George Carlin, who died of heart failure at 71 on Sunday, wasn't the first comedian to rant about politics, religion and life in general in his act in a profane manner. But he was responsible for a lot of the comedy you see today, reflecting changes in American society for better or worse.
Yes, Carlin's best known routine was about the seven dirty words you (still) can't say on TV, which was the subject of a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing government regulation of speech over the so-called "public airwaves". (Thanks to Janet Jackson baring her breast at the Super Bowl, freedom of speech on TV has been curtailed even further.)
Carlin made many things possible. Comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Sarah Silverman. Radio shock jocks Howard Stern and Don Imus. Fake newscasters Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Saturday Night Live (Carlin was the first guest host). Rap artists. Bloggers. You name it, Carlin probably influenced it.
Carlin was a challenging comedian, pushing the envelope (as the cliche goes) constantly in his musings about the absurdities of everyday life, and in his own, which included bouts with drug addiction and health problems. In his comedy, he exhorted the country to grow up out of its 1950s mentality along with him. At the time of his death, he was still waiting.
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