George Carlin (1937-2008)

George Carlin, one of the great standup comics of the last 40 years, died yesterday at a Santa Monica hospital. He’d checked in complaining of chest pains.

My earliest memory of Carlin was his appearance on “The Flip Wilson Show” when I was about 10 years old. I followed his career ever since.

Only in recent years did I learn that George Carlin began as part of a two-man team: Burns & Carlin. The Burns was Jack Burns, who later found fame in the duo Burns & Schreiber.

Carlin’s first comedy album was actually a Burns & Carlin album, released in 1963. To hear one of their routines – “Killer Carlin” – click here.

Carlin discussed his partnership with Burns in a conversation with humorist Larry Wilde back in the 1980s. It’s part of an album called “George Carlin on Comedy.”

Click here to hear Carlin tell the story of how he and Jack Burns arrived in California in 1960, hoping to make it big, and how they were helped by Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl.

(My previous blog posts about George Carlin are here, here and here.)