George Carlin’s Final Stand And I Was There To See Him In Las Vegas

I woke up this morning to the news that George Carlin, 71, had died and did a bit of a double take. I just had the pleasure of seeing him in person last week at the Orleans Hotel here in Vegas, and I suddenly realized as I was reading the newswire, that I was there for his final performance! Wow - that’s one that makes you shake your head a bit.

Since we’ve been hanging out here in Vegas, I haven’t made too much of an effort to see any shows, but when I saw that George Carlin was in town for a 5 day stint - something moved me to step away from the computer and go have some fun for a night out on the town. So I grabbed Hannah, and we went to the Orleans hotel to see the show on Sunday, the final night he was in town.

It was classic Carlin for sure, and he even read a preview from written notes of material yet to be released for an upcoming HBO special - material that will never be performed by the legendary comedian live on stage as it now turns out - and we got to hear it! How special is that memory!

I first heard George Carlin as a child when the “Seven Dirty Words” craze happened (and yes - to date myself, I listened to it on a record album - those ancient dinosaurs that belonged to my generation). The reason it was such a big thing in my life was that George Carlin was the first adult comedian that my mother let me listen too - and that’s a big deal when you are a “tween.” Seven Dirty Words hit the media in 1972, so I was probably around 8-10 years old and it was that giddy little thing you remember as a kid when you’re really too young to hear such things, but mom made “just this one exception.” LOL

So having a fondness for George all those years, I finally decided to grab those tickets and go see him live last week - imagine how I’d feel right now if I’d passed on taking a break from work… it would have been an opportunity lost and never to come around again!

The world will miss you George, and I’ll alway remember that I was there for the last stand… Thank You for bringing a smile to my face!

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6 Responses to 'George Carlin’s Final Stand And I Was There To See Him In Las Vegas'

Ben Mack - June 23rd, 2008 at 11:44 am
Stephanie,

Thank you for laying testimony to a fallen hero!

Pardon me for ranting a bit. This is from my heart and with love. I’m sorry if you or your readers find my words discomfiting.

“When Thomas Edison worked late into the night on the electric light, he had to do it by gas lamp or candle. I’m sure it made the work seem that much more urgent.” ~George Carlin

“They say that cleanliness is next to godliness. I looked it up. Goggles is next Godliness. Cleanliness is not next to godliness. Cleanliness is between claustrophobia and cleavage.” ~George Carlin

Today is a day of respect.

This morning I posted on The Warrior Forum about how Stand-up Comedy is Direct Response… either you get an immediate laugh or you don’t get paid. I wrote about how you, a fellow Warrior, saw George Carlin’s last performance.

Here’s what’s ironic to me: THEY CENSORED THE POST.

Why is this irony? Because George Carlin made his career based on censorship, on the 7 words you can’t say on TV. I didn’t say those words in my post. I didn’t type any words I could construe as offensive and yet they removed my post without explanation.

On a day when I’d like to say only warm things in memory of a fallen hero, I am reminded that he wasn’t famous for saying warm things. It is worthy of note that when I went to pay tribute to an intellectual hero of mine that I am faced with the very phenomena he fought his whole life against… censorship.

America is an idea that dies more every day.

George Carlin rallied around how we preach free speech but we practice censorship, how Orwell was right about 1984 being an age of Double-Speak. George Carlin was right about a lot of things. Mostly, I enjoyed his perspective…

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” ~George Carlin

…that’s true also about politics and philosophy. Anybody less constrictive than you is a liberal and everybody more restrictive than you is totalitarian.

Perhaps what I enjoyed most about George was his ability to demonstrate that Truth won’t be found in static words…

“Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.” ~George Carlin

…that’s what I get out of that quote.

As I research Carlin quotes for this post… I came across a Google AdWord You Suck
Because You’re Poor. Find Out How To Be Rich Like Me.
TheRichJerk.com

Not ironic, but funny. You see, it is a coincidence that I am writing to Internet Marketers and there is an ad by an internet marketer. Many internet marketers call these kinds of events ironic. What I appreciated about George Carlin is that he would know the difference and that his mind could go where other minds can’t. You see, when you get sloppy with words, your mind can’t read the old maps. The old maps take a mind to very special places. Sometimes, the only way to see these places is to plow through the artificial overgrowth of mis-used words. George’s comedy did this for me.

If you think I’m reading too much into how much we can get out of comedy, please consider this…

“I get weary of this zero tolerance bullsh*t. It’s annoying. To begin with, it’s a fascist concept; it’s what Hitler and Stalin practiced. It allows for no exceptions or compassion of any kind.”~George Carlin

“Here’s all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid.” ~George Carlin

Thank you for your considerations.

George, you are missed. You will be loved for many generations.
BGreen - June 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 pm
A sad day to be sure… saw George a few months after 9/11 when everyone was cautious and subdued and while he started off slow, he was brilliant as usual and ended with a bang.

Thanks for the quotes, Ben.

Now, group hug everyone, oh, no nevermind, he would have hated that!
Xavier Nelson - June 23rd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I couldn’t believe it. It seems as far back as I can remember George was always there, goofing off, making me laugh, hoot and holler.

He made it his legacy and purpose to not just entertain, but to stay true to himself and say what was on his mind (and he didn’t care what others thought). That’s one of the things I always cherished and try still to live myself. If you don’t like me then go away, but if you like me, let’s have some fun. At least that’s the way I look at it.

True to his beliefs and true to who he was, something we can all strive for, not something fake because others might prefer us to be that way.

I wasn’t fortunate enough to ever have a chance to see him live, but never missed him when he was aired (preferred of course the late night versions to the ‘clean’ versions lol).

You will be missed George, but as Ben said earlier you will definitely be remembered for generations.

Thanks for the quotes Ben, I couldn’t help but giggle and smirk as I read them hahaha.

I think this quote from George says it well:”I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don’t have as many people who believe it.”

George also said (and lived up to it):”I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.”

Xavier
Michelle - June 24th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Wow,you saw his last performance; exhilerating, touching, sad, & I’m sure, some gratitude. I’ll miss him. I’ve always felt that he said what alot of people thought, but didn’t have the guts to say.
Blake - June 25th, 2008 at 10:52 am
George will be greatly missed but his memory lives on forever. Great Article and fantastic site.

BG
Tony - July 4th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Yeah, he was hilareous my folks saw him in Vegas…though filthy, their sides were ACHIN’ from laughter. They also did a tribute to him on SNL last weekend.

- Tony

Evil Tony’s Website