one of my albums, books, HBO specials, or appeared on my website. [...] It bothers me that some people might believe that I would be capable of writing some of this stuff."

In 2011, "Weird Al" Yankovic referenced the hoaxes in his song "Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me" with the lyric, "And by the way, your quotes from George Carlin aren't really George Carlin."

; Main

{{col div}}

• 1963: Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight
• 1967: Take-Offs and Put-Ons
• 1972: FM & AM
• 1972: Class Clown
• 1973: Occupation: Foole
• 1974: Toledo Window Box
• 1975: An Evening with Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo
• 1977: On the Road
• 1981: A Place for My Stuff
• 1984: Carlin on Campus
• 1986: Playin' with Your Head
• 1988: What Am I Doing in New Jersey?
• 1990: Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics
• 1992: Jammin' in New York
• 1996: Back in Town
• 1999: You Are All Diseased
• 2001: Complaints and Grievances
• 2006: Life Is Worth Losing
• 2008: It's Bad for Ya
• 2016: I Kinda Like It When a Lotta People Die{{Cite web |last=Kaye |first=Ben |date=August 22, 2016 |title=George Carlin's 'darkest' material to receive posthumous release |url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/08/george-carlins-darkest-material-to-receive-posthumous-release/ |work=Consequence |access-date=January 19, 2022}}

{{col div end}}

; Compilations

• 1978: Indecent Exposure: Some of the Best of George Carlin
• 1984: The George Carlin Collection
• 1992: Classic Gold
• 1999: The Little David Years

Audiobooks

• Brain Droppings
• Napalm and Silly Putty
• More Napalm & Silly Putty
• George Carlin Reads to You (Compilation of Brain Droppings, Napalm and Silly Putty, and More Napalm & Silly Putty)
• When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?

• Counterculture of the 1960s

{{Clear}}

{{reflist}}

{{sister project links|d=Q150651|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|wikt=no|s=no}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{YouTube|h=OfficialGeorgeCarlin|Official George Carlin}}
• {{AllMusic | id= george-carlin-mn0000639005 | tab= discography | title= George Carlin discography}}
• {{Discogs artist|artist=George Carlin|name=George Carlin}}
• {{IMDb name|0137506}}
• {{C-SPAN|49409}}
• {{Charlie Rose view|19176}}
• {{NYTtopic|people/c/george_carlin}}
• {{emmytvlegends name|george-carlin}}

{{George Carlin}}

{{Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album}}

{{Mark Twain Prize for American Humor}}

{{portal bar|Biography|Comedy}}

{{Authority control}}

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