Biography
His humor was built on the vagaries of human behavior - the truth behind words and phrases, the quandaries presented in everyday life, and the hypocrisies of authority - which was unleashed on audiences in a stream-of-consciousness delivery that was equal parts profanity and profundity. Carlin sowed his seeds of free thought through over 20 albums and a record 14 specials for HBO, as well as five best-selling books and countless live …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
2008 | Headlined his fourteenth and final HBO special, "George Carlin: It's Bad For Ya" | |
2007 | Lent his voice to the animated feature "Happily N'ever After" | |
2006 | Announced, while on a national comedy tour, that he had recently recovered from heart failure | |
2006 | Provided the voice of Fillmore, a VW Microbus with a psychedelic paint job in the animated feature "Cars" | |
2005 | Appeared in Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza's documentary "The Aristocrats," about a long-running and particularly vulgar joke favored by stand-up comedians | |
2005 | Premiered his thirteenth HBO special, "Life is Worth Losing" | |
2004 | Released his book, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? | |
2004 | Fired from his headlining position at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas after an altercation with his audience; soon after announced he would enter rehab for drug and alcohol addiction | |
2004 | Cast in his biggest and most dramatic role to date as Ben Affleck's blue collar father in Smith's "Jersey Girl" | |
2001 | Penned the book, Napalm and Silly Putty | |
2001 | Taped twelfth HBO special, "Complaints and Grievances"; originally titled "I Like It A Lot When People Die," but was changed after the September 11th attacks | |
1999 | Played a satirically marketing-oriented Roman Catholic cardinal in Kevin Smith's "Dogma" | |
1999 | Filmed eleventh HBO special, "You Are All Diseased"; earned two Emmy nominations and a Grammy nomination for the CD version | |
1997 | Honored at the Aspen Comedy Festival with a retrospective "George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy" hosted by Jon Stewart; the special was nominated for two Emmys | |
1997 | Published Brain Droppings, Carlin's first real book | |
1995 | Had rare dramatic TV role in the CBS miniseries "Larry McMurtry's Streets of Laredo" | |
1993 | Cast in (also executive produced and co-wrote the pilot) the FOX sitcom, "The George Carlin Show" as a NYC cab driver | |
1992 | Headlined eighth HBO special "Jammin' in New York"; first of his specials to be broadcast live on the network; received first Grammy Award for the resulting comedy album | |
1991 | Replaced Ringo Starr as Mr. Conductor on the PBS children's series, "Shining Time Station" | |
1991 | Provided the narrative voice for the American version of the children's show "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends" (PBS) | |
1991 | Reprised role of Rufus in the sequel "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" | |
1991 | Suffered the worst of his three heart attacks while driving to Las Vegas | |
1991 | Had a major supporting role in the film "Prince of Tides," along with Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand | |
1990 | Filmed seventh HBO special, "Doin' It Again"; also released as an album under the title Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics, which earned a Grammy nomination | |
1989 | Cast as Rufus, the mentor of the titular characters in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" | |
1988 | Filmed the HBO special "What Am I Doing In New Jersey?"; also released as a comedy album | |
1988 | Made TV-movie debut as a ghost in "Justin Case" an installment of ABC's "Disney Sunday Movie" | |
1987 | Cast as a drunken, ex-hippie tour guide in "Outrageous Fortune" opposite Bette Midler and Shelley Long | |
1987 | Honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (January) | |
1985 | Headlined (and wrote) a failed pilot for HBO called "2C" | |
1984 | Taped fourth HBO special, "Carlin on Campus" | |
1984 | Again hosted "Saturday Night Live"; also appearing in sketches | |
1983 | Published first book, Sometimes a Little Brain Damage Can Help | |
1982 | Suffered second heart attack (reportedly while watching a baseball game at Dodger Stadium) | |
1982 | Filmed third HBO special, "Carlin at Carnegie" | |
1981 | Returned to comedy with the comedy album, A Place for My Stuff | |
1978 | Headlined second HBO special "On Location: George Carlin at Phoenix" | |
1978 | Suffered first heart attack, primarily due to a punishing schedule and a growing cocaine addiction | |
1977 | Appeared in his first comedy special for the HBO Network, "On Location: George Carlin at USC" | |
1976 | Appeared regularly performing a stand-up routine on "Tony Orlando and Dawn" (CBS) | |
1976 | Had role of a cab driver in the feature comedy "Car Wash" | |
1975 | Served as host of the first broadcast of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" (October 11) | |
1972 | Made Carnegie Hall debut | |
1972 | Recorded landmark comedy albums FM & AM and Class Clown; the later included a version of his famous "Seven Dirty Words You Can Never Say on Television" | |
1968 | Made feature debut in the Doris Day vehicle "With Six You Get Eggroll" | |
1967 | Hosted and wrote for the CBS variety series, "Away We Go" | |
1967 | Made 80 major TV appearances and worked all the top nightclubs | |
1967 | Released first solo comedy album, Take-Offs and Put-Ons; earned first Grammy nomination | |
1966 | Acting debut, played a recurring role as Marlo Thomas's agent on "That Girl" (ABC) | |
1966 | Had a 12-week stint as a writer and performer on "The Kraft Summer Music Hall" (NBC) | |
1966 | Moved to Los Angeles | |
1965 | First of 29 appearances on the syndicated talk show "The Merv Griffin Show" (July) | |
| Performed in nightclubs, folk clubs, and coffee houses | ||
1961 | Made his debut as a solo stand-up act on "The Tonight Show" (NBC); guest hosted by Mort Sahl | |
1960 | Launched his nightclub comic career working with a partner, Jack Burns; the duo recorded a live album, Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight (released in 1963) | |
1959 | Briefly worked at a station in Boston, MA, before moving to Fort Worth, TX and working there as a deejay | |
| Began working as a disc jockey while serving in the US Air Force in Shreveport, Louisiana | ||
| Born and raised in NYC | ||
Awards
2008 | Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album |
2008 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special in George Carlin: It's Bad For Ya |
2006 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special in George Carlin: Life is Worth Losing |
1999 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance In a Variety or Music Program in George Carlin: You Are All Diseased |
1999 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special in George Carlin: You Are All Diseased |
1997 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance In a Variety or Music Program in George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy |
1992 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance In a Variety or Music Program in George Carlin Live at the Paramount |
1972 | Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording |