George Carlin was an American comedian, actor, and social critic with an estimated net worth of $10 Million. George Carlin was renowned for his black humour and discussion of taboo topics such as religion, politics, and psychology. He was considered “the dean of counterculture comedians” and is largely regarded as one of the most significant and influential stand-up comedians of his day.
He was born in New York City on May 12, 1937 and passed away in Santa Monica, California on June 22, 2008. He was the younger son of The Sun’s advertising manager Patrick Carlin, an Irish immigrant from County Donegal, and secretary Mary Beary, who also had Irish ancestry.
Although he was born into a Catholic family, Carlin renounced religion. Due to his father’s drinking, his parents separated when he was two months old, and he was raised by his mother and elder brother, Patrick Jr. When he was old enough, Carlin joined the United States Air Force and was trained as a radar technician. He also began working as a disc jockey at Shreveport radio station KJOE, but his maiden foray into the entertainment industry was rather unsuccessful.
In 1959, he met fellow DJ Jack Burns, with whom he established a comedic duo. After arriving in California, the duo made an audition tape and launched The Wright Brothers, a morning programme on KDAY in Hollywood called The Wright Brothers. After two years as a pair, they separated to pursue separate pursuits while remaining close friends.
In the late 1960s, Carlin was earning approximately $250,000 per year. Beginning in the 1970s, he transformed his look and routine into the character that made him so famous. Carlin and his “Seven nasty words” performance were essential to the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, in which the court maintained the government’s authority to prohibit obscene content over the public airwaves in a 5–4 ruling. In 1977, the first of his fourteen HBO stand-up comedy specials was filmed.
Beginning in the late 1980s, Carlin’s routines emphasised a sociological critique of contemporary American culture. He frequently remarked on modern American political concerns and satirised the excesses of American culture.
During the three-decade reign of Johnny Carson, he was a frequent performer and guest presenter on The Tonight Show and presented the very first edition of Saturday Night Live. Carlin was ranked second on the Comedy Central list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians in 2004, behind Richard Pryor and ahead of Lenny Bruce.
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It’s Bad for Ya, his final HBO special, was filmed less than four months before his death. In 2008, he was given the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor posthumously. Carlin met Brenda Hosbrook in Dayton, Ohio, in August 1960, while travelling with Burns and Carlin; the couple was married in 1961 at her parents’ house in Dayton.
Kelly, the sole child of the couple, was born on June 15, 1963. The pair renewed their vows in Las Vegas in 1971. Brenda passed away on May 11, 1997, the day before Carlin’s 60th birthday, due to liver cancer. Shortly after the loss of his wife, he met Sally Wade, a comedy writer, and married her in a private ceremony a year later. They were married until his death two days before their tenth wedding anniversary in 2008.
