It saddened us to hear that Venice Canal resident George Carlin died today. We grew up on Carlin’s comedy and he will be greatly missed by a society that could use more of his insightful humor. RIP George!
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71.
Carlin, who had a history of heart problems, died at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PDT (2 a.m. British time) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.
Known for his edgy, provocative material, Carlin achieved status as an anti-Establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine about seven dirty words you could not say on television. A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of his “Filthy Words” routine ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
RIP to one of the greatest.
One of the smartest comics of our time.
And he didn’t give a f*** what the establishment thought of him.
A truly great man.