The brilliant comedian George Carlin died of heart failure Sunday night in Los Angeles. He was admitted into a hospital earlier in the afternoon for chest pains.
In the past few decades, there was no one who even came close to being as incisive and edgy about taboo topics as Carlin. His monologues are timeless and you’ll be seeing them replayed over and over in the next week.
These two bits are probably my favorites:
There was no one else who could satirize religion like he did.
The first time I listened to his stand-up was when I was in high school, shortly after becoming an atheist myself. Once I heard him, I was addicted. I had to find as much of his material as I could. I memorized his routines, I printed out my favorite bits (and hid them from my family), I downloaded every one of his albums.
When I needed confirmation that I was correct in my thinking about atheism, books weren’t always available. But his material was easy to find online and they helped me understand that I wasn’t alone in my thinking.
You knew his death would come sooner rather than later, but his passing leaves a void that won’t be filled anytime soon.
Feel free to share any memories or links to your favorite bits in the comments.
[tags]atheist, atheism[/tags]
