George Carlin, we'll miss you...

Tuesday, June 24, 2008


We’ll miss you, George Carlin...

For me, personally, George Carlin was a God. A performance hero who seemed to only grow sharper with age, laser-focusing on social issues in hilarious form while still getting a point across. That's a juggling act few can ever master successfully.

Sure, others have tried. Whoopi would rant on and on during the old Comic Relief events, and yet never quite click that happy medium of being both opinionated AND funny. But George did both in spades.

He made me and I'm sure hundreds of other comedians out there want to do better. To push the envelope. To write better. To have a better understanding of one's point of view. To re-think their material and wonder deep inside if Carlin would go further with it. He gave us permission to explore new areas as we mined our lives and experiences for bits. And he was one of the few that gave stand-up comedy a true purpose. It was high and low brow humor all mixed together and for him that was perfectly fine....As long as it was honest.

His sense of honesty & sincerity is what struck me as a teenager. Here was a guy who was truly speaking his mind. And much like Lenny Bruce, Carlin was calling on everyone to notice the elephant in the room. Not just one elephant, but ALL the elephants.

In an indirect way, he inspired me to stay "in the moment" and be honest with what I presented onstage. And even though my style is more variety in nature, there is ALWAYS a struggle to be real and raw on stage, instead of the usually removed sense of performance that many entertainers rely on. Carlin was truly a mentor - a father-figure when it came to the way I approached my own brand of stand-up. I'm sure for many others out there, he also became this comedy Obi-Wan.

My first meeting with Carlin was very casual. Years ago my girlfriend and I were attending a performance of "The Crucible" in downtown Los Angeles. The theater was a beautifully restored bank building that had been transformed into 3 little theaters. We had just sat down in our seats when George and his wife suddenly appeared there in the aisle next to us, trying to figure out where their seats were.

My girlfriend stood up and took it upon herself to look at his tickets and then she pointed to the seats next to us. George thanked us and they took their seats. The very first impression of him was nothing but kindness. And completely ordinary in the most extraordinary way -- if that makes any sense. In short, he was a 'regular guy' and our small talk before the show started was a nice bonus and a joy. (My girlfriend later leaned over to me and said since she had pointed George to his seats she could now put on her resume that she had "directed George Carlin". Heehee!)

A few years later I met him again during a Comic Relief event (over the years I had produced several of the Comic Relief recordings for CD) and again he was mild-mannered, gracious, and sincere. I was grateful that the image of him had been more than correct instead of the opposite which is sometimes true with some stars you hoist up onto a pedestal.

Cut to the beginning of this year. I'm now married, and we have a 7 year old son, and I get a call from Richard at the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach asking if I would like to open for George Carlin in two months. I probably said YES even before he finished his sentence, I'm sure. To me this was like the best Christmas gift ever, and I was very excited to finally work with him.

It wasn't until I arrived at the club that night that I realized something was wrong. George was sick. He had cancelled his engagement at the club due to a flu-bug that he just couldn't shake.

The weekend before he had been performing in Las Vegas, going over and polishing a whole new hour of material for an upcoming, live HBO taping which was to occur in about a week. But ten minutes into his Vegas set, he suddenly excused himself and apologized to the audience. He left the stage and the show was done. He must have been sicker than he thought and even though you try to go out onstage and simply push through it, this time around even George had to take a break from the "show must go on" rule of thumb.

Back at the club.

My heart sank when I learned that George wasn't going to be there that night. But it wasn't because of the missed opportunity of working with him. I was truly concerned about him and hoped he would get better quickly. I was also worried that he wouldn't be well enough by the end of the week for his HBO taping. Word came that George had decided to completely rest the entire week to regain his strength and and hopefully, fully, kick the flu.

There was a bit of chaos in the offices at the club, as people were now canceling right and left when they heard George wouldn't be there. Some were even suggesting that it was the club's fault! What the hell?!!?! (On a side note, it is amazing to me that there are people out there who can't understand we're live performers and not robots, and that even well known celebrity comics like Carlin can and will get sick from time to time. Ironically these are the very people that George would make fun of, I'm sure.)

Ever the professional, Richard (manager at the club) quickly lined up a stellar cast of comics who dropped by the club with very short notice, and the show went on without a glitch. It was really a great night and the audience, who stayed even though they knew that George wouldn't be there, had a fantastic time.

Cut to the next weekend and I'm performing in northern California. In my hotel room after my shows, I get to watch George's HBO show and as usual he's right on target with his material. And the crowd is loving it. Funny and original while still cutting to the chase as he rants about everything under the sun.

He looked a little older, possibly a little worn from his flu-bug the week before, but there he was...In his element and working that standing-room only theater like the true comic veteran we all came to know and loved.

I smiled at the tv, and knew that in a few more months I would probably again get the opportunity to open for him at the club. But of course that was not meant to be.

Yesterday, the news came from several friends' emails that he had passed away. I was struck dumb. How could that happen?

Without really thinking I wound up watching clip after clip of George's routines on the internet. And again, there was a brand new wave of understanding just how amazing his brain had been all these years. Each and every HBO special was filled with "classic" routines and signature bits. It was hard at times to really find any "filler" material that most comics would throw in there just to pad out their shows. He was a genius.

As the day went on, and between my own shows here in Minnesota, I found myself growing even sadder and then suddenly realized what it was that was bothering me. That voice. His voice. George Carlin's gave a voice to what we were all thinking, but in an incredible "makes you think" sort of way. Sure there are top-notch and hysterical comics out there, but where is the NEXT voice of reason? True reason?

The self-anointed king of common-sense. The only comic I knew of that could successfully bridge that gap between what we're all thinking and we all SHOULD be thinking, while still maintaining the 'funny'. Damn.

I'm sure in time someone will pick up the mantle. But for now, for me, there is a huge void out there left by the absence of George Carlin. George, I will miss you greatly and I'll continue to run material past you in my head. Just like the ol' "what would Jesus do?" wrist bands, I've got an invisible one asking what George might do whenever I'm writing new material. Corny I know, but it's never, ever failed me.

Thank you, George. Thank you so much for inspiring a young, naive kid who just wanted to be funny a good 30+ years ago. You were and still are the best.




Chipper

www.chipper.tv