Monday, June 23, 2008

George Carlin Dies

Outside of Richard Pryor, I cannot think of a comedian who has had as much of an impact on mainstream society.

This is a great loss but he is in a much better place.

Acerbic standup comedian and satirist George Carlin, whose staunch defense of free speech in his most famous routine 'Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television' led to a key Supreme Court ruling on obscenity, has died.

Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. He was 71.