One of the great comedians of his time whose infamous "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television" routine prompted a Supreme Court ruling over obscenity, George Carlin died Sunday in a California hospital after complaining of chest pains. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. He was 71.
Carlin's great love was language, and much of his comedy dealt with the impact words can have. He also frequently mocked religion, among other sacred cows. He produced 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, three books, a couple of TV shows and appeared in several movies, including Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure and Dogma. He won four Grammy Awards, each for best spoken comedy album, and was nominated for five Emmy awards. On Tuesday, it was announced that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which will be presented Nov. 10 in Washington and broadcast on PBS.
Here is Carlin talking about religion. If only we could ask him now whether he was right.