Jun

23

The Last Class Clown.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

June 23, 2008 |

I distinctly remember the first time I heard this odd-looking gray-haired guy speak. He had a rough, gravelly voice, and he was talking about his Rice Krispies saying, “Snap, crackle, f–k him!” And I thought I would never stop laughing. I don’t remember how old I was exactly–eleven or twelve, but it didn’t matter. I was immediately a lifelong fan of George Carlin, a guy who showed me how funny being smart could be, and who reminded me, in spite of a horrendous sitcom and a few other things that could be considered sellouts, to always question authority.

Carlin was unusual among comedians for writing most of his own material himself, which is also why, in addition to doing stand-up, he was also a successful author, writing three books–Brain Droppings, Napalm & Silly Putty, and When Will Jesus Bring The Pork Chops? In addition to some original material (the last one, for instance, includes a series of surreal stories about various uncles) Carlin used the books to write down some of his stand-up material, demonstrating just what a brilliant guy he was.  Was. It feels weird to write that. Somehow 71 seems far too young an age for a guy who was so full of life–not to mention wisdom–to die. 

The other thing I’ll remember about Carlin is when he said, “the whole meaning of life is to find a place for your stuff.” There aren’t many people who could take something as abstract as “stuff” and make it so funny. My friends and I–let’s face it, we all loved Carlin–could crack each other up by saying to each other, “Move your shit!” and responding, “Hey, that’s my stuff.”

Hail and farewell, Mr. Carlin. We’ll be enjoying your stuff for a very long time.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. James on July 2, 2008 2:55 pm

    The first time I heard of George Carlin was on an old audio casette tape that had the “stuff” sketch on it. I saw him on Actors Studio last week (a tribute showing) and it explained to me why he was so anti God later in his life. I admit when he went there it made me uncomfortable, but I have to appreciate where that came from, and ultimately all he was doing, as with much of his comedy, was questioning. He question why we all did stuff and pointed out how we did stuff and then made us all think, “yeah, why do we do that?”

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