Update:read here too, a brief but arresting post by Dr. Omed’s Tent Show Revival about George Carlin as Philosopher/ Shaman.
George Carlin who many in the old counter-culture remember for his discourse on ‘dirty words,’ and other anti-parental and anti-establishment topics, passed away from heart failure today in Los Angeles.
The contretemps about his “Seven Dirty Words” piece, and whether the Pacifica NY radio station he performed these on ought be fined, went all the way to the Supreme Court.
In 1973, a father complained to the FCC that his son had heard the George Carlin routine “Filthy Words” broadcast one afternoon over WBAI, FM. Pacifica Foundation was reprimanded by the FCC for allegedly violating FCC regulations which prohibited broadcasting “indecent” material.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the FCC action in 1978, by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling that the routine was “indecent but not obscene”.
The Court said the compelling issues were shielding children from offensive material, and ensuring that unwanted speech does not enter individuals’ homes. (Sure a lot of road’s been laid on that issue since 1978, for certain.)
The Court stated that the FCC had the authority to prohibit such broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience, and gave the FCC broad leeway to determine what constituted indecency in different contexts.
Lenny Bruce, who’d also been through a long set of trials for his comedy, no doubt was spinning.
The seven “dirty words” were essentially drawn from the long venerable tradition of sailors’ language:
1. the s word, meaning what comes from the business end of pigeons
2. the p word, indicated voiding several times a day
3. the f word, meaning a way people often communicate as a most basic level
4. the c word, meaning a part of a woman’s anatomy
5. the cs word meaning the confluence of plug and socket
6. the mf word meaning the addition of the maternal into the issue of #3.
7. the t word, also a part of a woman’s anatomy, which, Mr. Carlin said shouldnt even be on the list because it’s “…you know… such a friendly sounding word. It sounds like a nickname.”
Carlin also, as has become practically a rite of passage for many in the entertainment industry, went into rehab to beat his addiction to pain killers and to alcohol.
He had a history of heart problems, but doggedly appeared at performances just days out of hospital. Though his heart would not carry him farther than this day, ironically, his comedy– which many rank only behind Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce– was filled with the anger-pain-humor of a broken hearted idealist: “When you’re born, you get a ticket to the freak show. If you’re born in America, you get a front row seat.”
Mr. Carlin was the first host of Saturday Night Live, and a Grammy winner, a book author… and of course, a one of a kind Las Vegas performer.
Big shoes. Big, big shoes.