The National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. added a new piece to their collection Friday when they affixed a photographof George Carlin to their prestigious walls. To celebrate the late comedian's newest achievement, George Carlin's official website has dug into the legendary comic's vaults and unearthed rarely heard recordings from throughout Carlin's career.
Carlin's daughter Kelly Carlin told NPR of the project,"I have a box of audiocassettes that my dad had kept over the years, starting with shows in the 1960s, ones that were important him, kind of seminal moments in his career. And we've been listening to them and archiving them."
One of the first performances uploaded on the Carlin site is a noteworthy one: In July 1972, Carlin was arrested at a Milwaukee Summerfest gig after delivering his obscene "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine. Carlin, who passed away in 2008 at the age of 71, was charged with disturbing the peace following the incident, but the charge was later dismissed. The "Filthy Words" routine was later put in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978 after a New York radio station broadcast the routine, drawing the ire of the Federal Communications Commission and sparking a legal battle regarding what was acceptable to air.
Carlin was ''one of a kind''. I'm happy to hear that his daughter has a lot of his ''stuff''.
Pretty neat that there are treasures of Carlin's still being unearthed.
George Carlin was and is a classic! I've been watching a lot of his videos lately-- and I'm so glad that there is going to be an archive of his recordings!
George Carlin was awesome, I' so glad his material will "live on"
I watched this one the other night and found it hilarious! Thanks, John, for posting it!
Me, too, dear Nona!
He seems to be obsessed with the word "cocksuckers" in that bit . I am willing to bet that sucking cock is one thing you can't accuse Limbaugh of . Carlin was renowned for favoring capitalism as a system . Apparently he felt the need to distance himself from that position by making a boogieman of Limbaugh . At least try to stick to reality ... but nope . Meaningless attacks . Most of Carlin's shtick is quite thoughtful but this was just a meaningless attempt to distance himself from his own politics .
One of my favorites: