Comedian George Carlin Has Died -- Archive Interview Excerpt Online

George Carlin, whose career as a stand-up comedian is legendary, but who also appeared on his own sitcom and was the very first host of Saturday Night Live, has died at the age of 71. He is a five-time Emmy nominee for his specials and received Daytime Emmy nominations for the children's show Shining Time Station.

The Archive interviewed Carlin just last December; his interview can be viewed at Academy headquarters and an excerpt is viewable online here.



Full interview description:

Comedian George Carlin described his early comedic talents and how, as a teenager, he would record bits on a tape recorder and play them back for friends. He talked about his influences from the movies (particularly Danny Kaye’s films) and early television (such as the variety series Broadway Open House) on his comic sensibilities. He then chronicled his early life through the Air Force, as a disk jockey, and as half of a comedy team with Jack Burns, that led to his first professional appearance on television on Jack Paar’s Tonight Show. He noted the various “breaks” along the way that got him seen and furthered his career. He talked about going solo and working as a stand-up comedian for several years before he got back into making television appearances on such programs as The Ed Sullivan Show. He spoke in detail about his infamous “Seven Dirty Words” monologue and the FCC case that resulted from it (filed against WBAI radio, for obscenity). He recalled his appearance as the very first host of Saturday Night Live. He talked about his HBO specials and how they resurrected his career. He touched on his later work as an actor in Kevin Smith’s movies and on such shows as the PBS series Shining Time Station, which earned him two Daytime Emmy nominations as Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series.