Having had the opportunity to interview George Carlin several times in the past thirty years, I was saddened to hear of his death recently. I saw him last year at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill but just weeks ago we gave away tickets to his show in Ridgefield Connecticut. Listener Bob Curtis was among the lucky ones who saw one of Carlin’s last performances……
Mike,
Just a couple of months ago, in late April, I won two tickets on WHUD to see George Carlin in Stamford. I did so by identifying the name of one of his early popular characters, the "hippy-dippy weatherman," Al Sleet. I even went so far as to repeat one of his bits, "The weather forecast for this evening is . . . . . dark," which you actually played on the air.
Initially, I was very excited to have won. But after receiving the tickets, I wasn't sure if I wanted to make the trip from Orange County to Stamford, CT to see him, as it was to be on a Saturday night, and I had other things I could have done closer to home.
Well, when I mentioned the tickets to my older daughter Heather (30) and that I was thinking of not going, she said "Are you kidding -- George Carlin -- free tickets, and you're not going to go! Let me see if we can get a ticket for Erik (her boyfriend), and we'll go together.
So she convinced me to go. You see, Mike, I had seen George early in his career in NYC, when he did his "seven words" bit, etc. I always loved him, have several of his albums, and have watched many of his HBO specials. But NOTHING beats seeing a legend like George Carlin live. So we went to Connecticut, had a great dinner, and then went to see the master at his best. He was funny, poignant, irreverent, sarcastic, cynical, hysterical, and displayed a mastery of words that no other artist could ever duplicate.
After we heard the sad news yesterday about his death, my daughter Heather e-mailed me -- "He was so fantastic. So sad. I'm SO glad I convinced you guys to go see him! And I'm so glad we got to see him before he passed. I'd always wanted to see him."
So Mike, on behalf of myself and my daughter, thank you for the opportunity to see George Carlin just one more time. I will never forget it.
My best,
Bob Curtis
Highland Mills, NY
P.S. Here is what Jerry Seinfeld had to say about George Carlin, I believe in the NY Times.
June 24, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Dying Is Hard. Comedy Is Harder.
By JERRY SEINFELD
THE honest truth is, for a comedian, even death is just a premise to make jokes about. I know this because I was on the phone with George Carlin nine days ago and we were making some death jokes. We were talking about Tim Russert and Bo Diddley and George said: "I feel safe for a while. There will probably be a break before they come after the next one. I always like to fly on an airline right after they've had a crash. It improves your odds."
I called him to compliment him on his most recent special on HBO. Seventy years old and he cranks out another hour of great new stuff. He was in a hotel room in Las Vegas getting ready for his show. He was a monster.
You could certainly say that George downright invented modern American stand-up comedy in many ways. Every comedian does a little George. I couldn't even count the number of times I've been standing around with some comedians and someone talks about some idea for a joke and another comedian would say, "Carlin does it." I've heard it my whole career: "Carlin does it," "Carlin already did it," "Carlin did it eight years ago."
And he didn't just "do" it. He worked over an idea like a diamond cutter with facets and angles and refractions of light. He made you sorry you ever thought you wanted to be a comedian. He was like a train hobo with a chicken bone. When he was done there was nothing left for anybody.
But his brilliance fathered dozens of great comedians. I personally never cared about "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television," or "FM & AM." To me, everything he did just had this gleaming wonderful precision and originality.
I became obsessed with him in the '60s. As a kid it seemed like the whole world was funny because of George Carlin. His performing voice, even laced with profanity, always sounded as if he were trying to amuse a child. It was like the naughtiest, most fun grown-up you ever met was reading you a bedtime story.
I know George didn't believe in heaven or hell. Like death, they were just more comedy premises. And it just makes me even sadder to think that when I reach my own end, whatever tumbling cataclysmic vortex of existence I'm spinning through, in that moment I will still have to think, "Carlin already did it."
Jerry Seinfeld is a writer and a comedian.
Mike,
Just a couple of months ago, in late April, I won two tickets on WHUD to see George Carlin in Stamford. I did so by identifying the name of one of his early popular characters, the "hippy-dippy weatherman," Al Sleet. I even went so far as to repeat one of his bits, "The weather forecast for this evening is . . . . . dark," which you actually played on the air.
Initially, I was very excited to have won. But after receiving the tickets, I wasn't sure if I wanted to make the trip from Orange County to Stamford, CT to see him, as it was to be on a Saturday night, and I had other things I could have done closer to home.
Well, when I mentioned the tickets to my older daughter Heather (30) and that I was thinking of not going, she said "Are you kidding -- George Carlin -- free tickets, and you're not going to go! Let me see if we can get a ticket for Erik (her boyfriend), and we'll go together.
So she convinced me to go. You see, Mike, I had seen George early in his career in NYC, when he did his "seven words" bit, etc. I always loved him, have several of his albums, and have watched many of his HBO specials. But NOTHING beats seeing a legend like George Carlin live. So we went to Connecticut, had a great dinner, and then went to see the master at his best. He was funny, poignant, irreverent, sarcastic, cynical, hysterical, and displayed a mastery of words that no other artist could ever duplicate.
After we heard the sad news yesterday about his death, my daughter Heather e-mailed me -- "He was so fantastic. So sad. I'm SO glad I convinced you guys to go see him! And I'm so glad we got to see him before he passed. I'd always wanted to see him."
So Mike, on behalf of myself and my daughter, thank you for the opportunity to see George Carlin just one more time. I will never forget it.
My best,
Bob Curtis
Highland Mills, NY
P.S. Here is what Jerry Seinfeld had to say about George Carlin, I believe in the NY Times.
June 24, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Dying Is Hard. Comedy Is Harder.
By JERRY SEINFELD
THE honest truth is, for a comedian, even death is just a premise to make jokes about. I know this because I was on the phone with George Carlin nine days ago and we were making some death jokes. We were talking about Tim Russert and Bo Diddley and George said: "I feel safe for a while. There will probably be a break before they come after the next one. I always like to fly on an airline right after they've had a crash. It improves your odds."
I called him to compliment him on his most recent special on HBO. Seventy years old and he cranks out another hour of great new stuff. He was in a hotel room in Las Vegas getting ready for his show. He was a monster.
You could certainly say that George downright invented modern American stand-up comedy in many ways. Every comedian does a little George. I couldn't even count the number of times I've been standing around with some comedians and someone talks about some idea for a joke and another comedian would say, "Carlin does it." I've heard it my whole career: "Carlin does it," "Carlin already did it," "Carlin did it eight years ago."
And he didn't just "do" it. He worked over an idea like a diamond cutter with facets and angles and refractions of light. He made you sorry you ever thought you wanted to be a comedian. He was like a train hobo with a chicken bone. When he was done there was nothing left for anybody.
But his brilliance fathered dozens of great comedians. I personally never cared about "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television," or "FM & AM." To me, everything he did just had this gleaming wonderful precision and originality.
I became obsessed with him in the '60s. As a kid it seemed like the whole world was funny because of George Carlin. His performing voice, even laced with profanity, always sounded as if he were trying to amuse a child. It was like the naughtiest, most fun grown-up you ever met was reading you a bedtime story.
I know George didn't believe in heaven or hell. Like death, they were just more comedy premises. And it just makes me even sadder to think that when I reach my own end, whatever tumbling cataclysmic vortex of existence I'm spinning through, in that moment I will still have to think, "Carlin already did it."
Jerry Seinfeld is a writer and a comedian.