George Carlin

Comedian

George Carlin was a stand-up comedian and sometime actor most famous for his 1970s routine known as "The Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." After being discharged from the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s, Carlin began his comedy career on the radio and in nightclubs in Los Angeles in the early '60s. Throughout the '60s he made occasional appearances on television sit-coms and talk shows. He emerged in the '70s as a Grammy-winning comic known for mixing off-color wordplay, goofy absurdity and angry social commentary on albums such as FM & AM and Class Clown (both 1972). Later he had his own TV specials, recorded albums, wrote books and guest-starred in feature films, most notably as Rufus in 1989's Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (starring Keanu Reeves). As cable TV blossomed in the 1990s, Carlin found that not only could he say his famous seven words on television, but that he had become a rather beloved mainstream comedy icon. His records include A Place for My Stuff (1981) and Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics (1990); his books include Brain Droppings (1997) and Napalm and Silly Putty (2001); and his movies include Outrageous Fortune (1987, with Bette Midler) and several Kevin Smith comedies, including Dogma (1999) and Jersey Girl (2004, with Ben Affleck).

Extra credit: Carlin hosted the first episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live in October of 1975... He was "Mr. Conductor" in the '90s on the children's TV shows Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and Shining Time Station... Carlin entered the U.S. Air Force in 1954. His official site says he received "three court-martial and numerous Article Fifteens (form of punishment just below court-martial)" during the next three years and was given a "general discharge under honorable conditions" -- one notch below an honorable discharge -- in 1957.

Blog posts mentioning George Carlin:

• Grover Cleveland Died 100 Years Ago
• Obituary First Lines: George Carlin
• Heart Failure Kills George Carlin