Rooting for Chaos
“I like people. It’s mankind I can’t stand. I root for chaos.”
“Comedian” will be the word most will choose to describe George Carlin, who died Sunday night of heart failure at age 71. But “comedian” barely scratches the surface. Carlin was a cynic, a skeptic, a linguist, a social commentator, a philosopher, a rebel, a radical, a lover of language, a very funny man and perhaps most important, a really good guy.
I was in Junior High School when Carlin made the turn from mainstream comic to counter-culture commentator. The first LP record album I ever bought was Carlin’s instant classic “Class Clown,” I even remember the day in May of 1972, when I made the purchase. Trouble was the best bit on that record was Carlin’s most infamous, if not his most brilliant piece of work, “Seven Words You Can’t Say on TV.” I wore that record out, which is an achievement considering I did not own a record player, and could only listen when my parents weren’t around. I still have the record.
George Carlin was one of my heroes. A high school drop-out, he proved that you didn’t need a diploma to be educated. The man knew how to use his head. Over the years, I saw him perform at least a dozen times and he never ceased to amuse and amaze. Carlin’s comedy got smarter, sharper, edgier and crankier.
One of my last assignments at CBS News was producing a profile of Carlin with Bernie Goldberg. It was early in 1996, Carlin was being honored at the Aspen Comedy Festival, where he was preparing to tape his latest HBO Comedy Special.
On that show Carlin debuted one of my favorite pieces “Bullshit.” http://youtube.com/watch?v=23lOtdrszq0
Actually, doing that story was just an excuse for Bernie and me to hang out with George. We had a great time. George Carlin the man was much different than George Carlin the entertainer. The angry demagogue on stage, off it Carlin was surprisingly mild mannered, gentle and soft spoken, a sweetheart of a guy. He was so unassuming, such a regular guy, it was as if he had no idea that he was “George Carlin.”
He educated us about his exacting creative process. Carlin said one of the “gifts from his genetic toolbox was the ability to keep writing and writing.” He spent months crafting and refining every routine on paper before committing it to memory. Only then did he spend weeks reciting the material thousands of times to perfect the rhythm and pacing of his delivery. It was hard to believe that his machine-gun delivery, which often sounded like a cocaine induced impromptu stream of consciousness, was actually a carefully constructed and meticulously rehearsed script.
George Carlin was much more than a comic. Yes, he was a very funny man, but his comedy was never silly or stupid. Carlin was a brilliant social, political and cultural commentator. Years from now, when historians look for clues about what was really happenning in America these last 50 years they would do well to give George Carlin a listen. No doubt they will learn. Most certainly they will laugh.
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