George Carlin - Creative Genius
I’m sad about George Carlin’s passing yesterday at age 71. I count him among my biggest creative inspirations and listen to his comedy and interviews often.
Carlin did over a dozen HBO specials and toured relentlessly throughout his career, always working on new material, never coasting on the old stuff. I saw him live once, and had the pleasure of witnessing him flub a joke and then start it over again. He wanted to memorize it and recite it fluidly. It was a neat glimpse into his creative process.
Even though I didn’t care for his recent material (I found it too bitter and unfunny), Carlin was one of those rare talents and geniuses who always knew what he wanted to be. He had a gift.
If you’re interested, you can download a great interview he did, On Comedy, from iTunes. It will give you tremendous insight into the creative process in general.
Here’s a video of George at his controversial best. I particularly like the ending, when he gets almost spiritual. This was taken from his Jammin’ In New York special, one of his best performances ever.
Be warned - there is profanity in this vid - so don’t listen at work!
Thank you George, for all the laughs.
(* Thanks to Copyblogger I found this - the last big interview Carlin gave 10 days before his death. )
GC was an inspiration to me, too, and I laughed long and hard during his performances. And even years later, something would trigger a laugh from some joke heard long ago but never forgotten. But I agree, his recent material was very caustic.
I’m not sure where I got this (my best guess is from an old Playboy interview) but I remember he said that he wasn’t the funniest guy in his clique growing up. That there were waaay funnier guys than him amongst his friends but that he, somehow, became a professional comedian. That seems to warrant a Creative Journey Cafe topic of its own.
thanks for cheering George’s creative life, Mark. he was one of a kind. i’m grateful to him.
may The Big Electron be kind to you and yours.
What a great video - fascinating thoughts, and very funny delivery!
Now I finally know why I’m here…
Glad you guys appreciate Mr. Carlin. He really was a master of live performance, even if his material of late was caustic.
Thanks for chiming in.
I saw him live about half a dozen times. I thought his specials after 1986 were up and down, but liked the last one he did quite a lot.