BY TAYLOR MARSH
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Hide the children!
Here’s a moment when the profane, the sublime and the hilarious merged. Of course, when talking in these terms it’s got to be about the great George Carlin. So I brought out an old “Late Night” banner, signifying that profanity is about to fly. It’s not quite late night on the West Coast, and so many profane words at once are never seen or heard around here, so the South Park kids are a warning. Hey, it’s Carlin, so what do you expect?
There will be a lot of videos put up on Carlin today and in the days to come. But none encapsulates Carlin’s creative mania better than his “Seven Words” routine. It put him on the map and made him one of the comedic immortals of all time.
…He got tremendous mileage just from repeating certain words, dirty ones especially. His most famous routine was “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” You still can’t say them — or print them in most newspapers, for that matter — even after the issue went all the way to the Supreme Court.
In later years Mr. Carlin added three more words to the list, but the comic principle remained the same, and the joke was as fresh as ever. These ostensibly taboo words, which are at the same time an unavoidable part of our daily discourse, used and overheard everywhere except on television and in newspapers, became unaccountably funny when Mr. Carlin intoned them onstage, pausing for dramatic effect and every now and then wriggling with mock horror. …
So, sit back and sip your favorite cocktail, then enjoy the unleashed and unbridled brilliance of a man who will never be rivaled, matched or surpassed.
He’d hate it, but I just can’t help myself. God’s speed, George. Now I’ve done it! The invocation of God and his name in the same sentence likely unleashed the “seven words” all over again wherever his spirit has chosen to fly. (I know, two references to the spiritual in one paragraph. Sorry, George.)
There will never be anyone like him again. Challenging culture, “civility” and sensitivity was one aspect, but his rapid fire flawless delivery and sheer bombastic talent put him over the top and in a class of his own. The loss of his irreverence and talent combined will be felt forever.
In honor of George, nothing is out of bounds.
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