Remembering George Carlin

One of the greats of sstand-up comedy, George Carlin, passed away this Sunday evening. The 71-year-old complained of chest pains and was taken to a Santa Monica, California hospital where he later died from heart failure. Carlin – the godfather of counter-culture comedy – was arrested in 1972 for performing a routine known as the "seven words you can never say in TV" at a Milwaukee nightclub. Law enforcement arrested him because children were in the audience. In 1973, a programmer at Pacifica Station WBAI in New York broadcast the same monologue, unedited. The result was a series of free speech lawsuits that five years later ended up in the Supreme Court. The Court ultimately ruled that the words were indecent – but not obscene – and established radio's "safe harbor" broadcast period for airing such material. Carlin's career spanned more than 50 years. He received numerous awards and this month had just been declared the recipient of the Mark Twain humor prize.

Click here for June 23, 2008 Newscast