JOE brings you the funniest comedians of all time... who also just happen to be dead.
That makes them Dead Funny.
It’s a joke you see.
As JOE’s non-dead, non-funny Granny never says, “Just because they’re dead doesn’t mean they’re not still funny” and so, taking old Nana-Banana’s wise words on board, JOE will have a weekly look at the greatest comedians who have punched their final line and gone to the big comedy club in the sky.
First up is the great American satirist, author and stand-up comedian, George Carlin.
No heckling please. He’s dead you disrespectful sonofabitch.
George Carlin 1937 - 2008 (Dead)
Reknowned for his unique and genius take on Western culture, the English language and all things taboo, Carlin is undoubtedly one of the greatest comedians of all time.
Even better, Carlin is (practically) Irish as his maternal Grandfather was born in Ireland before emigrating to the United States.
We’ll take that, thank you very much.
He joined the United States Air Force as a young radar technician but, before being labelled as an “unproductive airman” by his superiors and leaving the Force, Carlin started off his comedy career as a radio DJ on K-JOE. Great name that, JOE.
George Carlin. Not the Bee Gees.
An absolute wizard when it came to wordplay and language here’s one of his excellent opening monologues, this one from his ‘Life Is Worth Losing’ show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPPg3LUWxnw&noredirect=1
And his take on organised religion and all things God-related (don’t show this to your Aunty Mary who’s still going to Mass five times a day):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RT6rL2UroE
As well as just being very, very, very funny, Carlin was hugely influential in social and political terms too, with his incredible and legendary ‘Seven Dirty Words’ comedy routine playing a pivotal role in a US Supreme Court case about the regulation of indecent material on the public airwaves.
Check it out here. The comedy routine that is, not the Supreme Court case:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ssJtD08vCc
Plus, the man just LOVED other people as you can tell form this quote from his ‘Life Worth Losing’ show:
“I have absolutely no sympathy for human beings whatsoever. None. And no matter what kind of problem humans are facing, whether it’s natural or man-made, I always hope it gets worse.”
Charming.
George Carlin rubbed off on... Louis C.K.
The New Yorker’s influence and legacy is clear as a number of top comedians working today cite him as one of their heroes. Here’s the excellent Louis C.K. paying tribute to Carlin back in 2010:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R37zkizucPU
Just a few days before he sadly passed away in 2008, Carlin was announced as the winner of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and subsequently became its first ever posthumous recipient later that year. Among the illustrious figures who spoke on the night of the ceremony was the always hilarious Jon Stewart, and so we’ll leave with you his own personal tribute to the great man.
Two words. Cheese tits:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjjZOFMFXNQ
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