George Calin was regarded as “the dean of counterculture comedians” because of his ground-breaking political views and satires depicted through his stand-up acts. George Denis Patrick Carlin is considered the most celebrated and influential artist of his time.
Who was George Calin?
He dropped out of high school and joined Air Force. He started appearing on the radio after collaborating with his manager Jack Burns and drew Lenny Bruce, the famous comedian. He helped him to make his imprint through The Tonight Show with Jack Paar. After this gig, there was no going back for Carlin and he went on to keep attracting the limelight to become a successful author, comedian, and TV star.
Early Life
Carlin was born on 12 May 1937 in Bronx, New York. He and his brother, Pat was brought up by his mother, Mary Carlin in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighbourhood. She was a devout catholic and worked as a secretary. His father Patrick Carlin worked as a national advertising manager for the New York Sun and Mary left him soon after George was born.
He dropped out of High School to get listed in the Air Force at the age of 17 in 1954 as a radar technician. He received his first salary being stationed at Shreveport, Louisiana. He worked as a disc jockey at the night at a local radio station for the next three years. His job at Air Force did not suit him as he was court-martialled three times after facing n number of disciplinary punishments. Finally, he was discharged generally in 1957 and started taking random jobs at radio in Boston and Forth Worth, Texas.
Career in Comedy
Jack Burns was a newscaster in Texas. Carlin joined him in 1959 and both of them jointly presented the morning show in Forth Worth before they head to their calling in Hollywood. After moving there, the duo was spotted by Lenny Bruce. Bruce played an important role in booking gigs at important slots in showbiz. He helped them to appear at The Tonight Show with Jack Paar. This collaboration sealed Carlin’s fate and established him as a comedian and he went on to appear 130 times on the show.
Burns and Carlin parted ways and Carlin continued his gig with The Tonight Show with Johny Carson and appeared 29 times on The Merv Griffin Show.
The ruckus of Seven Words Routine
Carlin’s famous routine “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” got him arrested in 1962. The degree of profanity used in the act irked the administration. Eventually, he was arrested for violating obscenity laws in Milwaukee.
He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1987. He was included in the list of “100 Greatest Comedian of all Times” just 4 days before his death. He died of a heart attack after completing 71 years of age. He will be remembered for his contribution to the show business for eternity.