Goodbye, George

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately." -George Carlin

The pony-tailed and irreverent George Carlin died Sunday night in California of heart failure, and the world is now less funny. The "counterculture comedian" graced many Chicagoland stages throughout the years, including the Chicago Theatre where he was scheduled to appear on October 11th. He was 71 years old.

With a career in comedy lasting more than 50 years, Carlin was a film actor ("Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure"), author (“When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?") and was even the narrator for the beloved children series, "Thomas the Tank Engine." He loved stand-up comedy above all, however, and was still performing an average of 90 concerts per year. Carlin amassed three Emmy nominations, six Cable ACE awards and thirteen HBO specials for his stand-up performances. Before his death, Carlin learned that he was going to be the recipient of the Kennedy Center's The Eleventh Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor which will now be given posthumously.

His “Filthy Words" routine is perhaps his best known work.

The Daily Herald's Ted Cox writes about Carlin and his legacy in his article, "Carlin pushing boundaries until the end." His piece also includes anecdotes of Carlin by Chicagoland theatre owners and comedians.