George Carlin, writer
Jun 24th, 2008 by Dave Olson
George Carlin, who died Monday morning of heart failure, will be remembered by most as a comedian with a finely tuned sense of outrage, a nose for the truly ridiculous and the utterer of the Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television. (No link there; this is a family blog.)
But Carlin was also a writer, and a good one. He spent hours honing his material before going on stage, and was continually updating his routine throughout is four-decade career.
While “Seven Words” is his most famous bit, I’m partial to his take on “soft language,” the way direct writing becomes, well, soft. Toilet paper becomes bathroom tissue. Sneakers become running shoes. The dump becomes the landfill. Carlin does it best, as you can see here.
And lest you think he was as angry off the stage as on it, check out the reaction to his death from the folks at the North Shore Music Theatre, where Carlin appeared regularly.