Last Words

“Last Words” by George Carlin with Tony Hendra- A

“I do this real moron thing, it's called thinking, and I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions.”
-George Carlin

It’s not all movies and television folks! I have been a fan of the late George Carlin for as long as I can remember (Thanks Mom and Dad!) and I was even lucky enough to see him perform live before his death in 2008. His morbid and irreverent sense of humor has influenced many comedians over the years, and his infamous “Seven Words You Can Never say On Television” even influenced broadcast law in our country.

Last Words is the story of George Carlin’s life, compiled and arranged by his friend Tony Hendra. It details his entire life from growing up in New York in the 40s through his stint in rehab in 2004. I was shocked at how humble this legendary comedian was in describing his high points and the gritty detail he put into his mistakes.

The most interesting vein throughout the book is how he develops his art and political views throughout his life. Carlin’s early work in radio consisted mainly of impressions of people he knew from his old neighborhood, and the progression from those skits to his much more poignant routines on politics and religion is a fascinating road to follow. One choice quote is “Why is it, by the way, that the right-wing guys assassins have tried to shoot have survived?…Don’t we have any marksmen on our side?” Not to say that Carlin didn’t have any barbs for liberals, he was bipartisan in calling people on their bullshit.

George Carlin led an amazing life filled with both victories and hardship. In that time he made a lot of people laugh, and hopefully made just as many people think. We owe it to the man to give him a few more laughs now that he is gone.

“Last Words” was published in 2009 by Free Press