George Carlin Orleans Hotel & Casino June 12th to June 15th
Famed for his landmark Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television
routine, George Carlin filled the void created by the death of Lenny Bruce,
honing a provocative, scathing comic style which bravely explored the limits of
free speech and good taste.
George Dennis Carlin was born in the Bronx
in 1937. While serving a stint in the military, in Shreveport, Louisiana, he
began working as a disc jockey on a Shreveport morning show in 1955. His fellow
radio personality was comedian Jack Burns. The duo began performing in clubs as
a comedy team. They made their recorded debut in 1960 with a live show
consisting of their rendition of Lenny Bruce's Dijinni in the Candy
Store routine along with a spot-on impersonation of Mort Sahl and the sketch of
Captain Jack and Jolly George, a spoof of children's shows inviting young girls
to "send for your Lolita kit."
Eventually George and Jack broke up and
the album was not released until many years later under the name of The
Original George Carlin. Striking out on his own, George's initial work cast
him a clean-cut, straitlaced performer. His proper solo debut in 1967's Take
Offs and Put Ons, offered clever mild-mannered routines like Wonderful
WINO, about a mindless disc jockey. That same year he was also tapped to
co-star in Away We Go, a summer replacement series for The Jackie
Gleason Show.
During the 60's George began appearing on television
variety shows, notably The Ed Sullivan Show. His most famous routines
included The Indian Sergeant (You wit' the beads…get outta line);
Stupid Disc Jockeys (Wonderful WINO); Al Sleet the
"hippie-dippie weatherman" and Jon Carson the "world never known, and never to
be known."
In 1961 George became a popular and frequent performer and
guest on The Tonight Show during the Johnny Carson era, becoming one of
Carson's most frequent substitutes during the host's three-decade reign.
In the 1970s George changed his routines and his appearance. Sporting a
beard, earrings and dressing strangely, George lost some television bookings but
regained his popularity as the public caught on to his sense of style.
During this period he also perfected what is perhaps his best-known
routine, Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television, a routine which
offended some. George was arrested in 1972 at a Milwaukee Summer fest and was
charged with violating obscenity laws after performing this routine.
In
1975 George was the first-ever host of NBC's Saturday Night Live. The
following season, George also appeared regularly on the Tony Orlando and Dawn
variety show. During this period, he also became known for unpredictable
performances. He would walk off if no one laughed, verbally insult the audience,
or simply not appear.
By the late 80's, George had become popular with a
new generation of teens when he was cast as Rufus, the mentor of the titular
characters in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and reprised his
role in the film sequel Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey as well as the
first season of the cartoon series. In 1991, he provided the narrative voice for
the American version of the children's show Thomas the Tank Engine &
Friends, and he also played Mr. Conductor, on the PBS children's show
Shining Time Station.
In 1993, George began a weekly sitcom,
The George Carlin Show, cast as George O'Grady, a New York Cab City
driver. In 1997, George's first book entitled, Brain Droppings sold
over 750,000 copies by 2001.
In 2001, George was given a Lifetime
Achievement Award at the 15th Annual American Comedy Awards. In 2004, he was
ranked #2 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-ups of all time lists, just
behind Richard Pryor.
As a staunch atheist, George has often denounced
the idea of God in interviews and performances, most notably with his
Invisible Man in the Sky and There Is No God routines. In
mockery, he invented the parody religion Frisbeetarianism for a newspaper
contest. He defined it as the belief that when one dies "his soul gets flung
onto a roof, and just stays there, and cannot be retrieved.
George has
also facetiously stated he worships the Sun, because he can actually see it, but
prays to Joe Pesci because "he's a good actor," and looks like a guy who can get
things done!, and praying to him has approximately the same 50% success rate as
praying to God."
