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George Dennis Carlin (born May 12, 1937 in New
York City) is an Irish American ("I used to be
Irish Catholic, now I'm an American.  Y'know: you
grow.") stand-up comedian, actor, and author,
noted especially for his irreverent attitude and
his observations on language and religion. He is
considered by many to be a worthy successor to
Lenny Bruce.

==Biography==
George Carlin grew up on West 121st St. in a
neighborhood of Manhattan which he later said he
and his friends called "White Harlem", because
that sounded a lot tougher than its real name,
"Morningside Heights". He was raised by his
mother; she left his father when he was two years
old. At age 17, Carlin dropped out of high school
and joined the United States Air Force, training
as a radar technician. He was stationed in
Shreveport, Louisiana, where he began working as a
disc jockey on a local radio station. He did not
complete his Air Force enlistment. On  July 29,
1957, Carlin was discharged. 

At the age of 18, he and Jack Burns, a new
announcer at the station, assembled a comedy
routine and began booking nightclubs.  Soon the
act broke up.  Carlin continued to work as a
stand-up comic.

In the 1960s, Carlin began appearing on television
variety shows, notably Laugh In.  His most famous
skits were:

* Indian war parties ("You wit' the beads...get
outta line"),
* Stupid disc jockeys ("Wonderful WINO...") - "The
Beatles latest record, when played backwards at
slow speed, says 'Dummy! You're playing it
backwards at slow speed!"
* Al Sleet, the "hippie-dippie
meteorologist|weatherman". - "Tonight's forecast:
Dark. Continued mostly dark tonight, turning to
widely scattered light in the morning."
* Jon Carson - the "world never known, and never
to be known"

In 1961, Carlin married Brenda Hosbrook, whom he
had met while touring the previous year. The
couple had a daughter, Kelly, in 1963.

During this period, Carlin became more popular. 
He was cast on Away We Go, a 1967 comedy show.
Carlin changed his routines, and his appearance.
He lost some TV bookings by dressing as a hippie,
with beard and earrings, but regained his
popularity as members of the public caught up to
his sense of style. It is not clear that Carlin
has ever lost his hippie sensibilities, as he
retains his beard and ponytail to this day.

In this period he also perfected what is perhaps
his best-known routine, "Seven dirty words|Seven
Words You Can Never Say on Television", recorded
on Class Clown. This routine offended some. In
1973, a father complained to the Federal
Communications Commission|FCC that his son had
heard a later, similar routine, "Filthy Words",
from Occupation: Foole, broadcast one afternoon
over WBAI, a Pacifica Foundation Frequency
modulation|FM radio station in New York City. 
Pacifica received a citation from the FCC, which
sought to fine Pacifica for allegedly violating
FCC regulations which prohibited broadcasting
"obscene" material. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld
the FCC action, by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling that
the routine was "indecent but not obscene", and
the FCC had authority to prohibit such broadcasts
during hours when children were likely to be among
the audience.  FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438
U.S. 726 (1978). The controversy only increased
Carlin's fame (or notoriety). Carlin eventually
expanded the dirty-words theme with a seemingly
interminable end to a performance (ending with his
voice fading out in the HBO version), and a set of
49 web pages organized by subject and embracing
his "Incomplete List Of Impolite Words". 
Ironically, the court documents contain a complete
transcript of the skit, proving what Oliver
Wendell Holmes, Jr. said: "you cannot define
obscenity without being
obscene".http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/FCC_v_Paci
fica/fcc_v_pacifica.decision

In December 2003, California United States
Representative|Representative Doug Ose introduced
a bill (H.R. 3687) to outlaw the broadcast of
Carlin's seven "dirty words", including "compound
use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words
and phrases with each other or with other words or
phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words
and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund,
participle, and infinitive forms)." (The bill
omits "tits", and includes "ass" and "asshole"
which were not part of Carlin's original routine).
 Carlin was also arrested in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
and charged with violating obscenity laws.  

Carlin was the first-ever host of NBC's Saturday
Night Live, debuting on October 11, 1975.  He also
hosted SNL on November 10, 1984.

In the 1970s, Carlin became known for
unpredictable performances.  He would walk off if
no one laughed, verbally insult the audience, or
simply not appear.

Carlin unexpectedly stopped performing in 1976
when his career appeared to be at its height. For
the next five years, he would rarely appear and
performed no stand-up. It would later be revealed
that Carlin had suffered a heart attack.

In the 1980s Carlin reformed.  By 1989 Carlin
became popular with teens when he was cast as a
mentor, Rufus in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Carlin began a weekly sitcom, The George Carlin
Show, cast as "George" a cab driver, for the Fox
Network in 1993. He quickly included a variation
of the "Seven Words" in the plot.

In 1997, Brenda Carlin died of Hepatocellular
carcinoma|liver cancer. George Carlin did not work
for a year following the death of his wife.

In 1999, Carlin returned with an appearance in
Kevin Smith's film Dogma (movie)|Dogma. He worked
with Smith again with a cameo appearance in Jay
and Silent Bob Strike Back and a larger role in
Jersey Girl (2004 movie)|Jersey Girl.

In 2004, Carlin was voted #2 of the
"http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/100greatest
/ Greatest Standup Comedians of All Time" by
Comedy Central behind Richard Pryor.

In December 2004, Carlin announced that he would
be voluntarily entering a drug rehabilitation
facility to receive treatment for his dependency
on Alcoholic beverage|alcohol and painkillers.  

Carlin performs regularly as a headliner in Las
Vegas.

He has currently begun a new tour and will have a
new HBO Special on November 19, 2005.

== Frisbeetarianism ==
As a staunch atheist, Carlin has often denounced
the idea of a deity|god in interviews and
performances, most notably with his "Invisible Man
in the Sky" routine. In mockery he invented a fake
religion called "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.

James Sherman (playwright)|James Sherman, the
Chicago playwright, revived the joke of this mock
religion in his 2002 play "Old Man's Friend" as
some comic relief in the context of a daughter
reconciling with her father when the doctor
diagnoses her dad as having cancer and gives him
six months to live.
http://www.chicagotheater.com/revOldMan.html

Carlin has also said he might worship the Sun
(because he can actually see it) but prays to Joe
Pesci because "he looks like a guy who can get
things done!"

== Discography ==
*1966 Take Offs And Put Ons
*1972
**FM & AM
**Class Clown
*1973 Occupation: Foole
*1974 Toledo Window Box
*1975 An Evening With Wally Londo Featuring Bill
Slaszo
*1977 On The Road (album)|On The Road
*1978 George Carlin Again!
*1981 A Place For My Stuff
*1984 Carlin On Campus
*1986 Playin' With Your Head
*1988 What Am I Doing In New Jersey?
*1990 Parental Advisory-Explicit Lyrics
*1992 Jammin' In New York
*1995 Killer Carlin
*1996 Back in Town
*1999 You Are All Diseased
*2001
**Napalm & Silly Putty
**Complaints and Grievances
*2002
**More Napalm & Silly Putty
**George Carlin On Comedy
**George Carlin - 40 Years in Comedy

== Filmography ==

*Jersey Girl (2004 movie)|Jersey Girl (2004)
*Scary Movie 3 (2003)
*Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
*Dogma (movie)|Dogma (1999)
*Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
*Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
*Outrageous Fortune (1987)
*Americathon 1998 (1979)
*Car Wash (1976)
*With Six You Get Eggroll (1968)

== Books ==

*When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? (2004) ISBN
1401301347 
*Napalm and Silly Putty (2002) ISBN 0786887583 
*Brain Droppings (1997) ISBN 0786883219
*Sometimes a little brain damage can help (1984)
ISBN 0894712713

== Television ==
*Shining Time Station (as "Mr. Conductor")
(1991-93) PBS
*Numerous specials for Home Box Office
*Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (as American
Narrator and Mr. Conductor) (1991-98)