Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin

Home > Other > Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin > Page 29
Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin Page 29

by James Sullivan


  204 “I realized I had to raise my voice”: The Onion A.V. Club and Stephen Thompson, eds., The Tenacity of the Cockroach: Conversations with Entertainment’s Most Enduring Outsiders (Three Rivers Press, 2002), 24-25.

  10. Squeamish

  206 “I heard a sound that, for children”: Britt Allcroft, “The George Carlin I Knew,” Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2008.

  206 “always sounded as if he were”: Seinfeld, “Dying Is Hard.”

  207 “I just felt terrific in that role”: Interview, Archive of American Television.

  208 “nice, controlled anger”: Jefferson Graham, “Carlin Swaps Stand-Up for Sitcom,” USA Today, January 13, 1994.

  208 “Carlin’s aging hipster character”: Todd Everett, “Unexpected Things Happen to George,” Daily Variety, January 14, 1994.

  209 “He was my kind of guy”: Interview, Archive of American Television.

  210 “I’m doing my best work”: Ronald L. Smith, Who’s Who in Comedy (Facts on File, 1992), 92.

  211 “I knew I’d found my voice”: Interview, Archive of American Television.

  215 “I’m very much a realist and a practical person”: Hochman, “Playboy Interview.”

  216 “Carlin replaced Catholicism”: Kevin Smith, A God Who Cussed,” Newsweek, June 23, 2008.

  216 “convincingly gruff and blue-collar portrayal”: Mick LaSalle, “Down and Out in New Jersey, Without Jennifer Lopez By His Side,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 26, 2004.

  216 “so understated and devoid of sentimentality”: Stephanie Zacharek, “Jersey Girl,” Salon, March 26, 2004.

  217 “a Gucci shirt or a McDonald’s hat”: Onion Club and Thompson, Tenacity of the Cockroach, 23-24.

  218 “it was a little embarrassing to be placed ahead of Lenny Bruce”: Joseph P. Kahn, “From 7 Words to Endless Ideas,” Boston Globe, July 20, 2006.

  219 “I find out where they draw the line”: Make ’Em Laugh.

  220 “it’s not only bad prose and poetry”: www.georgecarlin.com.

  220 “If you’re born in America”: Appearance on Tavis Smiley (PBS), April 8, 2004.

  221 “just one more bullshit political philosophy”: George Carlin, Napalm & Silly Putty (Hyperion, 2001), 261.

  221 “I belong to no party”: Teachout, The Skeptic, 236.

  221 “I read somewhere that every atom in us”: James A. Haught, “God, Life, and Avocado-Colored Kitchen Appliances: A Chat with George Carlin,” Free Inquiry (Summer 1999).

  224 “picketers and counter-picketers”: Phil Grecian, “Carlin’s Complaints Not Shocking, for Him,” Topeka Capital-Journal, October 5, 2001.

  224 “Riffs included suicide”: Norm Clarke, “Dark Carlin,” Las Vegas Review-Journal , December 4, 2004.

  224 “punch up the writing”: Richard Cusick, “High Times Interview: The Clown’s Dark Genius,” High Times, November 1997.

  224 “Some of the guys in there”: Hochman, “Playboy Interview.”

  225 “the most dispiriting, soul-deadening city on earth”: Richard Abowitz, “George Carlin Hates Vegas,” Los Angeles Times, August 13, 2007.

  226 “an apocalypse that is part Steven King”: Joshua David Mann, “The Complete Carlin: What You Can Learn by Watching 800 Minutes of George Carlin,” Slate, June 26, 2008.

  226 “try to outwit the inner censor”: Jim Holt, Stop Me If You’ve Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes (W.W. Norton, 2008), 70.

  226 “There are a lot of comics working forty years”: Jacques Steinberg, “Refusing to Coast on 7 Infamous Words,” New York Times, November 4, 2005.

  228 “Thank you, Mr. Twain”: Paul Harris, “George Carlin to Take Twain Prize,” Variety, June 18, 2008.

  228 “There’s always hope for comedians”: Hochman, “Playboy Interview.”

  Kicker

  231 “the filthiest piece of legislation”: Steven Pinker The Stuff of Thought: Language As a Window into Human Nature (Penguin Books, 2007), 360.

  232 “to be fruitful and multiply”: Pinker, Stuff of Thought, 20.

  232 “the word that’s probably the Queen Mother”: Glenn Garvin, “Carlin May Be Gone, But the Flap Over His Seven Words Isn’t,” Miami Herald, June 24, 2008.

  232 “People have been telling me”: Joan Biskupic, “Supreme Court Ruling Bans Broadcast ‘Fleeting Expletives,’” USA Today, April 28, 2009.

  233 “What can I say about George Carlin”: The Eleventh Annual Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize (PBS), 2009.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  The one thing George Carlin took seriously was refusing to take anything seriously. In making a case for his comic philosophy, I am indebted to the many friends and acquaintances who shared their memories of him with me. Particular thanks to Jenni Matz, Ken Harris, Nick Zaino, David Tillotson, Trevon Blondet, and John Lewis Puff for their help with source materials.

  Thanks to Paul Bresnick, my agent, for helping me cast a wide net. Thanks to Ben Schafer, my editor, for his enthusiasm and encouragement. Thanks again to Billie Porter for her keen eye.

  I would like to thank Kelly Carlin-McCall for her kindness and willingness to make some room on the shelf.

  Much like standup comedy, writing is a solitary pursuit, but I’ve been blessed with many funny people to brighten my life. In particular, old friends David Marmer and Jay Ablondi have always been comedians without going pro. My friend Jeremy Cowan carries a big shtick. And Rick D’Elia is, in fact, the coolest cousin-in-law.

  My father, Al Sullivan, who was born five years to the day before Carlin, still loves to say that he raised an R-rated kid. More importantly, he gave me a critical survival skill: a cracked sense of humor. And my wonderful wife, Monica, and our three beautiful boys—Sam, Will, and Owen—remind me every day that nothing beats a smile and a laugh.

  INDEX

  ABC

  Abortion

  ACLU. See American Civil Liberties Union

  The Act of Creation (Koestler)

  Advertising

  Agnew, Spiro

  Ajaye, Franklin

  Albee, Edward

  Alexander, Shana

  Ali, Muhammad

  Allen, Fred

  Allen, Steve

  All in the Family

  Altman, Bob

  American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

  Americathon (film)

  Amsterdam, Morey

  Anderson, Robert

  The Andy Griffith Show

  Apt. 2C

  Arbogast, Bob

  Arbogast, Peter

  Ass

  Atlantic Records

  Atomic Age

  Authority

  Authors League of America

  Away We Go

  Aykroyd, Dan

  Back in Town (HBO special)

  Ballou, Wally

  Banner, Bob

  Barris, Chuck

  Bastard

  Bearey, Mary. See Carlin, Mary (mother)

  Beat Generation

  Becker, Murray

  Belafonte, Harry

  Belushi, John

  Bennett, Tony

  Benny, Jack

  Berle, Marshall

  Berle, Milton

  Berman, Shelley

  Bernacchi, Donald

  Biafra, Jello

  Bible

  Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (film)

  Birth control

  Bitch

  Black, Hugo

  Black, Lewis

  Blackmun, Harry

  Blair, Dennis

  Bob and Ray

  The Bob Newhart Show

  Book, Stephen

  Borge, Victor

  Brain Droppings (Carlin)

  Brennan, Bill

  Brennan, William J.

  Brenner, David

  Brezner, Larry

  Brinkley, David

  Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act

  Brooks, Albert

  Brown, James

  Brown, Oscar, Jr.

  Bruce, Lenny

  Buckley, Lord
<
br />   Burger, Warren E.

  Burnett, Carol

  Burns, Biff

  Burns, George

  Burns, Jack

  Burns & Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight (album) (Carlin and Burns)

  The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart (album) (Newhart)

  Buttons, Red

  Butz, Earl

  Café Au Go Go, N.Y.

  Café Wha?, N.Y.

  Cannon, Freddy “Boom Boom,”

  Cantrell, Lana

  Carl, Dick

  Carlin, Brenda

  Carlin, George

  as actor

  appearance of

  arrests of

  awards received by

  Copacabana meltdown of

  death of

  drug use of

  early years of

  education of

  family background of

  film roles of

  financial problems of

  health of

  management of

  military service of

  as nightclub headliner

  as radio announcer

  in rehab

  reviews of

  Village years of

  writing of

  See also comedy albums; HBO specials

  Carlin-McCall, Kelly (daughter)

  Carlin, Mary (mother)

  Carlin, Patrick (brother)

  Carlin, Patrick (father)

  Carlin at Carnegie (HBO special)

  The Carlin Case (radio show)

  Carlin’s Corner (radio show)

  Carnegie Hall

  Carroll, Johnny

  Cars (film)

  Carson, Johnny

  Castro, Fidel

  Catholic Church, Catholicism

  CBS

  Censorship

  Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

  Characters

  Barf, Biff

  Breckenridge, Congolia

  Burns, Biff

  Hippie-Dippy Postman

  Hippie-Dippy Weatherman

  “The Indian Sergeant,”

  Lame, Scott

  media

  O’Grady, George

  Pouch, Al

  Sleet, Al

  West, Willie

  Cheech and Chong

  Cheney, Dick

  CIA. See Central Intelligence Agency

  Civil rights movement

  Class Clown (album) (Carlin)

  Clay, Andrew “Dice,”

  Clean Airwaves Act

  Clerks (film)

  The Coca-Cola Hi-Fi Club (radio show)

  Cocksucker

  Cohen, Herb

  Cohen, Myron

  Columbia University

  Columbine High School shooting

  Comedy

  1950s

  1970s

  changes in

  Dada

  dark

  “meta,”

  music and

  observational

  physical

  political

  stand-up

  underground

  Comedy albums

  Burns & Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight

  Class Clown

  Complaints and Grievances

  FM & AM

  Indecent Exposure

  The Little David Years

  Occupation: Foole

  A Place for My Stuff

  On the Road

  Take-Offs and Put-Ons

  Toledo Window Box

  What Am I Doing in New Jersey

  Comedy Central

  Communism

  Como, Perry

  Complaints and Grievances (album) (Carlin)

  Constitution, U.S.

  Coolidge, Rita

  Cooper, Pat

  Copacabana

  Corey, Irwin

  Corpus Christi School, N.Y.

  Cosby, Bill

  Costello, Frank

  Counterculture

  Crockett, Theophilus “Ted,”

  Crosby, Norm

  Crosby Boys

  Crystal, Billy

  Cullum, John E.

  Cullum, Leo

  Culture

  1960s

  counter-

  language and

  popular

  Saturday Night Live and

  standards of

  Cunt

  Cushing, Richard Cardinal

  Damone

  Dana, Bill

  Dangerfield, Rodney

  The Danny Kaye Show

  Darkness at Noon (Koestler)

  Davidson, John

  The David Susskind Show

  Davis, Miles

  Davis, Sammy, Jr.

  Day, Doris

  The Dean Martin Show

  Death, dying

  The Death of a President (Manchester)

  Death of a Salesman (Miller)

  The Debbie Reynolds Show

  De Blasio, Ron

  DeGeneres, Ellen

  Democritus

  Denver, Bob

  The Dick Cavett Show

  Dillards

  Diller, Phyllis

  Dogma (film)

  Doin’ It Again (HBO special)

  Don’t Smoke Dope, Fry Your Hair! (album) (Ajaye)

  Doublespeak (Lutz)

  Douglas, John H.

  Douglas, Mike

  Drawing on My Mind (film)

  Drug use

  Durante, Jimmy

  Dylan, Bob

  Easy Money (film)

  Ebbins, Milt

  Ebersol, Dick

  Eden, Barbara

  The Ed Sullivan Show

  Edwards, Blake

  Einstein, Bob

  Elliott, Bob

  Emmy Awards

  Erlichman, Marty

  Ertegun, Ahmet and Nesuhi

  Esar, Evan

  Esar’s Comic Dictionary

  Evans, Bill

  An Evening with Robert Klein (HBO special)

  Everly Brothers

  Fargas, Antonio

  Farr, Jamie

  Farrell, James T.

  Fass, Bob

  Fat Albert (Cosby)

  FBI. See Federal Bureau of Investigation

  FCC. See Federal Communications Commission

  FCC v. Pacifica

  Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

  Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

 

‹ Prev