1
00:00:23,626 --> 00:00:26,792
-DIRECTOR: And speeding.
-(FILM CREW CHATTERING)
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00:00:26,876 --> 00:00:27,959
GEORGE CARLIN: Hmm.
3
00:00:28,042 --> 00:00:30,209
Okay. I know how to start--
I want to start this.
4
00:00:30,292 --> 00:00:32,125
-DIRECTOR: We're rolling.
-GEORGE: Uh-- Oh, rolling.
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00:00:32,209 --> 00:00:33,375
DIRECTOR: Yes.
6
00:00:35,209 --> 00:00:36,918
Let's get in.
7
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:38,250
-DIRECTOR: Okay.
-GEORGE: You're good?
8
00:00:38,334 --> 00:00:39,417
DIRECTOR: Yep.
9
00:00:40,125 --> 00:00:42,125
One more time. And action.
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00:00:42,209 --> 00:00:44,042
Here's another
civic superstition
11
00:00:44,125 --> 00:00:46,626
I have a problem with. "Rights."
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00:00:46,709 --> 00:00:48,792
Boy, everybody in this country
is always running around
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00:00:48,876 --> 00:00:49,876
yammering about their rights.
14
00:00:49,959 --> 00:00:51,083
"I have a right."
"You have no right."
15
00:00:51,167 --> 00:00:52,500
"We have a right."
"They don't have a right."
16
00:00:52,584 --> 00:00:54,709
"The government has a right."
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. fine.
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00:00:54,792 --> 00:00:57,042
Listen, folks,
I hate to spoil your fun,
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00:00:57,125 --> 00:00:59,626
but there's no such thing
as rights, okay?
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00:00:59,709 --> 00:01:00,876
We made them up.
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00:01:00,959 --> 00:01:02,834
They're imaginary, like
the boogeyman,
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00:01:02,918 --> 00:01:05,792
the three little pigs,
Pinocchio, stuff like that.
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00:01:05,876 --> 00:01:08,125
It's fictional.
Fictional idea, rights.
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00:01:08,209 --> 00:01:09,751
People say,
"Well, they come from God.
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00:01:09,834 --> 00:01:12,918
They're God-given rights."
Oh, fuck, here we go again.
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00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:14,083
The God excuse,
26
00:01:14,167 --> 00:01:17,500
the last refuge of a man
with no answers and no argument.
27
00:01:17,584 --> 00:01:18,959
"It came from God."
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But let's say it's true.
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00:01:20,334 --> 00:01:23,167
Let's say it's true
that God gave us these rights.
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00:01:23,250 --> 00:01:26,792
Fine, why would he give us
a certain number of rights?
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00:01:26,876 --> 00:01:28,083
The Bill of Rights
in this country
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00:01:28,167 --> 00:01:31,334
has ten stipulations,
ten rights. And by the way,
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00:01:31,417 --> 00:01:33,042
God must have been doing
sloppy work
34
00:01:33,125 --> 00:01:34,709
'cause we've had to amend
the Bill of Rights
35
00:01:34,792 --> 00:01:36,584
an additional 17 times.
36
00:01:36,667 --> 00:01:38,500
God left out
a few things, like...
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00:01:38,584 --> 00:01:41,792
slavery. Just fucking
overlooked it that day.
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00:01:41,876 --> 00:01:43,459
♪ (INTENSE HIP-HOP BEAT
PLAYING) ♪
39
00:01:43,542 --> 00:01:46,167
GEORGE: Doesn't sound like
divine planning to me.
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00:01:46,250 --> 00:01:50,542
Sounds more like one group
trying to control another group.
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00:01:50,626 --> 00:01:54,250
In other words,
business as usual in the USA.
42
00:01:54,334 --> 00:01:55,626
ANNOUNCER 1:
Here's George Carlin.
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00:01:55,709 --> 00:01:57,250
ANNOUNCER 2: Legendary comedian
George Carlin.
44
00:01:57,334 --> 00:01:59,667
-George Carlin.
-Hey, baby, what's happening?
45
00:01:59,751 --> 00:02:00,626
By far, you're easily
46
00:02:00,709 --> 00:02:02,125
one of the greatest comedians
ever.
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00:02:02,209 --> 00:02:04,542
All I could think of was shit,
piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker,
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00:02:04,626 --> 00:02:07,000
-motherfucker, and tits, man.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
49
00:02:07,083 --> 00:02:08,292
W. KAMAU BELL:
Carlin changed comedy
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00:02:08,375 --> 00:02:10,083
three or four times
in his career.
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00:02:10,167 --> 00:02:11,918
And he still seems
to be talking to us.
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00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,542
Pro-life conservatives
are obsessed with a fetus
53
00:02:15,626 --> 00:02:17,459
from conception to nine months,
54
00:02:17,542 --> 00:02:20,125
but once you're born,
you're on your own.
55
00:02:20,209 --> 00:02:21,083
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
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00:02:21,167 --> 00:02:22,209
KAMAU:
Because George Carlin bits
57
00:02:22,292 --> 00:02:24,834
are still being shared
on social media
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00:02:24,918 --> 00:02:27,584
"to go, "You don't understand
how rights work?
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00:02:27,667 --> 00:02:29,000
Look at this bit."
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00:02:29,083 --> 00:02:31,417
"You don't understand
how privilege works?
Look at this bit."
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00:02:31,500 --> 00:02:32,959
GEORGE: This country's
only 200 years old
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00:02:33,042 --> 00:02:35,250
and already
we've had ten major wars.
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00:02:35,334 --> 00:02:36,751
-So we're good at it!
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
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00:02:36,834 --> 00:02:38,000
GEORGE:
And it's a good thing we are.
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00:02:38,083 --> 00:02:41,250
We're not very good
at anything else anymore.
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00:02:41,334 --> 00:02:44,000
Got no steel industry left,
can't educate our young people,
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00:02:44,083 --> 00:02:45,751
can't get health care
to our old people,
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00:02:45,834 --> 00:02:49,042
but we can bomb the shit
out of your country, all right.
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00:02:49,125 --> 00:02:51,834
Comedy, traditionally,
has picked on people in power,
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00:02:51,918 --> 00:02:53,042
people who abuse their power.
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00:02:53,125 --> 00:02:55,292
I don't like orthodoxy
of the left
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00:02:55,375 --> 00:02:57,417
any more than I like orthodoxy
of the right.
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00:02:57,500 --> 00:02:59,250
I don't like anyone trying
to control
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00:02:59,334 --> 00:03:00,667
the language and behavior
of people.
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00:03:00,751 --> 00:03:02,792
These moral commandos
who want us
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00:03:02,876 --> 00:03:03,918
to think their way
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00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:05,751
and want to change
what we can hear and see
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00:03:05,834 --> 00:03:07,751
and think in this country
are dangerous.
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00:03:07,834 --> 00:03:09,125
It's called freedom of choice,
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00:03:09,209 --> 00:03:11,876
and it's one of the principles
this country was founded upon.
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00:03:11,959 --> 00:03:13,375
Look it up in the library,
Reverend,
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00:03:13,459 --> 00:03:14,459
if you have any of them left
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00:03:14,542 --> 00:03:16,167
when you finish burning
all the books.
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00:03:16,250 --> 00:03:17,500
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
85
00:03:17,584 --> 00:03:21,209
It's a big club,
and you ain't in it.
86
00:03:21,292 --> 00:03:23,083
People will say to me sometimes,
87
00:03:23,167 --> 00:03:24,542
"Well,
what are you so angry about?"
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00:03:24,626 --> 00:03:26,250
Has everybody lost
their fucking mind
89
00:03:26,334 --> 00:03:27,792
-in this country?
-(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
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00:03:27,876 --> 00:03:29,417
GEORGE:
What they think is anger
91
00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:32,959
is a real contempt
for the choices
92
00:03:33,042 --> 00:03:35,459
that my fellow humans have made.
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00:03:36,792 --> 00:03:38,292
I just feel betrayed
94
00:03:38,375 --> 00:03:41,667
by the bullshit in America
that's all around us.
95
00:03:43,417 --> 00:03:45,459
I call it the freak show.
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00:03:45,542 --> 00:03:47,542
When you're born
into this world, you're given
97
00:03:47,626 --> 00:03:49,542
a ticket to the freak show.
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00:03:49,626 --> 00:03:52,500
When you are born in America,
you're given a front-row seat.
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00:03:52,584 --> 00:03:54,000
♪ (MUSIC FADES) ♪
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00:03:54,083 --> 00:03:55,334
HOST:
So, fasten your seat belts,
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00:03:55,417 --> 00:03:57,876
ladies and gentlemen,
get ready for Mr. George Carlin.
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00:03:57,959 --> 00:04:03,083
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
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00:04:06,751 --> 00:04:09,584
There are thousands of comedians
in this country,
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00:04:09,667 --> 00:04:12,292
but basically,
only two types of humor.
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00:04:12,375 --> 00:04:15,167
There's the old school
and the new school.
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00:04:15,250 --> 00:04:16,542
I think we recognize them both.
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00:04:16,626 --> 00:04:18,375
The old school
is largely made up
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00:04:18,459 --> 00:04:20,626
of the fast-paced
stand-up comedians,
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00:04:20,709 --> 00:04:21,626
the one-liner comics
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00:04:21,709 --> 00:04:23,834
who came from vaudeville
and burlesque,
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00:04:23,918 --> 00:04:26,125
and they comprise
the insult school of humor.
112
00:04:26,209 --> 00:04:28,209
Jack E. Leonard
is a good example of this.
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00:04:28,292 --> 00:04:30,125
(DEEP VOICE) "Thank you
very much, ladies and gentlemen."
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00:04:30,209 --> 00:04:31,167
I'd just like to say it's good
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00:04:31,250 --> 00:04:32,918
to be back
in New York this weekend.
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00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:34,459
It's a wonderful town.
Thank you very much.
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00:04:34,542 --> 00:04:35,584
You got some lovely girls here
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00:04:35,667 --> 00:04:37,209
compared to the last place
I worked.
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00:04:37,292 --> 00:04:39,292
Some of the broads there
were so ugly
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00:04:39,375 --> 00:04:40,792
that if you wanted
to pay 'em a compliment
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00:04:40,876 --> 00:04:43,918
you had to say, "How do you do?
I see your face cleared up."
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00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:45,292
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
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00:04:45,375 --> 00:04:48,375
GEORGE: I began
with this very mainstream dream.
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00:04:49,083 --> 00:04:50,751
Fifth grade, 11 years old,
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00:04:50,834 --> 00:04:52,334
the autobiography,
the last page,
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00:04:52,417 --> 00:04:53,834
"What do you want to be," said,
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00:04:53,918 --> 00:04:56,959
"disc jockey, comedian, actor,
big success."
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00:04:58,459 --> 00:05:02,083
I didn't know
what this would lead to.
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00:05:02,167 --> 00:05:06,042
I only knew that I loved
standing up in front of people
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00:05:06,125 --> 00:05:08,542
and having their attention.
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00:05:08,626 --> 00:05:11,375
I grew up in New York.
Whenever I'm back in town
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00:05:11,459 --> 00:05:14,250
I like to visit nostalgic places
from my childhood.
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00:05:14,334 --> 00:05:16,292
I was from a neighborhood,
we called it White Harlem.
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00:05:16,375 --> 00:05:18,542
It was right next to Harlem
and Columbia University.
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00:05:18,626 --> 00:05:19,792
We called it White Harlem
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00:05:19,876 --> 00:05:21,834
because that sounded bad,
you know?
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00:05:21,918 --> 00:05:24,584
The real name
was Morningside Heights.
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00:05:24,667 --> 00:05:25,959
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
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00:05:26,042 --> 00:05:29,626
We had Columbia University
and Juilliard and two seminaries
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00:05:29,709 --> 00:05:31,250
-right near us.
-INTERVIEWER: Wow!
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00:05:31,334 --> 00:05:32,751
GEORGE: I grew up
with a great respect
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00:05:32,834 --> 00:05:35,459
for knowledge and love of it,
you know, just thirst for it.
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00:05:36,167 --> 00:05:37,292
The neighborhood is very mixed.
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00:05:37,375 --> 00:05:40,334
Right next to the Spanish
and the Black ghetto,
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00:05:40,417 --> 00:05:41,792
Harlem,
and the lower-middle-class
146
00:05:41,876 --> 00:05:43,584
Irish neighborhood
where I grew up.
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00:05:43,667 --> 00:05:45,751
(NEW YORK ACCENT)
This was the way the guys
in my neighborhood talked.
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00:05:45,834 --> 00:05:47,584
This here is your
third-generation Irish voice.
149
00:05:47,667 --> 00:05:50,000
All the cops in New York
have this voice, right?
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00:05:50,083 --> 00:05:52,000
You heard the voice. "Come on,
Johnny, move along here.
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00:05:52,083 --> 00:05:53,959
Come on, let's go.
Where you going, Johnny?"
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00:05:54,042 --> 00:05:55,876
They call everyone Johnny.
Notice that?
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00:05:55,959 --> 00:05:58,375
Even your mother, right?
"I'm his mother."
154
00:05:58,459 --> 00:06:00,459
"Never mind, Johnny,
get off the corner there."
155
00:06:00,542 --> 00:06:02,083
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
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00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:05,918
GEORGE: My father,
whom I didn't know,
157
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:07,918
was gifted verbally.
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00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,834
He was a natural comedian
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00:06:09,918 --> 00:06:12,209
with a line of shit
that wouldn't quit.
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00:06:12,292 --> 00:06:13,542
He was an after-dinner speaker.
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00:06:13,626 --> 00:06:16,250
He won the Dale Carnegie
speakers contest,
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00:06:16,334 --> 00:06:18,918
over 600 and something
other entrants.
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00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,959
My mother could tell stories.
They both did character voices
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00:06:22,042 --> 00:06:23,792
when they would tell you
an anecdote,
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00:06:23,876 --> 00:06:26,918
so it was in the genes
and it was around the house.
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00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,209
And neither of them took
any shit from the world.
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00:06:31,375 --> 00:06:34,542
But he was a drinker
and he was a bully.
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00:06:34,626 --> 00:06:37,667
She called him a street angel
and a house devil.
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00:06:37,751 --> 00:06:40,125
And she didn't want
to have happen to me
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00:06:40,209 --> 00:06:41,375
what happened to my brother.
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00:06:42,083 --> 00:06:44,000
He was beaten.
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00:06:44,083 --> 00:06:47,751
My mom says
that the sex was wonderful.
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00:06:47,834 --> 00:06:50,459
And the other part was horrible.
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00:06:50,542 --> 00:06:52,417
And he would lay in there, man.
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00:06:52,500 --> 00:06:55,584
And I would just grit my teeth
and think, you know,
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00:06:55,667 --> 00:06:58,292
"I hate you. I hate you."
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00:06:58,375 --> 00:07:01,167
So, one night
when she had fled from him
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00:07:01,250 --> 00:07:02,959
temporarily
to her father's house,
179
00:07:03,042 --> 00:07:04,834
my grandfather
on 112th Street...
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00:07:04,918 --> 00:07:06,500
And we had to get out
of that house.
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00:07:06,584 --> 00:07:09,542
My father was trying
to batter the fucking door down.
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00:07:09,626 --> 00:07:12,042
She took me in her arms,
two months,
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00:07:12,125 --> 00:07:13,542
that's what she says,
184
00:07:13,626 --> 00:07:14,834
he was five years old,
my brother.
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00:07:14,918 --> 00:07:16,918
She went out the window
onto the fire escape.
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00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:18,417
And my old man
was trying to tear
187
00:07:18,500 --> 00:07:22,709
the fucking door off the hinges
and we jump into my uncle's car,
188
00:07:22,792 --> 00:07:24,751
and he drives us up here
to the Catskills
189
00:07:24,834 --> 00:07:25,959
where we hid out.
190
00:07:26,042 --> 00:07:28,626
And we were vagabonds
for about two or three years
191
00:07:28,709 --> 00:07:30,751
until she found an apartment
192
00:07:30,834 --> 00:07:33,667
and we established a little--
she called it our little home.
193
00:07:49,918 --> 00:07:51,375
After their separation...
194
00:07:52,417 --> 00:07:53,417
Catholics didn't get divorced.
195
00:07:53,500 --> 00:07:55,459
They could,
but only the rich ones.
196
00:07:56,542 --> 00:07:57,918
He died
when I was eight years old.
197
00:07:58,000 --> 00:07:59,667
His first symptom
of heart disease
198
00:07:59,751 --> 00:08:01,292
was a trip to the cemetery.
199
00:08:02,959 --> 00:08:06,083
(EXPLOSION)
200
00:08:06,167 --> 00:08:07,500
ANNOUNCER:
George Carlin reporting
201
00:08:07,584 --> 00:08:08,709
the news at six o'clock.
202
00:08:08,792 --> 00:08:11,417
Looks like we're about
to win the war after all.
203
00:08:11,500 --> 00:08:14,751
A new bomb is quote-unquote
the XYZ Bomb.
204
00:08:14,834 --> 00:08:17,500
It's a wonderful bomb and it can
blow up the whole world.
205
00:08:18,709 --> 00:08:20,667
GEORGE:
I was growing up in World War II
206
00:08:20,751 --> 00:08:25,417
and post-war New York City,
being raised by a single mother
207
00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:27,876
who had a great gift
and love of language,
208
00:08:27,959 --> 00:08:30,375
and who imparted that to me.
209
00:08:30,459 --> 00:08:33,751
But I was alone in the house.
My mother had to work.
210
00:08:33,834 --> 00:08:36,334
Did you grow up feeling
deprived, lonely?
211
00:08:36,417 --> 00:08:41,834
I didn't feel that. I was alone
a lot, but I enjoyed that.
212
00:08:41,918 --> 00:08:46,792
Something in my makeup
accepted that and thrived on it.
213
00:08:46,876 --> 00:08:48,751
("THE LONE RANGER OPENING THEME"
PLAYING)
214
00:08:48,834 --> 00:08:51,375
GEORGE: So I would sometimes
fix my own spaghetti,
215
00:08:51,459 --> 00:08:52,834
listen to The Lone Ranger.
216
00:08:52,918 --> 00:08:56,042
That was my family,
the people on radio.
217
00:08:56,125 --> 00:08:58,083
LONE RANGER:
Hi-yo, Silver! Away!
218
00:08:58,167 --> 00:09:00,834
GEORGE: I was attracted
to the comedians on radio,
219
00:09:00,918 --> 00:09:02,375
and when I was able
to get to the movies,
220
00:09:02,459 --> 00:09:04,417
Danny Kaye
and Bob Hope and Red Skelton,
221
00:09:04,500 --> 00:09:07,125
I just wanted
to be someone like that.
222
00:09:07,209 --> 00:09:09,751
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
223
00:09:09,834 --> 00:09:12,292
GEORGE: So I began the dream
of being Danny Kaye.
224
00:09:12,375 --> 00:09:13,918
♪ When Paul Haakon
Starts in fakin' ♪
225
00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,209
♪ When he's makin'
With the shakin' ♪
226
00:09:15,292 --> 00:09:16,959
♪ And Paul Draper starts a vapor
On the floors ♪
227
00:09:17,042 --> 00:09:19,500
GEORGE: He was musically funny,
he could make funny faces.
228
00:09:19,584 --> 00:09:21,959
He was incredibly adept,
verbally.
229
00:09:22,042 --> 00:09:23,959
♪ My friends and my family
Looked at me clammily ♪
230
00:09:24,042 --> 00:09:25,250
♪ Thought there was
Something amiss ♪
231
00:09:25,334 --> 00:09:27,083
GEORGE: And I thought to myself,
232
00:09:27,167 --> 00:09:30,083
"I could do that.
That would be good to do."
233
00:09:30,167 --> 00:09:32,417
-(SCREAMS)
-(CROWD LAUGHING)
234
00:09:32,500 --> 00:09:35,375
GEORGE: George Carlin
in the Waldorf-Astoria lobby.
235
00:09:35,459 --> 00:09:37,834
There's a lot of celebrities
here tonight.
236
00:09:37,918 --> 00:09:41,083
We're having a banquet
for William Randolph Hearst Jr.
237
00:09:41,167 --> 00:09:42,667
Stay tuned for
Brooklyn Dodger baseball.
238
00:09:42,751 --> 00:09:44,792
(MIMICKING RADIO STATIC)
It's a homerun, folks.
239
00:09:44,876 --> 00:09:46,334
Roy Campanella wins the ballgame
for the Dodgers.
240
00:09:46,417 --> 00:09:47,876
That was his sickest game
on record.
241
00:09:48,667 --> 00:09:50,000
We ran in a gang.
242
00:09:50,083 --> 00:09:52,334
There was about ten,
11, 12 of us.
243
00:09:52,417 --> 00:09:54,709
When I was a little boy
in New York City in the 1940s,
244
00:09:54,792 --> 00:09:57,417
-we swam in the Hudson River.
-RANDY JURGENSEN: And we
would swim in the Hudson River.
245
00:09:57,500 --> 00:10:00,626
GEORGE: And it was filled
with raw sewage, okay?
246
00:10:00,709 --> 00:10:02,709
We swam in raw sewage,
247
00:10:02,792 --> 00:10:05,375
-you know, to cool off.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
248
00:10:05,459 --> 00:10:07,417
RANDY: Police would patrol
the neighborhoods
249
00:10:07,500 --> 00:10:09,000
for kids that got into trouble,
250
00:10:09,083 --> 00:10:12,751
and you'd get what they called
a juvenile delinquent card.
251
00:10:12,834 --> 00:10:15,083
Thousands of kids died
from polio every year,
252
00:10:15,167 --> 00:10:16,792
but you know something?
In my neighborhood,
253
00:10:16,876 --> 00:10:19,959
no one ever got polio.
No one. Ever. You know why?
254
00:10:20,042 --> 00:10:23,125
-'Cause we swam in raw sewage.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
255
00:10:23,209 --> 00:10:26,500
We got caught,
and they stood us up on line.
256
00:10:26,584 --> 00:10:28,792
It strengthened
our immune systems.
257
00:10:28,876 --> 00:10:32,959
The polio never had a prayer,
we were tempered in raw shit.
258
00:10:33,042 --> 00:10:34,334
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
259
00:10:34,417 --> 00:10:37,542
I gave a name. I can't remember
what name I gave.
260
00:10:37,626 --> 00:10:41,417
And then alongside of me,
there were two others,
261
00:10:41,500 --> 00:10:44,751
and they gave false names.
262
00:10:44,834 --> 00:10:48,209
Now,
George is fourth down the line,
263
00:10:48,292 --> 00:10:50,751
and they say to George,
"What is your name?"
264
00:10:50,834 --> 00:10:53,876
And he says, "Randy Jurgensen."
(CHUCKLES)
265
00:10:53,959 --> 00:10:58,083
He gave-- He gave them--
He gave them my real name.
266
00:10:59,250 --> 00:11:01,584
(YOUNG GEORGE
MIMICKING RADIO CHATTER)
267
00:11:01,667 --> 00:11:03,918
Be on the lookout
for three juvenile delinquents.
268
00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:05,459
One named George Carlin.
269
00:11:05,542 --> 00:11:07,918
I started out
with little sounds,
any kind of sound.
270
00:11:08,042 --> 00:11:09,751
(GARBLED NOISES)
271
00:11:09,834 --> 00:11:11,125
-Anything I could...
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
272
00:11:11,209 --> 00:11:14,334
-(MIMICS PIGEON COOS)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
273
00:11:14,417 --> 00:11:17,250
We called that doing a pigeon.
"Hey, can you do pigeon?"
274
00:11:17,334 --> 00:11:18,417
(MIMICS PIGEON COOS)
275
00:11:18,500 --> 00:11:20,375
I'm sure when the pigeon
first came to New York,
276
00:11:20,459 --> 00:11:23,459
it had a real nice song.
(MIMICS BIRD TRILLING)
277
00:11:23,542 --> 00:11:24,667
A few years in the city?
278
00:11:24,751 --> 00:11:28,584
-(EXHALES, MIMICS PIGEON COOS)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
279
00:11:28,667 --> 00:11:30,751
GEORGE: Class clown
is really the first time
280
00:11:30,834 --> 00:11:33,375
you get it together,
being a comedian,
281
00:11:33,459 --> 00:11:35,918
and you'd set about disrupting
the class by...
282
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:37,792
(GRANDIOSE VOICE) ...attracting
attention to yourself!
283
00:11:37,876 --> 00:11:40,417
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-GEORGE: (NORMAL VOICE)
That is the name of this job.
284
00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:41,667
It's called, dig me.
285
00:11:41,751 --> 00:11:43,792
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
286
00:11:43,876 --> 00:11:46,459
Stoops like this
were my first real stage.
287
00:11:46,542 --> 00:11:48,334
I wasn't very good at fighting.
288
00:11:48,417 --> 00:11:51,626
My three talents were stealing,
lying, and entertaining.
289
00:11:51,709 --> 00:11:54,542
I grew up with that
at the end of my street,
290
00:11:54,626 --> 00:12:00,125
a 28-story Gothic phallic symbol
with bells in the head.
291
00:12:00,209 --> 00:12:01,626
I used to be an Irish Catholic.
292
00:12:01,709 --> 00:12:04,125
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-GEORGE: Uh... It's true.
293
00:12:04,209 --> 00:12:05,834
I'm still Irish,
but I haven't really been back
294
00:12:05,918 --> 00:12:07,209
as an active Catholic
for a long time.
295
00:12:07,292 --> 00:12:09,292
But I grew up in a parish
with all the things that go
296
00:12:09,375 --> 00:12:10,667
with being an Irish kid
in New York
297
00:12:10,751 --> 00:12:12,542
in an Irish parish.
It was Corpus Christi.
298
00:12:12,626 --> 00:12:15,667
This is where I went to school,
Corpus Christi.
299
00:12:15,751 --> 00:12:17,250
(DOOR RATTLING)
300
00:12:17,334 --> 00:12:20,834
I think I saw religion
as the first big betrayal.
301
00:12:20,918 --> 00:12:22,375
PRIEST:
An act of spiritual communion...
302
00:12:22,459 --> 00:12:23,709
GEORGE:
I remember at First Communion,
303
00:12:23,792 --> 00:12:25,125
when I was seven years old,
304
00:12:25,209 --> 00:12:26,751
they said,
"You're gonna feel different."
305
00:12:26,834 --> 00:12:28,083
PRIEST:
...and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
306
00:12:28,167 --> 00:12:30,792
GEORGE: "And you will be
in the state of grace,"
307
00:12:30,876 --> 00:12:32,667
and you will feel
God's presence," and all this.
308
00:12:32,751 --> 00:12:35,083
And I thought,
"None of that happened."
309
00:12:35,167 --> 00:12:37,167
And I began to see
that they were lying to me.
310
00:12:37,250 --> 00:12:38,584
PRIEST:
...attempted to lead me astray.
311
00:12:38,667 --> 00:12:40,417
GEORGE: From then on, I really
never believed much
312
00:12:40,500 --> 00:12:42,792
in authority.
And I think I'm right.
313
00:12:42,876 --> 00:12:44,125
PRIEST: Amen.
314
00:12:44,209 --> 00:12:45,792
GEORGE: (OVER RECORDING)
Testing, testing, testing.
315
00:12:45,876 --> 00:12:48,334
Testing, testing,
testing, testing. Testing.
316
00:12:48,417 --> 00:12:51,834
My own experience of authority
317
00:12:51,918 --> 00:12:56,209
is one of opposition to,
not just questioning authority,
318
00:12:56,292 --> 00:12:57,792
but actively opposing it,
319
00:12:57,876 --> 00:13:00,751
and trying to undo
what it had in mind.
320
00:13:00,834 --> 00:13:02,751
Everything that had rules
and regulations,
321
00:13:02,834 --> 00:13:06,250
I managed to either get kicked
out of or leave early on my own,
322
00:13:06,334 --> 00:13:08,626
the choir, the altar boys,
the Boy Scouts,
323
00:13:08,709 --> 00:13:11,459
summer camp, and schools.
324
00:13:11,542 --> 00:13:13,292
I quit high school
in ninth grade,
325
00:13:13,375 --> 00:13:16,250
and I was a pot smoker
when I was 13.
326
00:13:16,334 --> 00:13:18,000
These were things
where I was saying,
327
00:13:18,083 --> 00:13:19,417
"Your values suck."
328
00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:22,375
I don't buy that authority
comes on a direct line from God
329
00:13:22,459 --> 00:13:24,250
through my parents,
through my church people,
330
00:13:24,334 --> 00:13:29,042
or the policemen or any of that.
All authority comes from within.
331
00:13:29,125 --> 00:13:32,459
"All my power comes from within."
332
00:13:34,459 --> 00:13:39,500
PATRICK CARLIN:
He was cool, and he was himself,
333
00:13:39,584 --> 00:13:42,375
but my mother
was clamping down on him.
334
00:13:42,459 --> 00:13:44,042
And it was much tougher
for him
335
00:13:44,125 --> 00:13:47,250
to break away from her
than me
336
00:13:47,334 --> 00:13:49,792
because of her
wanting to hold on.
337
00:13:49,876 --> 00:13:51,500
She said to him one time,
338
00:13:51,584 --> 00:13:54,083
and I thought
it was so fucking sad,
339
00:13:54,167 --> 00:13:57,709
but it's how people are,
she said,
340
00:13:57,792 --> 00:14:00,542
"You made up for every bad thing
you ever did
341
00:14:00,626 --> 00:14:03,083
when you became a star."
342
00:14:03,167 --> 00:14:06,751
And I thought to myself,
"Well, I'm glad,
343
00:14:06,834 --> 00:14:11,000
but goddamn it,
that's pretty fucking pathetic."
344
00:14:11,083 --> 00:14:13,918
GEORGE: I had a mother
who tried to control my life,
345
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:15,083
who had a plan for me.
346
00:14:15,167 --> 00:14:17,667
"I'm going to make something
out of that boy."
347
00:14:17,751 --> 00:14:23,042
And that's what repelled me
from her. It was this feeling,
348
00:14:23,125 --> 00:14:25,334
"You are a reflection on me."
349
00:14:25,417 --> 00:14:28,459
She was a drama queen
and a narcissist.
350
00:14:28,542 --> 00:14:31,375
-"You'll pay someday, mister..."
-(BANGING ON TABLE)
351
00:14:31,459 --> 00:14:33,584
"You'll pay for
what you have done to me."
352
00:14:33,667 --> 00:14:37,667
You have let me down,
and I am through with you.
353
00:14:37,751 --> 00:14:39,709
"You are out of my life."
354
00:14:39,792 --> 00:14:41,834
PATRICK:
I loved her for her toughness,
355
00:14:41,918 --> 00:14:45,626
but George had to get away
because she would stifle him.
356
00:14:45,709 --> 00:14:49,459
She would have sucked the blood
right out of him.
357
00:14:49,542 --> 00:14:54,292
So he said the minute
he was 17, he was going.
358
00:14:54,375 --> 00:14:56,876
And he sent me
a little manila folder.
359
00:14:56,959 --> 00:14:57,876
Just a small one,
360
00:14:57,959 --> 00:15:00,000
a little bigger
than a Christmas card.
361
00:15:00,083 --> 00:15:01,918
And he wrote on it in a marker,
362
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:05,459
"For those days when everything
has got you down."
363
00:15:05,542 --> 00:15:07,584
And when you open it up,
364
00:15:07,667 --> 00:15:10,959
there was a photo
of my father's gravestone.
365
00:15:11,042 --> 00:15:15,334
(LAUGHS)
366
00:15:15,417 --> 00:15:16,709
Ain't that beautiful?
367
00:15:16,792 --> 00:15:20,500
(JET ENGINES ROARING)
368
00:15:20,584 --> 00:15:22,292
GEORGE:
So, I got in the Air Force,
369
00:15:22,375 --> 00:15:25,000
and I made a plan
very early in life.
370
00:15:25,083 --> 00:15:27,125
I thought, "Well,
if I can become a disc jockey,
371
00:15:27,209 --> 00:15:29,542
then I can go to nightclubs
in that town,
372
00:15:29,626 --> 00:15:32,834
and I can become a comedian.
And if I get good enough,
373
00:15:32,918 --> 00:15:34,500
they'll have to let me
in the movies."
374
00:15:34,584 --> 00:15:37,042
But you became a disc jockey
while you were in the Air Force?
375
00:15:37,125 --> 00:15:39,334
Yeah, it happened that someone
was looking out for me.
376
00:15:39,417 --> 00:15:41,876
I was just 18,
and I was in the Air Force
377
00:15:41,959 --> 00:15:43,792
serving out my time
in Louisiana.
378
00:15:43,876 --> 00:15:46,375
SINGERS: ♪ George Carlin
Is on the air... ♪
379
00:15:46,459 --> 00:15:50,125
GEORGE: And the number one
radio station in town hired me.
380
00:15:50,209 --> 00:15:52,751
SINGERS:
♪ On the George Carlin show ♪
381
00:15:52,834 --> 00:15:54,417
GEORGE: Eighteen minutes
before five o'clock.
382
00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:56,459
This is music
from Carlin's Corner.
383
00:15:56,542 --> 00:15:57,959
And that ain't half of it.
384
00:15:58,042 --> 00:15:59,667
Thirty dollars
is the lucky license jackpot,
385
00:15:59,751 --> 00:16:01,042
a call going out soon.
386
00:16:01,125 --> 00:16:02,959
Coming up,
Warren Storm with "Trouble."
387
00:16:03,042 --> 00:16:07,626
♪ ("TROUBLES, TROUBLES"
BY WARREN STORM PLAYING) ♪
388
00:16:07,709 --> 00:16:09,918
GEORGE: Once I got the job
in the Air Force, they thought,
389
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,709
"Well, that's pretty good
for the Air Force Base"
390
00:16:11,792 --> 00:16:13,083
to have a guy
who's being productive,
391
00:16:13,167 --> 00:16:15,709
"and not just knocking up
local girls." You know?
392
00:16:18,125 --> 00:16:19,918
But I rebelled.
I happened to wind up
393
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,792
with three court martials.
394
00:16:21,876 --> 00:16:23,417
Falling asleep on guard duty
395
00:16:23,500 --> 00:16:26,167
during a unit-simulated
combat mission.
396
00:16:26,250 --> 00:16:27,792
Failure to obey a lawful order.
397
00:16:27,876 --> 00:16:29,375
Well, what are you gonna do?
(CHUCKLING)
398
00:16:29,459 --> 00:16:32,167
And thirdly, showing
a certain amount of disrespect
399
00:16:32,250 --> 00:16:33,500
to a non-commissioned officer.
400
00:16:33,584 --> 00:16:34,959
GEORGE: (OVER RADIO)
This is Warren Storm
401
00:16:35,042 --> 00:16:36,667
and his brand new one
"Troubles, Troubles,"
the K-JOE...
402
00:16:36,751 --> 00:16:38,042
GEORGE: (ONSTAGE)
I joined for four years,
403
00:16:38,125 --> 00:16:39,417
and I only lasted
for three years
404
00:16:39,500 --> 00:16:41,834
-because it wasn't working out.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
405
00:16:41,918 --> 00:16:43,334
GEORGE:
You've had those relationships.
406
00:16:43,417 --> 00:16:46,083
The Air Force and I sat down
and they said,
407
00:16:46,167 --> 00:16:49,751
-"Why don't you go home?"
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
408
00:16:51,667 --> 00:16:52,918
GEORGE: The name of the game
in radio
409
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:54,626
is move to the bigger market,
410
00:16:54,709 --> 00:16:56,209
so I went to Fort Worth.
411
00:16:56,292 --> 00:16:57,626
RADIO ANNOUNCER:
Fifteen minutes creeping up
412
00:16:57,709 --> 00:16:59,417
toward eight o'clock.
This is KXOL...
413
00:16:59,500 --> 00:17:02,334
GEORGE: So, I'm down there,
and I'm just doing my DJ show,
414
00:17:02,417 --> 00:17:06,125
and Jack Burns,
he became my nighttime newsman.
415
00:17:07,417 --> 00:17:10,417
Jack and I realized
we had a great comic affinity.
416
00:17:10,500 --> 00:17:11,834
We would do
little impromptu skits.
417
00:17:11,918 --> 00:17:14,792
They were great.
We knew we had this thing.
418
00:17:15,375 --> 00:17:16,918
(CAR ENGINE STARTS)
419
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,709
Nineteen sixty.
420
00:17:18,792 --> 00:17:21,209
I took a brand-new Dodge Dart,
421
00:17:21,292 --> 00:17:24,292
and we drove to California
with 300 dollars.
422
00:17:24,375 --> 00:17:26,125
JACK BURNS: Thank you.
My name is Jack Burns.
423
00:17:26,209 --> 00:17:27,834
This is my partner,
Mr. George Carlin.
424
00:17:27,918 --> 00:17:29,167
GEORGE: And we got up
on stage every night.
425
00:17:29,250 --> 00:17:30,709
JACK: So, we'd like
to show you now a meeting
426
00:17:30,792 --> 00:17:33,959
of the Southgate Mothers Club
on a Monday afternoon.
427
00:17:34,042 --> 00:17:37,626
GEORGE: (ROUGH VOICE)
Hi, I'd like to welcome yous all
to the Southgate Mother's Club.
428
00:17:37,709 --> 00:17:41,250
KLIPH NESTEROFF:
When George Carlin
first met Jack Burns,
429
00:17:41,334 --> 00:17:43,959
he was more influenced
politically
430
00:17:44,042 --> 00:17:45,876
by his mother than anybody else,
431
00:17:45,959 --> 00:17:47,876
and his mother
was very conservative.
432
00:17:47,959 --> 00:17:49,083
GEORGE: Now, Jack came along
433
00:17:49,167 --> 00:17:51,167
and I heard
lots of different things.
434
00:17:51,250 --> 00:17:55,334
KLIPH: And here was this sort
of raging liberal artist type
435
00:17:55,417 --> 00:17:58,667
who believed in civil rights,
who believed in equality,
436
00:17:58,751 --> 00:18:01,334
who did not trust
the government.
437
00:18:01,417 --> 00:18:04,500
And this had a huge influence
on George Carlin.
438
00:18:04,584 --> 00:18:08,792
GEORGE:
Those doors opened for me
with Jack, and in that year.
439
00:18:08,876 --> 00:18:11,000
Why didn't you take
your rooster up there?
440
00:18:11,083 --> 00:18:12,918
-He chickened out.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
441
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,751
PAUL PROVENZA: And show business
itself was transitioning.
442
00:18:15,834 --> 00:18:19,834
You had old school entertainers
doing mainstream stuff.
443
00:18:19,918 --> 00:18:22,334
Are there any groups
I haven't offended?
I always like to ask that.
444
00:18:22,417 --> 00:18:23,876
PAUL: You also had Mort Sahl.
445
00:18:23,959 --> 00:18:26,292
You also had Nichols and May
and Second City.
446
00:18:26,375 --> 00:18:29,042
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
447
00:18:30,375 --> 00:18:32,417
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
448
00:18:32,500 --> 00:18:34,542
PAUL: Lenny Bruce had
had a big impact.
449
00:18:34,626 --> 00:18:36,959
Cut to the toy store.
450
00:18:37,042 --> 00:18:38,834
PAUL: They were redefining
the stand-up form.
451
00:18:38,918 --> 00:18:40,167
It was no longer going to be...
452
00:18:40,250 --> 00:18:42,626
Might be your kid
who walked in that day.
453
00:18:42,709 --> 00:18:44,626
...just a guy getting up
telling jokes.
454
00:18:44,709 --> 00:18:46,125
(MIMICS BELL RINGING)
455
00:18:46,209 --> 00:18:49,584
Hello, Mr. Schindler.
Nice store you got here. Uh...
456
00:18:49,667 --> 00:18:51,083
Give me a nickel's worth
of pencils
457
00:18:51,167 --> 00:18:54,125
and a big boy tablet
and some erasers
458
00:18:54,209 --> 00:18:56,667
and 2,000 tubes
of airplane glue.
459
00:18:56,751 --> 00:18:58,000
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
460
00:18:58,083 --> 00:19:00,209
It was people speaking
from the heart
461
00:19:00,292 --> 00:19:01,667
and voicing their opinion.
462
00:19:03,375 --> 00:19:05,542
The last time I saw you,
I told you this.
463
00:19:05,626 --> 00:19:07,375
After watching you again
and again...
464
00:19:07,459 --> 00:19:11,292
I really got to know him when I
was shooting The Aristocrats.
465
00:19:11,375 --> 00:19:12,500
The Aristocrats.
466
00:19:12,584 --> 00:19:14,167
PAUL:
It became the kind of friendship
467
00:19:14,250 --> 00:19:16,584
where he wouldn't call me
to pick him up at the airport,
468
00:19:16,667 --> 00:19:19,500
but he would call me to tell me
a joke out of the blue.
469
00:19:19,584 --> 00:19:21,250
When Burns and I,
Burns and Carlin,
470
00:19:21,334 --> 00:19:22,918
were together in Chicago
in those early years...
471
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:24,959
PAUL: And he told me
that he was influenced
472
00:19:25,042 --> 00:19:27,667
by Lenny Bruce
at an early point.
473
00:19:27,751 --> 00:19:31,167
His love for Lenny
was unbelievable in...
474
00:19:31,250 --> 00:19:32,626
I'm sure somebody's told you
475
00:19:32,709 --> 00:19:33,959
the story about
his arrest. Yeah?
476
00:19:34,042 --> 00:19:35,667
LENNY BRUCE: This is
the first time they made a fuss
477
00:19:35,751 --> 00:19:36,834
straight in the audience...
478
00:19:36,918 --> 00:19:38,876
PAUL: It was the night
when Lenny Bruce
479
00:19:38,959 --> 00:19:40,125
was arrested for obscenity.
480
00:19:40,209 --> 00:19:41,667
LENNY: Oh, shit.
I didn't... (LAUGHS)
481
00:19:41,751 --> 00:19:43,500
PAUL: George happened
to be in the audience,
482
00:19:43,584 --> 00:19:45,751
and according to George,
the police came around
483
00:19:45,834 --> 00:19:48,709
and asked all the patrons
to show ID and what have you.
484
00:19:48,792 --> 00:19:50,542
GEORGE:
I said, "I don't believe in ID."
485
00:19:50,626 --> 00:19:52,042
PAUL: He got arrested as well.
486
00:19:52,125 --> 00:19:55,083
And he got thrown in the back
of a police car with Lenny.
487
00:19:55,167 --> 00:19:56,375
GEORGE:
The police went after him
488
00:19:56,459 --> 00:19:58,876
because the Catholic Church
wanted him silenced.
489
00:19:58,959 --> 00:20:02,125
And George told him,
"I refused to show my ID
490
00:20:02,209 --> 00:20:04,042
you know,
"in solidarity," whatever.
491
00:20:04,125 --> 00:20:07,334
And Lenny turned to him
and said, "Shmuck."
492
00:20:07,417 --> 00:20:10,083
GEORGE: (OVER RADIO) Hey, kids!
Today is absolutely the last day
493
00:20:10,167 --> 00:20:12,042
to send for your Captain Jack
and Jolly George
494
00:20:12,125 --> 00:20:13,542
Junior Junkie Kit!
495
00:20:13,626 --> 00:20:16,125
GEORGE: (NARRATING)
We found a coffeehouse
called Cosmo Alley.
496
00:20:16,209 --> 00:20:17,542
GEORGE: (OVER RADIO)
Why is this the last day?
497
00:20:17,626 --> 00:20:19,292
I'll tell you why, kids.
We were down in Tijuana,
498
00:20:19,375 --> 00:20:21,042
and our dealer
has been busted by the fuzz!
499
00:20:21,125 --> 00:20:23,959
-JACK: Yeah!
-GEORGE: (NARRATING)
Well, Lenny came in,
500
00:20:24,042 --> 00:20:26,375
and he loved us.
501
00:20:26,459 --> 00:20:28,334
(OVER RADIO) I'll tell ya, kids,
Captain Jack and I
502
00:20:28,417 --> 00:20:30,542
shared a half a bag,
shot it up just before the show.
503
00:20:30,626 --> 00:20:33,125
I tell ya, I'm twisted, kids.
Look at my eyes, huh?
504
00:20:33,209 --> 00:20:35,459
-One taste, kids,
and I'm stoned.
-JACK: Yeah!
505
00:20:35,542 --> 00:20:38,083
GEORGE: (NARRATING) Suddenly,
we got a telegram that said...
506
00:20:38,167 --> 00:20:44,209
(READS PROMPT)
507
00:20:48,334 --> 00:20:50,834
JACK: Most of the advertising
today that you see on television
508
00:20:50,918 --> 00:20:53,083
emanates from that gray flannel
leper colony, Madison Avenue.
509
00:20:53,167 --> 00:20:56,709
GEORGE: That's the magic of how
this all happened so quickly.
510
00:20:56,792 --> 00:20:58,500
JACK: And we'd like to show you
first the conversation
511
00:20:58,584 --> 00:21:01,250
as it occurs in real life,
and then that same conversation
512
00:21:01,334 --> 00:21:03,334
as you see it
on your television screen.
513
00:21:03,417 --> 00:21:07,167
This is the real-life
conversation. Oh, hi, George.
514
00:21:07,250 --> 00:21:09,375
-Oh, hey. How you doing?
-How's the gums?
515
00:21:09,459 --> 00:21:10,709
-All right.
-Good, good.
516
00:21:10,792 --> 00:21:14,250
Uh, what is that? You got a new
1961 compact car there, huh?
517
00:21:14,334 --> 00:21:16,000
Yeah, got one of the new Compos.
Mm-hmm.
518
00:21:16,083 --> 00:21:17,792
JACK: That's the way it goes
in real life.
519
00:21:17,876 --> 00:21:19,459
This is the way
that same conversation
520
00:21:19,542 --> 00:21:21,250
comes out
on your television screen.
521
00:21:22,500 --> 00:21:24,667
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
522
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,751
(GRANDIOSE VOICE) Say, George.
523
00:21:30,500 --> 00:21:33,542
(SCATTERED LAUGHTER)
524
00:21:34,459 --> 00:21:38,500
I see you got
the new 1961 Compo,
525
00:21:38,584 --> 00:21:41,542
America's most wanted
compact car.
526
00:21:41,626 --> 00:21:45,584
That's right, Jack,
and lucky me.
527
00:21:45,667 --> 00:21:47,292
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
528
00:21:51,292 --> 00:21:53,709
BRENDA CARLIN: There was a club
called Racquet Club in Dayton.
529
00:21:53,792 --> 00:21:56,876
And I was like a hostess.
That's how I met George.
530
00:21:56,959 --> 00:21:59,167
-He was performing there?
-BRENDA: That's right.
531
00:21:59,250 --> 00:22:02,792
The very first night he came up
to me, his line to me was,
532
00:22:02,876 --> 00:22:04,918
"Where does a guy go
in a town like this
533
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,500
after the club closes?"
And my line back to him was,
534
00:22:08,584 --> 00:22:10,334
"Well, you find some girl
with a stereo
535
00:22:10,417 --> 00:22:12,459
-and an apartment,"
which was me.
-(INTERVIEWER CHUCKLING)
536
00:22:12,542 --> 00:22:14,000
And I took him home
for two weeks.
537
00:22:14,083 --> 00:22:15,167
INTERVIEWER: Two weeks?
538
00:22:15,250 --> 00:22:17,292
Did you have trouble
with your stereo?
539
00:22:17,375 --> 00:22:20,417
No, I don't know
if we turned it on. (CHUCKLES)
540
00:22:21,626 --> 00:22:25,083
George fascinated me.
He was so different than I was.
541
00:22:25,167 --> 00:22:26,459
-He was from Manhattan.
-INTERVIEWER: Uh-huh.
542
00:22:26,542 --> 00:22:29,083
BRENDA: And street gangs,
and West Side Story,
543
00:22:29,167 --> 00:22:31,125
and all of this stuff.
544
00:22:31,209 --> 00:22:34,334
He started calling me,
and I started calling him.
545
00:22:34,417 --> 00:22:36,584
And then the letters
went back and forth.
546
00:22:36,667 --> 00:22:38,792
♪ (SOFT UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
547
00:22:56,792 --> 00:23:00,125
I knew we had a relationship
and something very special.
548
00:23:00,209 --> 00:23:03,042
But I also knew that George
was just starting his career.
549
00:23:03,125 --> 00:23:06,667
And I was trying to be very
adult about the relationship.
550
00:23:06,751 --> 00:23:08,626
All of a sudden,
he walked in the club,
551
00:23:08,709 --> 00:23:10,250
and I mean,
it was just, you know,
552
00:23:10,334 --> 00:23:12,167
the music,
where the violins started,
553
00:23:12,250 --> 00:23:15,459
and we ran into each
other's arms. (CHUCKLES)
554
00:23:15,542 --> 00:23:19,250
And I say five weeks.
George says seven weeks,
555
00:23:19,334 --> 00:23:20,918
maximum that we knew each other,
556
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,959
being together
before we got married.
557
00:23:24,209 --> 00:23:25,542
And I immediately
stopped working
558
00:23:25,626 --> 00:23:27,167
and went on the road
with George.
559
00:23:27,834 --> 00:23:29,542
♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪
560
00:23:29,626 --> 00:23:30,959
JACK: Good evening,
ladies and gentlemen,
561
00:23:31,042 --> 00:23:33,292
and welcome to the second show
of the evening.
562
00:23:34,417 --> 00:23:35,751
GEORGE: Jack Burns and I
broke up
563
00:23:35,834 --> 00:23:38,000
two years after we formed
the act
564
00:23:38,083 --> 00:23:39,834
because he wanted to go
to Second City,
565
00:23:39,918 --> 00:23:41,542
and I wanted to be a single.
566
00:23:41,626 --> 00:23:43,834
ANNOUNCER: Now it's with
great pleasure that
the Gate of Horn presents...
567
00:23:43,918 --> 00:23:45,334
GEORGE: So I continued to work
568
00:23:45,417 --> 00:23:47,292
from the Burns and Carlin
momentum.
569
00:23:47,375 --> 00:23:49,876
ANNOUNCER: Bruce Carlin?
George Carlin.
570
00:23:49,959 --> 00:23:51,792
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
571
00:23:54,083 --> 00:23:55,918
GEORGE: When you're beginning
in comedy...
572
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:57,959
BRENDA: George opened tonight
at the Gate of Horn.
573
00:23:58,042 --> 00:23:59,167
GEORGE:
...recently having begun...
574
00:23:59,250 --> 00:24:00,959
BRENDA: He did two shows.
Both were great.
575
00:24:01,042 --> 00:24:03,459
GEORGE: You'll have to decide
what form of comedy
you want to follow.
576
00:24:03,542 --> 00:24:05,959
BRENDA: (READS PROMPT)
577
00:24:06,042 --> 00:24:07,918
GEORGE: ...the good from all
of them, start with that...
578
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:13,125
BRENDA:
579
00:24:13,209 --> 00:24:15,959
GEORGE: First the old line
stand-up fast-paced insults...
580
00:24:16,042 --> 00:24:19,792
BRENDA:
581
00:24:19,876 --> 00:24:21,542
GEORGE: Here is another idea.
582
00:24:21,626 --> 00:24:23,209
Ha-ha, he said,
with a beautiful transition.
583
00:24:23,292 --> 00:24:25,834
BRENDA: George opens
in Omaha, Nebraska, tonight.
584
00:24:39,626 --> 00:24:43,459
KELLY CARLIN: My mother
was his biggest champion.
585
00:24:43,542 --> 00:24:46,417
She could see the power
of other people.
586
00:24:46,500 --> 00:24:49,375
She just had a real way
of lifting people up
587
00:24:49,459 --> 00:24:50,459
and believing in them.
588
00:24:50,542 --> 00:24:54,334
And I can only imagine
this young comic
589
00:24:54,417 --> 00:24:56,792
knowing that he had all
the potential in the world,
590
00:24:56,876 --> 00:24:58,167
he really believed in himself,
591
00:24:58,250 --> 00:25:00,792
and then to have a woman
come into his life and say,
592
00:25:00,876 --> 00:25:04,918
"I'm on your team.
We're gonna do this together."
593
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,125
They were comrades in arms.
594
00:25:07,209 --> 00:25:10,167
♪ (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
595
00:25:18,250 --> 00:25:20,209
KELLY: They were really cute
and goofy
596
00:25:20,292 --> 00:25:21,918
and sweet with each other.
597
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,125
He called her Dinky,
and he was Dawdy.
598
00:25:25,209 --> 00:25:27,834
So, I grew up in the backseat
of the Dodge Dart,
599
00:25:27,918 --> 00:25:30,334
and I was going to gigs
when I was a baby.
600
00:25:30,417 --> 00:25:33,250
GEORGE: Thank you for that, uh,
wonderful round of indifference.
601
00:25:33,334 --> 00:25:34,584
KELLY:
And in those early days...
602
00:25:34,667 --> 00:25:36,250
-GEORGE: Is this on?
-(TAPPING ON MICROPHONE)
603
00:25:36,334 --> 00:25:38,334
KELLY:
...they were starving artists.
604
00:25:38,417 --> 00:25:39,751
GEORGE:
Hey, if I ever need an audience
605
00:25:39,834 --> 00:25:41,459
-to keep me humble, you're it.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
606
00:25:41,542 --> 00:25:45,125
(CHUCKLING) No, if I get cocky,
I'll call you in, you know?
607
00:25:45,209 --> 00:25:46,918
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
608
00:25:48,375 --> 00:25:50,459
JOHN F. KENNEDY: Frustration
and discord are burning
609
00:25:50,542 --> 00:25:54,292
in every city,
in demonstrations and protests.
610
00:25:54,375 --> 00:25:56,459
We face, therefore,
a moral crisis
611
00:25:56,542 --> 00:25:58,125
as a country and a people.
612
00:25:58,209 --> 00:26:00,959
It cannot be met by
repressive police action.
613
00:26:02,250 --> 00:26:06,375
It cannot be left to increased
demonstrations in the streets.
614
00:26:06,459 --> 00:26:10,000
It cannot be quieted
by token moves or talk.
615
00:26:10,083 --> 00:26:11,959
NEWS ANCHOR:
Political extremism in America
616
00:26:12,042 --> 00:26:13,584
is not something new.
617
00:26:13,667 --> 00:26:16,918
We took our cameras to a meeting
of the John Birch Society,
618
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:18,584
the most well-known
of a large number
619
00:26:18,667 --> 00:26:20,626
of organizations
that place themselves
620
00:26:20,709 --> 00:26:23,083
to the extreme far right
of the political spectrum.
621
00:26:23,167 --> 00:26:24,417
(ALL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
622
00:26:24,500 --> 00:26:26,667
GEORGE: Thank you very much.
The name is Lyle Higley.
623
00:26:26,751 --> 00:26:28,167
I'm the head
of the local chapter
624
00:26:28,250 --> 00:26:29,584
of the John Birch Society.
625
00:26:29,667 --> 00:26:32,000
I invited the head
of the Ku Klux Klan,
626
00:26:32,083 --> 00:26:35,834
the Grand Imperial Almighty
Omnipotent Invincible Stomper.
627
00:26:35,918 --> 00:26:37,667
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
628
00:26:37,751 --> 00:26:39,167
GEORGE: (IN SOUTHERN ACCENT)
Thank you very much.
629
00:26:39,250 --> 00:26:40,792
And I'd just like to address
my remarks
630
00:26:40,876 --> 00:26:43,292
in the Northern
Commuliberal Pinko press.
631
00:26:43,375 --> 00:26:44,584
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
632
00:26:44,667 --> 00:26:47,584
GEORGE: I have been living
in the South for 27 years,
633
00:26:47,667 --> 00:26:51,500
and I've never seen a cross
burning on anybody's lawn.
634
00:26:51,584 --> 00:26:53,584
I've seen whole neighborhoods
go up.
635
00:26:53,667 --> 00:26:56,000
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
636
00:26:56,709 --> 00:26:58,000
GEORGE: In 1961,
637
00:26:58,083 --> 00:27:00,667
John Kennedy brought humor
back to the White House,
638
00:27:00,751 --> 00:27:02,542
along with a lot
of football equipment,
639
00:27:02,626 --> 00:27:04,500
and a bunch of relatives.
640
00:27:04,584 --> 00:27:06,584
(IMITATING KENNEDY)
Thank you very much.
641
00:27:06,667 --> 00:27:08,751
On behalf
of the Attorney General,
642
00:27:08,834 --> 00:27:10,459
the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
643
00:27:10,542 --> 00:27:12,417
the members
of the Supreme Court,
644
00:27:12,500 --> 00:27:15,876
-and the rest of my family...
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
645
00:27:15,959 --> 00:27:18,459
GEORGE: Stories have recently
been appearing in the press
646
00:27:18,542 --> 00:27:20,334
that Mr. Khrushchev and I
are planning
647
00:27:20,417 --> 00:27:21,959
another series
of summit conferences.
648
00:27:22,042 --> 00:27:27,083
-(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
-♪ (QUIET MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
649
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,042
GEORGE: When you're not known
650
00:27:30,125 --> 00:27:33,834
and when you're doing something
a little avant-garde,
651
00:27:33,918 --> 00:27:37,834
most run-of-the-mill,
rank-and-file citizens
652
00:27:37,918 --> 00:27:41,542
didn't know, didn't care.
Didn't understand.
653
00:27:42,751 --> 00:27:45,083
I can remember
doing the supper show.
654
00:27:45,167 --> 00:27:49,000
That means there
are still dishes on the table.
655
00:27:49,083 --> 00:27:52,918
Stone silence, practically,
having to do 25 minutes.
656
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,834
And the only reason
you don't lose heart
657
00:27:55,918 --> 00:27:57,959
is because you remember
the good nights.
658
00:27:58,042 --> 00:27:59,375
REPORTER:
From Dallas, Texas.
659
00:27:59,459 --> 00:28:01,584
The flash, apparently official,
660
00:28:01,667 --> 00:28:03,626
President Kennedy died
661
00:28:03,709 --> 00:28:07,042
at 1:00 p.m.
Central Standard Time.
662
00:28:11,083 --> 00:28:12,459
BRENDA: The events
of this past weekend
663
00:28:12,542 --> 00:28:17,167
have left me stunned. I feel
so sorry for Jackie Kennedy.
664
00:28:17,834 --> 00:28:22,584
(READS LETTER)
665
00:28:51,876 --> 00:28:53,459
♪ (MUSIC FADES) ♪
666
00:28:53,542 --> 00:28:56,584
GEORGE: I said, "I've got to
take a stand in New York."
667
00:28:56,667 --> 00:28:59,751
I've got to do television here.
I have to figure this out."
668
00:28:59,834 --> 00:29:02,751
There were no comedy clubs.
There were only coffee houses.
669
00:29:02,834 --> 00:29:05,584
Coffee houses had hootenannies,
670
00:29:05,667 --> 00:29:08,709
and they had an open mic
amateur night.
671
00:29:08,792 --> 00:29:11,083
INTERVIEWER: And you developed
a lot of your own single stuff
672
00:29:11,167 --> 00:29:12,959
at the Cafe Au Go Go, was it?
673
00:29:13,042 --> 00:29:15,334
Down in Greenwich Village.
Yeah, I got tired of going out
674
00:29:15,417 --> 00:29:18,667
to Indianapolis and Detroit
and St. Louis for one week,
675
00:29:18,751 --> 00:29:20,500
and not having anything
to show for it.
676
00:29:20,584 --> 00:29:21,918
You spend all your money
traveling.
677
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:23,876
So I decided to stay
in New York for a year,
678
00:29:23,959 --> 00:29:25,042
and work at one club
679
00:29:25,125 --> 00:29:27,334
where I could develop
my style and my material.
680
00:29:27,417 --> 00:29:28,959
And it happened
in Greenwich Village
681
00:29:29,042 --> 00:29:30,334
at the Go Go.
This is the theater
682
00:29:30,417 --> 00:29:32,542
where I first did television
for Merv Griffin,
683
00:29:32,626 --> 00:29:33,959
-where it really began.
-INTERVIEWER: Right.
684
00:29:34,042 --> 00:29:35,876
The Indian Sergeant
was the first character.
685
00:29:35,959 --> 00:29:38,542
He used to work with a partner,
and now, he's on his own.
686
00:29:38,626 --> 00:29:40,626
Another of television's
tadpoles,
687
00:29:40,709 --> 00:29:42,792
the kind of talent
always welcome around here.
688
00:29:42,876 --> 00:29:46,542
Would you all meet
young George Carlin. George?
689
00:29:46,626 --> 00:29:53,042
-♪ (BAND MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
-(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
690
00:29:54,083 --> 00:29:56,125
Uh...
I've been watching the Westerns.
691
00:29:56,209 --> 00:29:57,667
All of us have been watching
Western movies,
692
00:29:57,751 --> 00:29:59,959
an endless stream of them,
for our entire lives,
693
00:30:00,042 --> 00:30:01,918
and I've noticed something
about them.
694
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,542
When the Westerns
involve Indians,
695
00:30:04,626 --> 00:30:06,709
and sometimes they don't,
sometimes it's Brian Donlevy
696
00:30:06,792 --> 00:30:08,375
with a black hat
and a crooked card game.
697
00:30:08,459 --> 00:30:10,792
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-But when they involved Indians,
698
00:30:10,876 --> 00:30:13,125
the big scene always seems to be
699
00:30:13,209 --> 00:30:15,500
when the Indians
finally attack the cowboys.
700
00:30:15,584 --> 00:30:18,667
You always see
exactly how the cowboys prepare
701
00:30:18,751 --> 00:30:22,000
for this attack. We never see
how the Indians prepare.
702
00:30:22,083 --> 00:30:24,250
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
703
00:30:24,334 --> 00:30:26,959
"All right, all the tall guys
over by the trees."
704
00:30:27,042 --> 00:30:33,125
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
705
00:30:33,209 --> 00:30:35,042
"Fat guys
down behind the rocks."
706
00:30:35,125 --> 00:30:39,042
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
707
00:30:39,125 --> 00:30:41,125
"You with the beads,
out of the line."
708
00:30:41,209 --> 00:30:45,417
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
709
00:30:46,584 --> 00:30:48,250
"All right,
knock off the horseplay."
710
00:30:48,334 --> 00:30:49,918
Come on,
knock off the horseplay.
711
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:51,626
Come on, you guys over there
playing with the horse,
712
00:30:51,709 --> 00:30:55,334
-will you knock it off?"
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, APPLAUDING)
713
00:30:55,417 --> 00:30:57,334
GEORGE: There'll be a rain dance
Friday night.
714
00:30:57,417 --> 00:31:01,876
-Weather permitting.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
715
00:31:01,959 --> 00:31:03,626
GEORGE: I got my Merv Griffin
and they gave me
716
00:31:03,709 --> 00:31:04,584
three more shots.
717
00:31:04,667 --> 00:31:05,876
ANNOUNCER:
Here is George Carlin.
718
00:31:05,959 --> 00:31:07,125
GEORGE: I had been working
for a year-and-a-half
719
00:31:07,209 --> 00:31:08,584
just to get
five minutes together,
720
00:31:08,667 --> 00:31:10,834
and suddenly
there were these three dates
721
00:31:10,918 --> 00:31:12,334
staring at me within a month.
722
00:31:12,417 --> 00:31:13,417
Thank you very much.
723
00:31:13,500 --> 00:31:15,584
I found out
I had to start writing stuff
724
00:31:15,667 --> 00:31:17,250
at a very fast rate.
725
00:31:17,334 --> 00:31:18,292
Right now, we're sending it out
726
00:31:18,375 --> 00:31:19,542
for a little under
three feet tall.
727
00:31:19,626 --> 00:31:21,292
-Happy 35th birthday, Linda.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
728
00:31:21,375 --> 00:31:22,500
GEORGE: I did the disc jockey.
729
00:31:22,584 --> 00:31:24,417
It's a brand new one.
It's called,
730
00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:26,959
"Your face cleared up."
731
00:31:27,042 --> 00:31:29,834
Then I did a newscast,
news, sports, and weather.
732
00:31:29,918 --> 00:31:33,334
Again, demonstrations
and protests dominate
the headlines.
733
00:31:33,417 --> 00:31:34,876
The draft card burners
are at it again.
734
00:31:34,959 --> 00:31:37,209
Not content with burning
their individual draft cards,
735
00:31:37,292 --> 00:31:39,876
several demonstrators today
set fire to the Pentagon.
736
00:31:39,959 --> 00:31:41,042
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
737
00:31:41,125 --> 00:31:43,918
I saw him early.
With a suit and tie,
738
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,083
and it was just--
he was sparkling.
739
00:31:46,167 --> 00:31:48,834
-HOST: How you feel?
-(EXAGGERATED ACCENT) Wonderful.
I'll tell you one thing.
740
00:31:48,918 --> 00:31:51,250
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
741
00:31:51,334 --> 00:31:53,584
-What I said was good?
-HOST: Very good, yes.
742
00:31:53,667 --> 00:31:55,626
ROBERT KLEIN:
He was likeable immediately.
743
00:31:55,709 --> 00:31:56,918
HOST:
I could talk like that too.
744
00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:58,459
-GEORGE: Can you?
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
745
00:31:58,542 --> 00:32:03,250
And I think that George Carlin
is one of two autodidacts
746
00:32:03,334 --> 00:32:05,334
in American comedy,
that is to say,
747
00:32:05,417 --> 00:32:09,542
people who are self-taught,
George and Groucho Marx.
748
00:32:09,626 --> 00:32:12,167
I think George proved
in many ways
749
00:32:12,250 --> 00:32:13,375
how intelligent he was,
750
00:32:13,459 --> 00:32:17,167
and how interested he was
in the world around him.
751
00:32:17,250 --> 00:32:18,626
I really haven't been
to the movies
752
00:32:18,709 --> 00:32:20,083
in an awfully long time.
753
00:32:20,167 --> 00:32:23,042
I think the last movie I saw
was West Side Story,
754
00:32:23,125 --> 00:32:25,083
and I was really disappointed
with that
755
00:32:25,167 --> 00:32:26,375
because I'm from the West Side,
756
00:32:26,459 --> 00:32:28,876
and I understood these kids
were supposed to be tough
757
00:32:28,959 --> 00:32:30,792
in the movie. I mean,
two people get killed
758
00:32:30,876 --> 00:32:32,626
in the movie.
They should be tough kids,
759
00:32:32,709 --> 00:32:34,042
but it didn't come off
like that.
760
00:32:34,125 --> 00:32:35,209
It was kind of a...
761
00:32:38,334 --> 00:32:46,042
-(MIMICS UPBEAT MUSIC)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
762
00:32:46,125 --> 00:32:48,042
"Come on, let's go get them.
Let's go get those guys.
763
00:32:48,125 --> 00:32:51,250
Let's go get them and kill them,
but first we're going to dance."
764
00:32:51,334 --> 00:32:55,000
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
765
00:32:55,083 --> 00:33:00,792
-♪ (MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
-(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
766
00:33:00,876 --> 00:33:03,626
GEORGE: In order for me
to follow this mainstream dream,
767
00:33:03,709 --> 00:33:06,209
I had to play their game,
768
00:33:06,292 --> 00:33:09,209
which was,
you had to get on variety shows.
769
00:33:09,292 --> 00:33:13,500
So I went to Hollywood
in 1966 with Kelly and Brenda,
770
00:33:13,584 --> 00:33:15,667
and I did
the Kraft Summer Music Hall.
771
00:33:15,751 --> 00:33:17,417
Hi, I am John Davidson.
772
00:33:17,500 --> 00:33:19,542
Welcome
to the Kraft Summer Music Hall.
773
00:33:19,626 --> 00:33:21,042
We've got some wonderful guests
tonight,
774
00:33:21,125 --> 00:33:22,667
but of course,
the whole gang is right here.
775
00:33:22,751 --> 00:33:24,876
So, let's meet them, huh?
George Carlin.
776
00:33:24,959 --> 00:33:27,751
(AUDIENCE CHEERING, APPLAUDING)
777
00:33:27,834 --> 00:33:29,209
JOHN DAVIDSON: Jackie and Gayle.
778
00:33:31,250 --> 00:33:32,667
The Lively Set.
779
00:33:34,584 --> 00:33:36,626
And our guest,
Mr. Richard Pryor.
780
00:33:38,918 --> 00:33:40,918
Ladies and gentlemen,
you've met our two comedians,
781
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,792
George Carlin and Richard Pryor.
782
00:33:42,876 --> 00:33:44,000
-That's right.
-Guys,
783
00:33:44,083 --> 00:33:45,959
earlier, when you were doing
your routines,
784
00:33:46,042 --> 00:33:47,250
at first I was watching you,
785
00:33:47,334 --> 00:33:49,209
-like a nice guy.
-Yeah, yeah.
786
00:33:49,292 --> 00:33:51,709
And then I found
that it was much more fun
787
00:33:51,792 --> 00:33:52,959
to watch the audience.
788
00:33:53,042 --> 00:33:54,584
-The audience?
-Watch the audience?
789
00:33:54,667 --> 00:33:56,000
-Yes.
-While we're working?
790
00:33:56,083 --> 00:33:57,876
Should we leave now,
Richie, man? Let's go.
791
00:33:57,959 --> 00:33:58,959
-No.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
792
00:33:59,042 --> 00:34:00,709
What I mean is I found
it was much more fun
793
00:34:00,792 --> 00:34:01,918
to watch the audience,
794
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:03,626
because you can see
the different ways
795
00:34:03,709 --> 00:34:04,792
that people laugh.
796
00:34:04,876 --> 00:34:06,125
-Have you ever noticed that?
-Oh, yeah. Yeah.
797
00:34:06,209 --> 00:34:08,000
You must notice
that in the nightclubs, right?
798
00:34:08,083 --> 00:34:09,167
Yeah, well, I have always
799
00:34:09,250 --> 00:34:10,792
-noticed 'em and I have...
-Oh yeah, I do. What?
800
00:34:10,876 --> 00:34:12,876
You go ahead
and I'll watch the audience.
801
00:34:12,959 --> 00:34:15,626
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-Well, uh, first of all,
802
00:34:15,709 --> 00:34:18,209
there's the neat,
precise laugher.
803
00:34:18,292 --> 00:34:21,959
Have you seen him.
It's like... (CHUCKLES)
804
00:34:22,042 --> 00:34:24,667
He's really breaking up,
just the way accountants laugh.
805
00:34:24,751 --> 00:34:25,792
They like to keep it neat.
806
00:34:25,876 --> 00:34:27,417
-(LAUGHS RESTRAINEDLY)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
807
00:34:27,500 --> 00:34:29,709
I once worked a whole
convention of accountants.
808
00:34:29,792 --> 00:34:31,751
-(LAUGHS FAINTLY)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
809
00:34:31,834 --> 00:34:32,834
Kind of strange.
810
00:34:32,918 --> 00:34:33,959
Richard, what's your
favorite kind of laughter?
811
00:34:34,042 --> 00:34:35,250
Well, I got a laugh.
I don't know
812
00:34:35,334 --> 00:34:36,584
if it's my favorite,
but it's one I hear
813
00:34:36,667 --> 00:34:39,000
above everyone else's,
sort of a witch's laugh
814
00:34:39,083 --> 00:34:42,626
-(CACKLES)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
815
00:34:42,709 --> 00:34:47,834
-Kind of scares you... (CACKLES)
-(LAUGHING CONTINUES)
816
00:34:47,918 --> 00:34:49,959
But I've never worked for
a convention of witches.
817
00:34:50,042 --> 00:34:53,000
(LAUGHS EXAGGERATEDLY)
Hey, look at that.
818
00:34:53,083 --> 00:34:54,209
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
819
00:34:56,375 --> 00:34:57,626
Good evening. Once again,
820
00:34:57,709 --> 00:35:00,083
the big hand is on the five,
the little hand is on the six,
821
00:35:00,167 --> 00:35:01,834
and it's time
for the 11 o'clock report.
822
00:35:01,918 --> 00:35:06,792
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, APPLAUDING)
-First of all, the headlines.
823
00:35:06,876 --> 00:35:08,626
Russia and the United States
are at war.
824
00:35:08,709 --> 00:35:10,250
Missiles have been fired
by both sides.
825
00:35:10,334 --> 00:35:12,667
Moscow, New York, and London
are in flames.
826
00:35:12,751 --> 00:35:14,292
Details on these
and other stories
827
00:35:14,375 --> 00:35:16,292
in just a moment
after the report.
828
00:35:16,375 --> 00:35:18,792
KLIPH: In the 1960s,
one of the main genres
829
00:35:18,876 --> 00:35:20,000
-of television...
-Hello?
830
00:35:20,083 --> 00:35:23,083
-Kraft Summer Music Hall.
-...was the variety show.
831
00:35:23,167 --> 00:35:24,709
I'm sure in the greenroom
832
00:35:24,792 --> 00:35:26,626
and after work,
they probably had a lot of fun
833
00:35:26,709 --> 00:35:28,459
smoking joints together,
834
00:35:28,542 --> 00:35:31,375
but they could not be subversive
on the show
835
00:35:31,459 --> 00:35:32,626
if they had wanted to be.
836
00:35:32,709 --> 00:35:34,876
...to Al Sleet,
the hippie-dippy weatherman.
837
00:35:34,959 --> 00:35:37,375
-"Hey, baby, what's happening?"
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
838
00:35:37,459 --> 00:35:40,417
And, so, we always talk
about fascist politicians
839
00:35:40,500 --> 00:35:43,042
speaking
with a dog whistle sentence.
840
00:35:43,125 --> 00:35:46,709
George Carlin had
these dog whistles for hippies.
841
00:35:46,792 --> 00:35:48,834
Al Sleet here,
your hippie-dippy weatherman
842
00:35:48,918 --> 00:35:50,500
with all
the hippie-dippy weather.
843
00:35:50,584 --> 00:35:54,334
KLIPH: Just that voice
is the voice of a guy
844
00:35:54,417 --> 00:35:55,918
who has taken a huge bong hit.
845
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:58,334
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-One, two, three, four, five.
846
00:35:58,417 --> 00:36:00,375
If your parents were watching
that on Ed Sullivan
847
00:36:00,459 --> 00:36:02,000
or Perry Como,
they don't know that,
848
00:36:02,083 --> 00:36:03,375
but the kids know that.
They're like,
849
00:36:03,459 --> 00:36:06,834
"He is stoned. This character
is stoned. He's high."
850
00:36:06,918 --> 00:36:09,584
Now, if you take a look
at our weather map over...
851
00:36:10,542 --> 00:36:12,500
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-...here,
852
00:36:12,584 --> 00:36:14,918
you'll notice
that this warm front extends
853
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:16,751
from Virginia to Tennessee...
854
00:36:16,834 --> 00:36:19,000
♪ With all the love
That's in ya ♪
855
00:36:19,083 --> 00:36:20,334
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
856
00:36:20,417 --> 00:36:23,042
Okay, the radar's picking up
a line of thundershowers
857
00:36:23,125 --> 00:36:25,042
from Munich to New York
to Middletown.
858
00:36:25,125 --> 00:36:26,918
However, the radar
is also picking up
859
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:29,209
-a squadron of Russian ICBMs.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
860
00:36:29,292 --> 00:36:31,918
So I wouldn't sweat
the thundershowers.
861
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:36,042
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
862
00:36:36,125 --> 00:36:38,542
Tonight's low, 25 degrees.
863
00:36:38,626 --> 00:36:40,542
Tomorrow's high,
whenever I get up. Ha!
864
00:36:40,626 --> 00:36:42,792
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
865
00:36:45,250 --> 00:36:47,542
GEORGE: We're here talking
with young Kelly Carlin.
866
00:36:47,626 --> 00:36:48,918
(KELLY SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
867
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:50,042
GEORGE:
I didn't even have to wait.
868
00:36:50,125 --> 00:36:51,584
Like a woman, she interrupted.
869
00:36:51,667 --> 00:36:53,959
-KELLY: You want apple?
-BRENDA: Apple?
870
00:36:54,042 --> 00:36:56,334
-GEORGE: Apple?
-KELLY: Apple.
871
00:36:56,417 --> 00:36:58,792
GEORGE: Kelly, what do you think
we can do about
872
00:36:58,876 --> 00:37:00,751
the Vietnam crisis?
873
00:37:00,834 --> 00:37:02,292
Can we get out of this mess?
874
00:37:03,334 --> 00:37:05,584
Would you say
we're inextricably committed
875
00:37:05,667 --> 00:37:08,125
to a land war in Asia?
876
00:37:08,209 --> 00:37:10,042
Do you feel
that a political solution
877
00:37:10,125 --> 00:37:13,334
-is possible?
-(KELLY SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
878
00:37:13,417 --> 00:37:15,626
GEORGE: Do you think
that the Viet Cong
879
00:37:15,709 --> 00:37:19,125
-should be bargained with?
-KELLY: Is that true?
880
00:37:19,209 --> 00:37:21,918
GEORGE: Well, it's known as
the National Liberation Front.
881
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:23,876
And do you think
we should recognize them
882
00:37:23,959 --> 00:37:25,375
across the conference table?
883
00:37:26,626 --> 00:37:28,667
No comment. All right.
884
00:37:28,751 --> 00:37:31,083
Here's Kelly's
pushy stage mother.
885
00:37:31,167 --> 00:37:33,209
-(BRENDA LAUGHING)
-(GEORGE CHUCKLING)
886
00:37:33,292 --> 00:37:38,167
BRENDA: Kelly, do you remember
when you and Teddy Bear...
887
00:37:38,250 --> 00:37:39,417
Does Teddy Bear like to go...
888
00:37:39,500 --> 00:37:41,834
INTERVIEWER: At what point
does his success happen,
889
00:37:41,918 --> 00:37:43,959
and you know it has changed?
890
00:37:44,042 --> 00:37:46,334
I think
when we came out here in 1966.
891
00:37:46,417 --> 00:37:47,542
INTERVIEWER: And what happened?
892
00:37:47,626 --> 00:37:50,167
It was the John Davidson
the Kraft Summer Music Hall.
893
00:37:50,250 --> 00:37:53,083
What happens to your lifestyle?
How does it change?
894
00:37:53,167 --> 00:37:54,709
I think it...
895
00:37:54,792 --> 00:37:58,626
Well, it affected me very badly
because I felt abandoned.
896
00:37:58,709 --> 00:38:00,792
-INTERVIEWER: Uh-huh.
-He came out to a show,
897
00:38:00,876 --> 00:38:04,292
and even though they would have
parties and get-togethers
898
00:38:04,375 --> 00:38:05,834
to involve the wives,
and you know,
899
00:38:05,918 --> 00:38:08,584
husbands or whatever,
I really felt abandoned.
900
00:38:08,667 --> 00:38:10,334
I didn't really know people
out here,
901
00:38:10,417 --> 00:38:11,834
and this is a big city.
902
00:38:11,918 --> 00:38:15,125
And I think
I was very restless also.
903
00:38:15,209 --> 00:38:16,876
-I wanted to do something.
-INTERVIEWER: Mm-hmm.
904
00:38:16,959 --> 00:38:18,792
But I didn't know
what I wanted to do,
905
00:38:18,876 --> 00:38:20,250
and I turned to alcohol.
906
00:38:20,334 --> 00:38:22,876
♪ (SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
907
00:38:27,042 --> 00:38:28,626
KELLY: We moved out to L.A.
908
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,250
And suddenly,
my dad has an agent,
909
00:38:33,334 --> 00:38:36,125
he has a manager,
he has a press agent.
910
00:38:38,626 --> 00:38:41,500
And all the jobs my mom had
were gone.
911
00:38:43,459 --> 00:38:47,042
Suddenly,
her opinion doesn't matter.
912
00:38:47,125 --> 00:38:51,500
And she really wanted to work,
but my dad would not let her.
913
00:38:51,584 --> 00:38:54,167
Because he didn't want me
being a latchkey kid,
914
00:38:54,250 --> 00:38:57,417
so he forbade my mother
from getting a job.
915
00:38:59,584 --> 00:39:02,667
That really screwed
with her self-identity
916
00:39:02,751 --> 00:39:05,334
and her ability to feel useful
in the world.
917
00:39:08,500 --> 00:39:10,250
And he's on the road now,
918
00:39:10,334 --> 00:39:13,584
sometimes three,
four, five weeks at a time.
919
00:39:13,667 --> 00:39:15,542
And that's what a lot
of the arguing was about,
920
00:39:15,626 --> 00:39:18,417
you know, the resentment she had
about that,
921
00:39:18,500 --> 00:39:21,209
of being a stay-at-home mom.
922
00:39:21,292 --> 00:39:24,375
And she's feeling very left out
and left behind,
923
00:39:24,459 --> 00:39:26,209
and very silenced by it all.
924
00:39:27,959 --> 00:39:29,125
So my mom drank,
925
00:39:29,209 --> 00:39:34,000
and she became very loud
and exhibitionist in public.
926
00:39:34,083 --> 00:39:37,667
And then my parents
had knock-down, drag-out fights
927
00:39:37,751 --> 00:39:39,334
over my mom's drinking.
928
00:39:42,209 --> 00:39:46,000
And when you're having
those kind of episodes at home,
929
00:39:46,083 --> 00:39:50,417
I mean, talk to most any...
(CHUCKLES) ...American family,
930
00:39:50,500 --> 00:39:53,751
it's a very secretive thing.
931
00:39:53,834 --> 00:39:56,334
GEORGE: And now,
here's Kelly Carlin
932
00:39:56,417 --> 00:39:58,834
singing "Rock-a-bye Baby."
933
00:39:58,918 --> 00:40:02,459
GEORGE AND KELLY:
♪ Rock-a-bye, baby ♪
934
00:40:02,542 --> 00:40:05,751
♪ On the treetop ♪
935
00:40:05,834 --> 00:40:09,042
♪ When the wind blows
Down the... ♪
936
00:40:09,125 --> 00:40:12,417
GEORGE:
♪ The cradle will rock ♪
937
00:40:12,500 --> 00:40:19,375
GEORGE AND KELLY:
♪ When the bough breaks down
The cradle will fall ♪
938
00:40:19,459 --> 00:40:23,167
♪ And down will come baby ♪
939
00:40:23,250 --> 00:40:26,959
♪ Cradle And all ♪
940
00:40:27,751 --> 00:40:29,083
KELLY: Goodbye.
941
00:40:40,209 --> 00:40:42,250
GEORGE: At that time
in my career I felt
942
00:40:42,334 --> 00:40:44,042
that by being a mainstream comic
943
00:40:44,125 --> 00:40:47,375
and taking the steps
along the mainstream path...
944
00:40:47,459 --> 00:40:49,584
Yes, is a good part.
Is the best part I ever got you.
945
00:40:49,667 --> 00:40:51,125
...that would lead me
to this dream
946
00:40:51,209 --> 00:40:53,209
I had of being a movie actor
like Danny Kaye.
947
00:40:53,292 --> 00:40:55,792
Anyway, I'm not up for the part.
I'm up for the understudy.
948
00:40:55,876 --> 00:40:58,417
After your friend falls out
the window here, sweetheart,
949
00:40:58,500 --> 00:41:00,334
you'll be up for the part.
950
00:41:00,417 --> 00:41:03,083
What I found was
I wasn't an actor.
951
00:41:03,167 --> 00:41:05,042
Well, we're just about to close,
but for you,
952
00:41:05,125 --> 00:41:07,042
tell me what it is you like,
and I'll see to it personally.
953
00:41:07,125 --> 00:41:08,709
I had no technique
to fall back on,
954
00:41:08,792 --> 00:41:10,375
I had no training
to fall back on,
955
00:41:10,459 --> 00:41:13,125
I had only this idea
that this is my birthright.
956
00:41:13,209 --> 00:41:15,042
Well, I hope you know
what you're doing.
957
00:41:15,125 --> 00:41:17,209
But from here on,
it's full price for everything.
958
00:41:17,292 --> 00:41:20,125
♪ (JAUNTY MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
959
00:41:20,209 --> 00:41:21,876
ALL:
♪ When we were 17 ♪
960
00:41:23,751 --> 00:41:25,792
♪ It was a very good year... ♪
961
00:41:25,876 --> 00:41:28,292
GEORGE: I hated
doing these variety shows.
962
00:41:29,584 --> 00:41:31,876
You know? "Fuck those people,
fuck that shit."
963
00:41:31,959 --> 00:41:32,959
Look at this stupid shit.
964
00:41:33,042 --> 00:41:35,167
"No, I don't
wanna be in the bunny number."
965
00:41:35,250 --> 00:41:37,626
I was a victim
of my own success,
966
00:41:37,709 --> 00:41:39,417
and here's what I was missing.
967
00:41:40,834 --> 00:41:43,000
I was missing who I was.
968
00:41:43,083 --> 00:41:47,626
♪ When I was 17 ♪
969
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,667
I began to take some acid
and some mescaline,
970
00:41:51,751 --> 00:41:55,626
and I suddenly was able
to see things differently.
971
00:41:55,709 --> 00:42:00,125
What I really was,
was an outlaw and a rebel
972
00:42:00,209 --> 00:42:02,167
who swam against the tide
973
00:42:02,250 --> 00:42:04,918
of what the establishment wants
from us.
974
00:42:05,876 --> 00:42:08,042
That person
was being suppressed.
975
00:42:08,125 --> 00:42:10,250
REPORTER: The long-haired,
almost professional protesters
976
00:42:10,334 --> 00:42:11,834
demanded to know
how many children
977
00:42:11,918 --> 00:42:13,375
the president
had killed that day.
978
00:42:13,459 --> 00:42:16,375
GEORGE: It was a generation war.
I was in the middle of it.
979
00:42:16,459 --> 00:42:19,709
I was entertaining people
in nightclubs who were 40,
980
00:42:19,792 --> 00:42:22,500
and they were at war
with their kids who were 20.
981
00:42:22,584 --> 00:42:24,167
PROTESTER: We got
to knock those motherfuckers
982
00:42:24,250 --> 00:42:26,167
who control this thing
right on their ass.
983
00:42:26,250 --> 00:42:27,459
GEORGE:
So, I had to come to terms
984
00:42:27,542 --> 00:42:29,876
with what I really wanted
to do and who I was.
985
00:42:29,959 --> 00:42:32,542
I'm sure that you're aware
of the fact that teenagers today
986
00:42:32,626 --> 00:42:35,667
are the most powerful group
in the country.
987
00:42:35,751 --> 00:42:38,000
First of all, there are more
of them than ever before,
988
00:42:38,083 --> 00:42:40,918
and teenagers
are so much better organized.
989
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,250
-Many of them are armed.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
990
00:42:43,334 --> 00:42:44,792
BOBBY SEALE:
Racist police agencies
991
00:42:44,876 --> 00:42:47,584
throughout the country
are intensifying the terror,
992
00:42:47,667 --> 00:42:51,083
brutality, murder,
and repression of Black people.
993
00:42:51,167 --> 00:42:53,375
Black people are determined
to gain their freedom
994
00:42:53,459 --> 00:42:54,584
by any means necessary.
995
00:42:54,667 --> 00:42:55,834
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR:
We will not be harassed,
996
00:42:55,918 --> 00:42:58,250
we will not be intimidated
997
00:42:58,334 --> 00:43:02,042
-and we will be heard.
-(CROWD CLAMORING)
998
00:43:02,125 --> 00:43:07,584
-♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
-W-I-N-O.
999
00:43:07,667 --> 00:43:11,250
-Wonderful Wino Radio.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1000
00:43:11,334 --> 00:43:12,959
GEORGE: ♪ Wonderful Wino... ♪
1001
00:43:13,042 --> 00:43:15,167
PROTESTER:
The way of life they're trying
to condition us to
1002
00:43:15,250 --> 00:43:16,834
is a way of life
that we don't want.
1003
00:43:16,918 --> 00:43:18,167
We're creating
a new way of life.
1004
00:43:18,250 --> 00:43:19,834
GEORGE:
It's a folk protest song.
1005
00:43:19,918 --> 00:43:22,876
It's sweeping the nation.
"Don't Want No War."
1006
00:43:23,751 --> 00:43:25,876
(MIMICS BANJO STRUMMING)
1007
00:43:25,959 --> 00:43:27,167
♪ Don't want no war ♪
1008
00:43:27,250 --> 00:43:29,751
MUHAMMAD ALI: There's one hell
of a lot of difference
1009
00:43:29,834 --> 00:43:33,751
in fighting in the ring
and going to war in Vietnam.
1010
00:43:33,834 --> 00:43:36,959
My intention is to box,
to win a clean fight.
1011
00:43:37,042 --> 00:43:41,834
But in war, the intention
is to kill, kill, kill, kill,
1012
00:43:41,918 --> 00:43:43,834
and continue
killing innocent people.
1013
00:43:43,918 --> 00:43:45,000
-That's what...
-(CROWD CHEERING)
1014
00:43:45,083 --> 00:43:48,167
Dr. Martin Luther King
has been shot to death
1015
00:43:48,250 --> 00:43:50,334
-in Memphis, Tennessee.
-Senator Robert F. Kennedy,
1016
00:43:50,417 --> 00:43:53,626
who won the California primary
last night when he was shot.
1017
00:43:53,709 --> 00:43:56,042
-(GUNSHOT)
-GEORGE: Tonight's forecast,
1018
00:43:56,375 --> 00:43:57,542
dark.
1019
00:43:57,626 --> 00:43:59,542
-♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1020
00:43:59,626 --> 00:44:02,250
GEORGE: Continued dark tonight.
1021
00:44:02,334 --> 00:44:06,626
Oh, good evening, crisis fans.
It's time for the big preview.
1022
00:44:06,709 --> 00:44:10,000
Big stories coming out of wars
and conflicts around the world.
1023
00:44:10,083 --> 00:44:12,375
Here we go, three civil wars,
two brush fire wars,
1024
00:44:12,459 --> 00:44:14,375
nine wars of liberation,
two police actions,
1025
00:44:14,459 --> 00:44:16,500
16 revolutions,
eight border clashes,
1026
00:44:16,584 --> 00:44:18,876
21 terrorist attacks,
21 retaliatory raids,
1027
00:44:18,959 --> 00:44:21,584
400 guerilla operations,
two military confrontations,
1028
00:44:21,667 --> 00:44:24,000
six heightenings of tensions,
14 heated exchanges,
1029
00:44:24,083 --> 00:44:25,542
12 belligerent moves...
1030
00:44:25,626 --> 00:44:27,209
(SINGING TO TUNE OF
"12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS")
♪ Three powder kegs ♪
1031
00:44:27,292 --> 00:44:31,500
♪ Two tinderboxes
And an ultimatum ♪
1032
00:44:31,584 --> 00:44:33,709
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
1033
00:44:35,125 --> 00:44:37,459
The one thing that I always
liked about George's story
1034
00:44:37,542 --> 00:44:39,250
is that he was a guy
who was in search
1035
00:44:39,334 --> 00:44:40,792
of his comedic voice.
1036
00:44:40,876 --> 00:44:42,375
So, like, I remember
hearing the stories
1037
00:44:42,459 --> 00:44:45,209
about, like, when he first
starts out, he's like, you know,
1038
00:44:45,292 --> 00:44:47,584
comedy team, and then
hippie-dippy weatherman.
1039
00:44:47,667 --> 00:44:51,500
And at some point, he's, like,
watching the culture shift,
1040
00:44:51,584 --> 00:44:53,375
and he's seeing the people
he's performing for,
1041
00:44:53,459 --> 00:44:55,334
and he's in tuxedos, and a suit,
and a tie,
1042
00:44:55,417 --> 00:44:56,709
and he's like,
"I wanna be over there
1043
00:44:56,792 --> 00:44:59,375
where the culture's shifting,
where things are happening."
1044
00:44:59,459 --> 00:45:01,542
The message that I got
from Carlin is, like,
1045
00:45:01,626 --> 00:45:02,667
how do you wanna be funny
1046
00:45:02,751 --> 00:45:04,959
and who
do you wanna be funny for?
1047
00:45:05,042 --> 00:45:06,375
Good evening,
ladies and gentlemen,
1048
00:45:06,459 --> 00:45:08,042
I'm Oker Van Sander.
1049
00:45:08,125 --> 00:45:10,209
Because of the unusual number
of people
1050
00:45:10,292 --> 00:45:12,250
running for the presidency
this year...
1051
00:45:12,334 --> 00:45:13,959
PATRICK: He talked me
into going on
1052
00:45:14,042 --> 00:45:16,417
the fucking Ed Sullivan Show
with him.
1053
00:45:16,959 --> 00:45:18,417
Back in that year
1054
00:45:18,500 --> 00:45:21,584
when all the guys were running
for the Democratic thing.
1055
00:45:21,667 --> 00:45:24,250
Pat Paulson was running,
the Smothers bro--
1056
00:45:24,334 --> 00:45:26,626
I mean, every motherfucker
in the U.S.
1057
00:45:26,709 --> 00:45:28,417
was running for pres.
1058
00:45:28,500 --> 00:45:31,250
So, we smoke a whole lot
of fucking dope, man.
1059
00:45:31,334 --> 00:45:33,751
And he came in
as Carl K. Copout.
1060
00:45:33,834 --> 00:45:35,000
PATRICK: Councilman,
1061
00:45:35,083 --> 00:45:37,417
do you think we can solve
the problems of the cities?
1062
00:45:37,500 --> 00:45:38,584
You and me?
1063
00:45:38,667 --> 00:45:41,209
PATRICK: No, Councilman,
the people in the country.
1064
00:45:41,292 --> 00:45:42,584
Oh, well,
the people in the country
1065
00:45:42,667 --> 00:45:44,250
can't solve the problems
in the cities.
1066
00:45:44,334 --> 00:45:46,083
If the people from the country
would stop moving
1067
00:45:46,167 --> 00:45:48,417
to the city,
that would solve the problem.
1068
00:45:48,500 --> 00:45:50,834
But that's the kind of balls
this guy had.
1069
00:45:50,918 --> 00:45:53,459
He'd bring a fucking
Pontiac salesman up
1070
00:45:53,542 --> 00:45:55,751
to do The Ed Sullivan Show
with you.
1071
00:45:55,834 --> 00:45:57,959
Do you have an opinion
on censorship?
1072
00:45:58,042 --> 00:45:59,375
Anyone who's against censorship
1073
00:45:59,459 --> 00:46:02,000
should be silenced
once and for all.
1074
00:46:02,083 --> 00:46:04,792
-Furthermore, I...
-(CUCKOO CALL WHISTLING)
1075
00:46:04,876 --> 00:46:05,918
...the way I feel about it.
1076
00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:07,167
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-PATRICK: Councilman,
1077
00:46:07,250 --> 00:46:09,292
what do you think
are the most important issues
1078
00:46:09,375 --> 00:46:10,334
this election year?
1079
00:46:10,417 --> 00:46:11,834
Well,
there's no question about it.
1080
00:46:11,918 --> 00:46:14,083
The two most important issues
1081
00:46:14,167 --> 00:46:17,209
are the war in the streets
and the crime in Vietnam.
1082
00:46:17,292 --> 00:46:19,459
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, APPLAUDING)
-PATRICK: You mean the...
1083
00:46:21,542 --> 00:46:23,334
That's what I mean,
the war in the streets
1084
00:46:23,417 --> 00:46:25,042
and the crime in Vietnam.
1085
00:46:26,959 --> 00:46:28,667
♪ (PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
1086
00:46:28,751 --> 00:46:32,083
I remember
being very constricted.
1087
00:46:32,167 --> 00:46:34,751
The fact
that I intellectually knew
1088
00:46:34,834 --> 00:46:37,334
there was an anal,
uptight world out there,
1089
00:46:37,417 --> 00:46:39,292
and I didn't feel like
I was part of it,
1090
00:46:39,375 --> 00:46:40,417
didn't erase the fact
1091
00:46:40,500 --> 00:46:43,709
that I was a living,
breathing example of it.
1092
00:46:43,792 --> 00:46:46,000
Hi, George Carlin,
for Ozark Airlines.
1093
00:46:46,083 --> 00:46:48,167
Let's take a closer look
at Ozark.
1094
00:46:48,250 --> 00:46:50,125
One of the tricks
I learned as a child
1095
00:46:50,209 --> 00:46:53,876
was to deny my feelings.
It saved my life probably.
1096
00:46:53,959 --> 00:46:56,167
To work with my left brain,
think my way through things,
1097
00:46:56,250 --> 00:46:57,667
push the feelings down.
1098
00:46:57,751 --> 00:47:01,459
But I was a traitor,
and I was living a real lie
1099
00:47:01,542 --> 00:47:06,500
because I wanted to say
so many different things.
1100
00:47:06,584 --> 00:47:10,209
What happened that changed
everything was acid.
1101
00:47:12,250 --> 00:47:15,292
KELLY: One day, he dropped acid.
1102
00:47:15,375 --> 00:47:20,083
We go into the bedroom, and he
was taking pictures of himself.
1103
00:47:20,167 --> 00:47:23,083
And he had smashed his fist
into them to the point
1104
00:47:23,167 --> 00:47:25,083
where he had made
his hands bleed,
1105
00:47:25,167 --> 00:47:26,584
and there was blood everywhere,
1106
00:47:26,667 --> 00:47:29,000
and he's crying.
And I don't think
1107
00:47:29,083 --> 00:47:32,500
I'd ever seen my dad cry
until that moment.
1108
00:47:32,584 --> 00:47:35,626
We sat on him for, like,
45 minutes
1109
00:47:35,709 --> 00:47:41,167
until he finally fell asleep.
Really, very, very scary.
1110
00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:47,459
I think he was having
a real battle within himself.
1111
00:47:47,542 --> 00:47:48,751
ANNOUNCER:
Ladies and gentlemen...
1112
00:47:48,834 --> 00:47:50,626
KELLY:
Which George is gonna win?
1113
00:47:50,709 --> 00:47:53,876
...the hippie-dippy weatherman,
George Carlin.
1114
00:47:53,959 --> 00:47:55,751
BETTE MIDLER:
It was Lake Geneva, Wisconsin,
1115
00:47:55,834 --> 00:47:57,125
and it was Squaresville.
1116
00:47:57,209 --> 00:47:59,792
I was George's opening act.
1117
00:47:59,876 --> 00:48:01,125
And that night, he decided
1118
00:48:01,209 --> 00:48:02,709
he was gonna try out
some new material.
1119
00:48:02,792 --> 00:48:05,250
I guess he had been
working up to this.
1120
00:48:05,334 --> 00:48:09,000
Uh, that he didn't wanna be
that George Carlin anymore.
1121
00:48:09,083 --> 00:48:10,459
He wanted
to be a different George Carlin.
1122
00:48:10,542 --> 00:48:12,959
GEORGE: I see Mohammed Ali
is fighting again.
1123
00:48:13,042 --> 00:48:13,959
That's kind of nice.
1124
00:48:14,042 --> 00:48:15,334
They really screwed him
out of his job
1125
00:48:15,417 --> 00:48:16,417
for three years, you know?
1126
00:48:16,500 --> 00:48:17,834
Well, the people who...
1127
00:48:17,918 --> 00:48:19,792
(CHUCKLES)
...were in the audience,
1128
00:48:19,876 --> 00:48:21,792
I guess, they didn't think
that was so funny.
1129
00:48:21,876 --> 00:48:23,125
GEORGE:
Sure, it was a spiteful move.
1130
00:48:23,209 --> 00:48:25,667
All because he didn't wanna go
to Vietnam, right?
1131
00:48:25,751 --> 00:48:28,250
They took such offense
that they started walking out.
1132
00:48:28,334 --> 00:48:29,751
And they started walking out
in droves.
1133
00:48:29,834 --> 00:48:30,959
I'd never seen anything like it.
1134
00:48:31,042 --> 00:48:32,959
GEORGE: There's a lot
of sexual connotation, too,
1135
00:48:33,042 --> 00:48:34,292
with Vietnam.
Do you notice that?
1136
00:48:34,375 --> 00:48:35,709
Always talking
about pulling out.
1137
00:48:35,792 --> 00:48:37,834
They were yelling things like,
"You've never been shot at.
1138
00:48:37,918 --> 00:48:39,083
How do you know anything
about Vietnam?"
1139
00:48:39,167 --> 00:48:41,167
And then they were asking
for my room number.
1140
00:48:41,250 --> 00:48:43,500
The hotel had to send me
a telegram
1141
00:48:43,584 --> 00:48:45,792
saying, "We cannot guarantee
your safety."
1142
00:48:45,876 --> 00:48:47,334
"We suggest you leave."
1143
00:48:48,542 --> 00:48:51,125
BETTE: It felt like
a leap into the unknown.
1144
00:48:51,209 --> 00:48:53,334
For the whole experience
of being with him.
1145
00:48:53,417 --> 00:48:55,500
Seeing someone do that.
1146
00:48:55,584 --> 00:48:58,667
Seeing someone decide,
and go for it.
1147
00:48:58,751 --> 00:49:01,250
It was life-altering for me.
1148
00:49:01,334 --> 00:49:03,209
FLIGHT DIRECTOR: Ten, nine,
1149
00:49:03,292 --> 00:49:05,626
-ignition sequence start...
-ANNOUNCER: Good morning,
ladies and gentlemen.
1150
00:49:05,709 --> 00:49:08,542
Frank Simmons presents
The Supremes.
1151
00:49:08,626 --> 00:49:10,250
-FLIGHT DIRECTOR: Three...
-ANNOUNCER: Featuring the humor
1152
00:49:10,334 --> 00:49:11,834
-of George Carlin.
-...two, one.
1153
00:49:11,918 --> 00:49:15,250
-(SPACE SHUTTLE ENGINES ROARING)
-(GEORGE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
1154
00:49:15,334 --> 00:49:16,542
Frontier Hotel.
1155
00:49:17,667 --> 00:49:20,083
Had a contract there,
a three-year contract.
1156
00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:23,709
And it was 12,500 dollars
a week.
1157
00:49:23,792 --> 00:49:25,709
Sure, it's nice
and it never hurt you,
1158
00:49:25,792 --> 00:49:27,459
-but that other shit... Man!
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1159
00:49:27,542 --> 00:49:28,834
GEORGE:
And I used the word "shit."
1160
00:49:28,918 --> 00:49:29,876
I don't usually say shit.
1161
00:49:29,959 --> 00:49:31,292
I smoke it,
but I don't usually say it.
1162
00:49:31,375 --> 00:49:33,042
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-GEORGE: They fired me for that.
1163
00:49:33,125 --> 00:49:34,375
I don't mind saying it.
Shit, shit.
1164
00:49:34,459 --> 00:49:35,667
You know, it's not a bad word.
1165
00:49:35,751 --> 00:49:37,375
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1166
00:49:40,042 --> 00:49:42,584
GEORGE: And I thought,
"This is it, man."
1167
00:49:43,876 --> 00:49:45,000
And I was free.
1168
00:49:45,083 --> 00:49:46,209
That's the way to be free, man.
1169
00:49:46,292 --> 00:49:47,667
-Let it flow...
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1170
00:49:47,751 --> 00:49:49,792
NEIL ARMSTRONG: Okay, I'm
going to step off the LEM now.
1171
00:49:52,500 --> 00:49:55,292
My wife and I had a home
in escrow,
1172
00:49:55,375 --> 00:49:58,083
and we wanted to have
our own home.
1173
00:49:58,167 --> 00:49:59,918
And I went to her, you know?
And I said,
1174
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:02,250
"We got a problem, Brenda.
1175
00:50:02,334 --> 00:50:04,000
I got fired, and this, and that,
and everything."
1176
00:50:04,083 --> 00:50:05,500
I said,
"I got to go to the colleges."
1177
00:50:05,584 --> 00:50:07,542
I said, "I belong
at the college concerts.
1178
00:50:07,626 --> 00:50:09,751
I belong with people
who are open
1179
00:50:09,834 --> 00:50:12,167
and will let me be myself
and experiment."
1180
00:50:12,250 --> 00:50:13,751
And she said,
1181
00:50:13,834 --> 00:50:15,709
"I'll make your press kit
for you."
1182
00:50:16,667 --> 00:50:19,250
I, um, got to check what time...
1183
00:50:19,334 --> 00:50:22,792
I got fired in Las Vegas
for saying "shit."
1184
00:50:22,876 --> 00:50:23,918
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1185
00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:25,542
GEORGE: In a town
where the big game
1186
00:50:25,626 --> 00:50:26,792
is called crap.
1187
00:50:28,709 --> 00:50:29,792
It's not fair, you know?
1188
00:50:29,876 --> 00:50:31,375
"There were guys in the casinos
saying, "Oh, shit.
1189
00:50:31,459 --> 00:50:33,792
I crapped again.
Look at that. Oh, goddamn."
1190
00:50:33,876 --> 00:50:35,417
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1191
00:50:35,500 --> 00:50:37,334
GEORGE: Give those guys
free drinks, man.
1192
00:50:39,417 --> 00:50:40,500
Fired me.
1193
00:50:41,584 --> 00:50:43,375
-Shit.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1194
00:50:43,459 --> 00:50:45,167
GEORGE: See, the direction
I'm kind of going
1195
00:50:45,250 --> 00:50:47,834
in letting both my personal
and... (BLOWING RASPBERRY)
1196
00:50:47,918 --> 00:50:51,751
...professional... my work, man.
Be both my life and my work
1197
00:50:51,834 --> 00:50:54,459
are going in a direction of just
being more natural, you know?
1198
00:50:54,542 --> 00:50:55,792
PATTON OSWALT:
Carlin's transformation
1199
00:50:55,876 --> 00:50:56,959
wasn't a transformation.
1200
00:50:57,042 --> 00:50:58,584
HOST: Mystery challenger,
will you enter
1201
00:50:58,667 --> 00:51:00,626
and sign in, please.
1202
00:51:00,709 --> 00:51:02,125
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
1203
00:51:02,209 --> 00:51:05,125
PATTON: If anything,
the Carlin that was on stage
1204
00:51:05,209 --> 00:51:07,209
in the tux and the clean-shaven
1205
00:51:07,292 --> 00:51:09,250
was a persona that he had put on
1206
00:51:09,334 --> 00:51:11,959
because that is what you did
in showbiz at the time.
1207
00:51:12,042 --> 00:51:15,500
It's like he de-transformed
into who he actually was.
1208
00:51:16,292 --> 00:51:17,959
And that's that great moment
1209
00:51:18,042 --> 00:51:19,959
that every comedian
wants to get to.
1210
00:51:20,042 --> 00:51:22,751
You know, it took me a long time
to get to it, where the person
1211
00:51:22,834 --> 00:51:25,876
that you are offstage
is who you are onstage.
1212
00:51:28,876 --> 00:51:31,500
I understand you've got
a new image now, George,
1213
00:51:31,584 --> 00:51:33,000
besides a new beard.
1214
00:51:33,083 --> 00:51:34,667
Well, it comes out
as a new image.
1215
00:51:34,751 --> 00:51:36,709
Actually, I just have kind
of relaxed a little bit.
1216
00:51:36,792 --> 00:51:42,000
I found myself kind of caught up
in the suit and tie
1217
00:51:42,083 --> 00:51:43,417
establishment comedian thing,
1218
00:51:43,500 --> 00:51:46,000
and I really didn't enjoy it
as much as I thought I would.
1219
00:51:46,083 --> 00:51:47,292
So I wanted to get back
to the earth,
1220
00:51:47,375 --> 00:51:49,125
as it were, you know,
I'm just going to coffee houses
1221
00:51:49,209 --> 00:51:51,417
and colleges now.
And trying to be myself,
1222
00:51:51,500 --> 00:51:53,167
and instead of doing
little bits, and hunks,
1223
00:51:53,250 --> 00:51:55,250
and characters,
I'm just doing a monologue,
1224
00:51:55,334 --> 00:51:57,584
and talking about me
and the world, and what I see.
1225
00:51:57,667 --> 00:51:59,834
And it's more fun for me.
I feel a lot looser.
1226
00:52:01,542 --> 00:52:02,709
HOST:
What's with the beard?
1227
00:52:02,792 --> 00:52:04,250
GEORGE: I don't know.
I just felt like having one.
1228
00:52:04,334 --> 00:52:06,083
I wanted to look
a little different
1229
00:52:06,167 --> 00:52:08,209
from the people that voted
for Nixon, you know? And I--
1230
00:52:08,292 --> 00:52:09,459
(GUEST LAUGHING)
1231
00:52:09,542 --> 00:52:10,959
GEORGE: You can't mistake me
for a Nixon voter now,
1232
00:52:11,042 --> 00:52:12,876
-I'll tell you that, right?
-HOST: Mm-mm.
1233
00:52:12,959 --> 00:52:15,709
I like to get in on the subjects
that are really happening,
1234
00:52:15,792 --> 00:52:17,042
I mean,
things that are determining
1235
00:52:17,125 --> 00:52:18,751
whether we're gonna live
or die, those are important.
1236
00:52:18,834 --> 00:52:20,667
I used to be this guy.
I liked him, you know?
1237
00:52:20,751 --> 00:52:22,042
He was really good,
he was funny,
1238
00:52:22,125 --> 00:52:24,209
I had a lot of fun with him,
he did some nice things for me.
1239
00:52:24,292 --> 00:52:26,375
But there was nothing
behind him, you know?
1240
00:52:26,459 --> 00:52:28,167
He was just kind
of just superficial.
1241
00:52:28,250 --> 00:52:29,834
I was always doing ladies
on quiz shows,
1242
00:52:29,918 --> 00:52:30,876
or newsmen, or disc jockeys,
1243
00:52:30,959 --> 00:52:32,334
and I was hiding
behind these things.
1244
00:52:32,417 --> 00:52:35,584
I didn't know it consciously,
but television rewarded that.
1245
00:52:35,667 --> 00:52:38,000
See, that's one facet
of my comedy is I am a mimic.
1246
00:52:38,083 --> 00:52:39,334
Was there a lot of pressure,
1247
00:52:39,417 --> 00:52:41,417
I mean,
just to become yourself, and...
1248
00:52:41,500 --> 00:52:44,000
Oh. Well, I was ready for that.
That was one thing,
1249
00:52:44,083 --> 00:52:45,876
is I wasn't in my act anymore.
1250
00:52:45,959 --> 00:52:46,959
That was not--
1251
00:52:47,042 --> 00:52:48,334
The reason I went into this,
as anyone knows,
1252
00:52:48,417 --> 00:52:49,709
you go into this
as a self-expression.
1253
00:52:49,792 --> 00:52:51,209
-Of course.
-And once you're not doing that,
1254
00:52:51,292 --> 00:52:52,709
forget it.
So, I discovered that.
1255
00:52:52,792 --> 00:52:54,375
I was free then,
I was free to change.
1256
00:52:54,459 --> 00:52:56,292
"How long ago
did you get started on drugs?"
1257
00:52:56,375 --> 00:53:00,792
-"I forgot, man."
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1258
00:53:00,876 --> 00:53:03,000
That's why even though
marijuana's going to make it,
1259
00:53:03,083 --> 00:53:04,792
it's having trouble
being decriminalized
1260
00:53:04,876 --> 00:53:06,083
because a lot of guys
can't remember
1261
00:53:06,167 --> 00:53:07,959
where they left the petitions,
you know? It's a...
1262
00:53:08,042 --> 00:53:10,834
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-Hey, man.
1263
00:53:10,918 --> 00:53:15,709
When he got fired in Las Vegas,
he was making 250,000 a year.
1264
00:53:15,792 --> 00:53:18,250
First year with me,
he made 12,000 dollars.
1265
00:53:18,334 --> 00:53:21,334
We played the Hungry Eye,
we played the Troubadour,
1266
00:53:21,417 --> 00:53:23,709
all the small little
hippie clubs.
1267
00:53:23,792 --> 00:53:25,834
Mary Jane,
nobody ever says Mary Jane.
1268
00:53:25,918 --> 00:53:27,375
It's in all the dictionaries
for pot.
1269
00:53:27,459 --> 00:53:29,209
No one ever says it.
"Hey, got any Mary Jane?"
1270
00:53:29,292 --> 00:53:31,042
(INHALES) "I don't know.
Does it get you high?"
1271
00:53:31,125 --> 00:53:32,918
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1272
00:53:33,000 --> 00:53:35,209
JEFF WALD:
You know, he liked money,
he liked spending it,
1273
00:53:35,292 --> 00:53:38,417
but the money was not
the be everything to him.
1274
00:53:38,500 --> 00:53:39,751
His work was, you know?
1275
00:53:39,834 --> 00:53:43,792
His writing, his ability
to put his ideas out there.
1276
00:53:43,876 --> 00:53:45,500
GEORGE: Hey, thank you, all.
Remember, it takes two fingers
1277
00:53:45,584 --> 00:53:46,876
to make the peace sign
just like it takes
1278
00:53:46,959 --> 00:53:48,542
two people to make love.
When you go like this,
1279
00:53:48,626 --> 00:53:49,626
you're jerking off. Goodnight.
1280
00:53:49,709 --> 00:53:51,083
See you later, gang.
Thank you so much.
1281
00:53:51,167 --> 00:53:55,292
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, APPLAUDING)
1282
00:53:56,209 --> 00:53:57,334
And you're not asking me
this question,
1283
00:53:57,417 --> 00:53:58,584
but I'm gonna jump to it
right now,
1284
00:53:58,667 --> 00:54:01,125
is that he's the Beatles
of comedy.
1285
00:54:01,209 --> 00:54:02,417
At a certain point
in his career,
1286
00:54:02,500 --> 00:54:04,918
there's this huge shift.
You know, he's doing
1287
00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:06,876
the comedic version
of "Love Me Do"
1288
00:54:06,959 --> 00:54:08,626
for the first part
of his career,
1289
00:54:08,709 --> 00:54:09,667
and then suddenly,
1290
00:54:09,751 --> 00:54:11,876
he fucking puts out
the comedic White Album.
1291
00:54:11,959 --> 00:54:14,250
Like, you know,
he does this huge turn.
1292
00:54:14,334 --> 00:54:17,125
He has this almost
spiritual transformation.
1293
00:54:17,209 --> 00:54:19,167
Being a class clown,
I was a good imitator.
1294
00:54:19,250 --> 00:54:21,167
I had a good ear,
and I could imitate. And, uh,
1295
00:54:21,250 --> 00:54:22,250
I imitated Father Byrne...
1296
00:54:22,334 --> 00:54:23,334
STEPHEN COLBERT:
And I'm a Catholic.
1297
00:54:23,417 --> 00:54:24,876
...because he was the celebrant
1298
00:54:24,959 --> 00:54:26,834
-of the nine o'clock mass.
-STEPHEN: And I'm still
a Catholic.
1299
00:54:26,918 --> 00:54:30,042
And to have Carlin
making jokes about prayer,
1300
00:54:30,125 --> 00:54:31,167
it was almost like
the first time
1301
00:54:31,250 --> 00:54:32,417
I ever went snorkeling. I went,
1302
00:54:32,500 --> 00:54:34,542
"Wait, there's a whole
other world down here
1303
00:54:34,626 --> 00:54:36,584
that I didn't know about?"
That was like,
1304
00:54:36,667 --> 00:54:38,292
Carlin gave me
the comedy snorkel.
1305
00:54:38,375 --> 00:54:40,959
And I went, "Oh, I can look
at my own faith this way, too?"
1306
00:54:41,042 --> 00:54:42,417
And that's something
I didn't have
1307
00:54:42,500 --> 00:54:43,584
before listening to him.
1308
00:54:43,667 --> 00:54:44,792
'Cause that's what they
taught us,
1309
00:54:44,876 --> 00:54:46,584
that it was what was
in your mind that counted,
1310
00:54:46,667 --> 00:54:48,334
what you made up,
your intentions,
1311
00:54:48,417 --> 00:54:49,500
that's what He
will judge you by.
1312
00:54:49,584 --> 00:54:52,000
A mortal sin
had to be a grievous offense,
1313
00:54:52,083 --> 00:54:55,667
sufficient reflection,
and full consent of the will.
1314
00:54:55,751 --> 00:54:59,334
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-You had to wanna.
1315
00:54:59,417 --> 00:55:03,250
In fact, "wanna" was a sin
all by itself, man.
1316
00:55:03,334 --> 00:55:05,834
"Thou shalt not wanna."
1317
00:55:05,918 --> 00:55:07,375
If you woke up in the morning,
and you said,
1318
00:55:07,459 --> 00:55:10,250
"I'm going downtown
and commit me a mortal sin."
1319
00:55:10,334 --> 00:55:12,667
Save your carfare,
you did it already, man.
1320
00:55:12,751 --> 00:55:13,876
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1321
00:55:13,959 --> 00:55:16,876
It's like the Justice Department
gets Black Panthers
1322
00:55:16,959 --> 00:55:18,876
and people on the Left, man,
for conspiracy.
1323
00:55:18,959 --> 00:55:20,334
"Did they do it?"
"No, but they wanted to.
1324
00:55:20,417 --> 00:55:22,042
-Get them in here." Yeah.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1325
00:55:22,125 --> 00:55:24,584
Conspiracy. "I wanted to."
1326
00:55:24,667 --> 00:55:27,626
Birth control pills are still
on prescription, right?
1327
00:55:27,709 --> 00:55:30,500
You still need a note
to get laid. (EXHALES)
1328
00:55:30,584 --> 00:55:33,292
Ladies must feel silly going in,
"Here's my note."
1329
00:55:33,375 --> 00:55:36,500
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1330
00:55:36,584 --> 00:55:40,125
GEORGE: "Oh, that's what
you're doing at home, eh?"
1331
00:55:40,209 --> 00:55:43,459
Well, we're keeping a record
of it here in the store."
1332
00:55:45,167 --> 00:55:46,500
Well, someday
birth control pills
1333
00:55:46,584 --> 00:55:48,042
will come off prescription.
1334
00:55:48,125 --> 00:55:51,250
They'll have those catchy names
that patent medicines have.
1335
00:55:51,334 --> 00:55:53,751
-"Preg-not."
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1336
00:55:53,834 --> 00:55:56,417
GEORGE:
Doctors prefer "Embry-no."
1337
00:55:56,500 --> 00:55:58,083
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1338
00:55:58,167 --> 00:56:00,959
GEORGE: Something earthy
and crude, "Mom Bomb."
1339
00:56:01,042 --> 00:56:02,542
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1340
00:56:02,626 --> 00:56:06,083
GEORGE: Here's a real
man's product. "Inconceivable."
1341
00:56:06,167 --> 00:56:08,042
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1342
00:56:08,125 --> 00:56:10,209
FAN 1: Dear George,
I'm really excited that
1343
00:56:10,292 --> 00:56:13,083
a freak is finally overcoming
the peculiar hassles...
1344
00:56:14,959 --> 00:56:17,125
FAN 2: Dear George Carlin...
1345
00:56:19,167 --> 00:56:20,918
FAN 3: When you were straight...
1346
00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:24,834
FAN 4: In my opinion,
what you do and...
1347
00:56:30,375 --> 00:56:34,083
FAN 5: Dear Mister Carlin...
1348
00:56:39,042 --> 00:56:40,876
FAN 6: Truly tell it like it is.
1349
00:56:44,500 --> 00:56:46,417
We're very self-centered.
If we put the statue of Jesus
1350
00:56:46,500 --> 00:56:47,918
on the dashboard,
we got him facing us
1351
00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:50,042
instead of looking
for traffic where he should be.
1352
00:56:50,125 --> 00:56:51,417
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1353
00:56:51,500 --> 00:56:53,125
JON STEWART: What I always
found amazing about Carlin
1354
00:56:53,209 --> 00:56:56,751
was he would treat farting
1355
00:56:56,834 --> 00:57:03,459
with the same level of scrutiny,
and language, and deconstruction
1356
00:57:03,542 --> 00:57:06,834
as he would the pope,
1357
00:57:06,918 --> 00:57:10,000
the Catholic Church hierarchy,
the war machine.
1358
00:57:10,083 --> 00:57:12,459
He's a good guy. We always say,
"He's like you and me."
1359
00:57:12,542 --> 00:57:14,167
We always say-- A lot of
religions have taught us that.
1360
00:57:14,250 --> 00:57:15,834
Love God, love your neighbor,
love yourself,
1361
00:57:15,918 --> 00:57:17,459
'cause you're all
the same person.
1362
00:57:17,542 --> 00:57:20,792
And if God is like us,
big trouble, gang.
1363
00:57:20,876 --> 00:57:22,417
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1364
00:57:22,500 --> 00:57:23,626
JON: And for a kid...
1365
00:57:23,709 --> 00:57:25,292
-GEORGE: Farting is, uh...
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1366
00:57:25,375 --> 00:57:28,292
JON: ...I didn't understand
that in any way.
1367
00:57:28,375 --> 00:57:30,083
GEORGE: Kids like it
'cause it's kinda like
1368
00:57:30,167 --> 00:57:31,876
shit without the mess, you know?
1369
00:57:31,959 --> 00:57:33,292
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1370
00:57:33,375 --> 00:57:38,292
But side-cheek-lift-up-fart?
(BLOW KISS) Man!
1371
00:57:38,375 --> 00:57:40,292
GEORGE: Nixon is a perfect
symbol for this country.
1372
00:57:40,375 --> 00:57:42,584
He looks like he hasn't taken
a shit in a month.
1373
00:57:42,667 --> 00:57:45,959
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1374
00:57:46,042 --> 00:57:48,375
Hey, they're letting Ali fight.
He happened to lose,
1375
00:57:48,459 --> 00:57:50,375
but at least they're letting him
work again, right?
1376
00:57:50,459 --> 00:57:52,667
For three years, the cat
couldn't work, Muhammad Ali.
1377
00:57:52,751 --> 00:57:54,209
And, of course,
he had an unusual job,
1378
00:57:54,292 --> 00:57:56,584
-beating people up, you know?
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1379
00:57:56,667 --> 00:57:58,792
GEORGE:
But the government wanted him
to change jobs.
1380
00:57:58,876 --> 00:58:00,167
The government
wanted him to kill people.
1381
00:58:00,250 --> 00:58:01,334
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1382
00:58:01,417 --> 00:58:03,417
And he said, "No,
that's where I draw the line."
1383
00:58:03,500 --> 00:58:04,709
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1384
00:58:04,792 --> 00:58:07,000
"I'll beat them up, but I don't
want to kill them, you know?"
1385
00:58:07,083 --> 00:58:10,542
(APPLAUSE)
1386
00:58:10,626 --> 00:58:12,751
And the government got spiteful.
They said,
1387
00:58:12,834 --> 00:58:15,417
"Look, if you won't kill them,
we won't let you beat them up."
1388
00:58:15,500 --> 00:58:18,709
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1389
00:58:18,792 --> 00:58:21,125
Everyone remembers the reason
we're in Southeast Asia
1390
00:58:21,209 --> 00:58:23,792
is to free these people,
to bring them industry.
1391
00:58:23,876 --> 00:58:25,918
Isn't that roughly
our job everywhere?
1392
00:58:26,000 --> 00:58:28,209
We kind of free people
and whip industry on them
1393
00:58:28,292 --> 00:58:30,834
so that they can have all
the benefits of industry that...
1394
00:58:30,918 --> 00:58:32,918
(COUGHING)
...we have come to love.
1395
00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:36,167
(SINGING TO TUNE OF
"AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL")
♪ O beautiful for smoggy skies ♪
1396
00:58:36,250 --> 00:58:37,876
♪ Insecticided grain ♪
1397
00:58:37,959 --> 00:58:40,083
♪ For strip-mined
Mountains' majesty ♪
1398
00:58:40,167 --> 00:58:41,667
♪ Above the asphalt plain ♪
1399
00:58:41,751 --> 00:58:46,042
♪ America, America
Man sheds his waste on thee ♪
1400
00:58:46,125 --> 00:58:49,167
♪ And hides the pines
With billboard signs ♪
1401
00:58:49,250 --> 00:58:51,876
♪ From sea to oily sea ♪
1402
00:58:51,959 --> 00:58:54,667
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDS)
1403
00:58:57,375 --> 00:58:59,667
Most people now know
that we're in kind of trouble.
1404
00:58:59,751 --> 00:59:02,542
We're in a kind of an emergency,
the planet, and the species
1405
00:59:02,626 --> 00:59:04,375
and the country
is in a kind of emergency,
1406
00:59:04,459 --> 00:59:06,834
and people are responding to it
a little bit better, I think.
1407
00:59:06,918 --> 00:59:09,083
But we have to-- You have
to keep screaming, I think.
1408
00:59:09,167 --> 00:59:10,459
Are you optimistic?
1409
00:59:10,542 --> 00:59:13,042
I'm optimistic, but I wouldn't
take any comfort from that.
1410
00:59:13,125 --> 00:59:14,584
You know,
I like to be an optimist,
1411
00:59:14,667 --> 00:59:15,709
but I'd have to be pessimistic
1412
00:59:15,792 --> 00:59:17,584
by looking at the book,
you know?
1413
00:59:17,667 --> 00:59:19,709
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
1414
00:59:22,083 --> 00:59:23,918
GEORGE: (OVER RECORD PLAYER)
Shit's a nice word.
1415
00:59:24,000 --> 00:59:26,250
The middle class has never
really been into "shit,"
1416
00:59:26,334 --> 00:59:27,584
you know, as a word.
1417
00:59:27,667 --> 00:59:28,876
You'll hear it
around the kitchen
1418
00:59:28,959 --> 00:59:31,500
if someone drops a casserole,
you know, "Oh, shit!"
1419
00:59:31,584 --> 00:59:33,250
-(GROANING)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1420
00:59:33,334 --> 00:59:35,542
-(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
-KLIPH: Before 1969,
1421
00:59:35,626 --> 00:59:39,042
the United States had
what they called obscenity laws.
1422
00:59:39,125 --> 00:59:42,918
It was literally illegal
to "be obscene"
1423
00:59:43,000 --> 00:59:44,834
in any public forum,
1424
00:59:44,918 --> 00:59:47,626
and comedians
routinely got arrested.
1425
00:59:47,709 --> 00:59:48,918
GEORGE:
Sometimes they say "shoot."
1426
00:59:49,000 --> 00:59:50,959
KLIPH:
But obscenity laws were changing
1427
00:59:51,042 --> 00:59:53,375
all throughout the late '60s
and early '70s.
1428
00:59:53,459 --> 00:59:55,375
GEORGE:
"Shoot" is "shit" with two Os.
1429
00:59:55,459 --> 00:59:57,167
KLIPH: Little David Records
was founded
1430
00:59:57,250 --> 00:59:58,626
right at that same time
1431
00:59:58,709 --> 01:00:00,709
by another comedian
named Flip Wilson.
1432
01:00:00,792 --> 01:00:04,000
Yes. Here's George's new album
FM & AM.
1433
01:00:04,083 --> 01:00:07,334
And Flip Wilson's whole purpose
with this new label
1434
01:00:07,417 --> 01:00:10,876
was to hire comedians
to do their act, no censorship.
1435
01:00:10,959 --> 01:00:13,334
This was an opportunity
for George to feel freer
1436
01:00:13,417 --> 01:00:17,542
as an artist.
And for me to be a part of...
1437
01:00:17,626 --> 01:00:20,167
maybe in some way helping a guy
that I admire.
1438
01:00:20,250 --> 01:00:24,125
And this is all the material
that you at home suspected
1439
01:00:24,209 --> 01:00:27,125
that this guy with long hair
probably had in his heart,
1440
01:00:27,209 --> 01:00:30,250
but was not able to do
on network television.
1441
01:00:30,334 --> 01:00:33,792
Here it is on vinyl
with all those words.
1442
01:00:33,876 --> 01:00:35,667
GEORGE: (OVER RECORD PLAYER)
My job essentially is
1443
01:00:35,751 --> 01:00:38,292
-thinking up goofy shit.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1444
01:00:38,375 --> 01:00:39,709
GEORGE:
It comes right down to that.
1445
01:00:39,792 --> 01:00:41,542
I mean, you don't have time
all week.
1446
01:00:41,626 --> 01:00:42,751
So I think up the goofy shit,
1447
01:00:42,834 --> 01:00:44,667
and come on the weekend
to report it to you.
1448
01:00:44,751 --> 01:00:46,667
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-There was Class Clown,
1449
01:00:46,751 --> 01:00:49,250
and Occupation: Foole,
and AM & FM, and...
1450
01:00:49,334 --> 01:00:53,918
Those were huge. And I
recorded them onto cassette,
1451
01:00:54,000 --> 01:00:55,876
and I took it everywhere.
1452
01:00:55,959 --> 01:00:57,918
We went on vacation.
I took the tape.
1453
01:00:58,000 --> 01:01:00,542
And I started
memorizing the album.
1454
01:01:00,626 --> 01:01:02,918
So it was just embedded.
1455
01:01:03,000 --> 01:01:04,667
Well, first of all,
who doesn't want to hear
1456
01:01:04,751 --> 01:01:07,250
bad words when you're a kid?
That's the greatest.
1457
01:01:07,334 --> 01:01:09,459
You're already
on perfectly solid ground
1458
01:01:09,542 --> 01:01:11,751
if you're saying "fuck" in front
of a ten-year-old.
1459
01:01:11,834 --> 01:01:15,083
GEORGE: Class clown used to save
his best stuff for lunchtime
1460
01:01:15,167 --> 01:01:16,584
when you were drinking
your milk...
1461
01:01:16,667 --> 01:01:17,751
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1462
01:01:17,834 --> 01:01:19,709
ALEX WINTER: Class Clown
was an indoctrination,
1463
01:01:19,792 --> 01:01:21,042
you know, to get that album...
1464
01:01:21,125 --> 01:01:23,417
GEORGE: ...trying to make
the milk come out your nose.
1465
01:01:23,500 --> 01:01:24,792
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1466
01:01:24,876 --> 01:01:27,000
ALEX: He was cool, and funny,
and hip, but he kind of spoke
1467
01:01:27,083 --> 01:01:28,667
to issues in a way
that didn't feel
1468
01:01:28,751 --> 01:01:30,209
like eating your vegetables.
1469
01:01:30,292 --> 01:01:32,083
And that was what first
struck me about Carlin
1470
01:01:32,167 --> 01:01:34,876
when I was young, was that
he was funny, he was smart,
1471
01:01:34,959 --> 01:01:38,125
he was human, he was open,
he was opinionated,
1472
01:01:38,209 --> 01:01:39,876
he was curious,
1473
01:01:39,959 --> 01:01:42,918
he was political,
he was sexual, he was human.
1474
01:01:43,000 --> 01:01:44,876
And he was just so cool,
1475
01:01:44,959 --> 01:01:47,542
you know? He was way cooler
than everybody else.
1476
01:01:47,626 --> 01:01:51,709
He was just...
You felt connected to him.
1477
01:01:51,792 --> 01:01:53,375
You liked him.
1478
01:01:54,834 --> 01:01:57,918
JERRY SEINFELD: He personified
that thing that you see
1479
01:01:58,000 --> 01:02:00,125
"when you're young
and you go, "That's it.
1480
01:02:00,209 --> 01:02:03,375
That's the thing.
That's the thing to be."
1481
01:02:03,459 --> 01:02:06,751
And I wanted
to be just like him,
1482
01:02:06,834 --> 01:02:09,626
getting every word
in the right spot.
1483
01:02:09,709 --> 01:02:13,042
Because when he did it,
it thrilled me, you know?
1484
01:02:13,125 --> 01:02:17,000
And I wanted to do that.
I wanted that skill.
1485
01:02:17,083 --> 01:02:20,167
And I've spent my life
pursuing it.
1486
01:02:20,250 --> 01:02:22,125
Listen, last time
you were on the show,
1487
01:02:22,209 --> 01:02:24,584
we got on a subject,
and we ran out of time.
1488
01:02:24,667 --> 01:02:26,751
You were talking about words.
1489
01:02:26,834 --> 01:02:27,876
GEORGE: Those are my babies.
1490
01:02:27,959 --> 01:02:30,167
Just take a simple thing
like the word "alter."
1491
01:02:30,667 --> 01:02:31,542
Alter and change
1492
01:02:31,626 --> 01:02:32,834
are supposed to mean
the same thing.
1493
01:02:32,918 --> 01:02:35,334
You can alter your plans,
you can change your plans,
1494
01:02:35,417 --> 01:02:38,542
and you've done the same thing.
But if you alter your pants
1495
01:02:38,626 --> 01:02:42,250
-and you change your pants...
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1496
01:02:42,334 --> 01:02:44,876
GEORGE: Just want to share
a few words with you
1497
01:02:44,959 --> 01:02:46,167
that amuse me,
1498
01:02:46,250 --> 01:02:49,751
and combinations of words
like "occasional irregularity."
1499
01:02:49,834 --> 01:02:53,459
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-What other kind can there be?
1500
01:02:53,542 --> 01:02:54,584
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1501
01:02:54,667 --> 01:02:56,876
If it were frequent,
it would be regularity.
1502
01:02:56,959 --> 01:02:59,250
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1503
01:03:00,209 --> 01:03:03,209
We got things like jumbo shrimp.
1504
01:03:04,959 --> 01:03:07,500
I stare at that a long time
on the menu.
1505
01:03:08,542 --> 01:03:12,792
-Jumbo... shrimp.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1506
01:03:12,876 --> 01:03:17,042
"Jumbo shrimp." And he'd
get that really... (GRUNTS)
1507
01:03:17,125 --> 01:03:20,459
And he did all the way up
to the highs and the low.
1508
01:03:20,542 --> 01:03:22,709
And even
in that little punchline,
1509
01:03:22,792 --> 01:03:25,000
the ride that he took you on.
1510
01:03:25,083 --> 01:03:27,542
Is it a large shrimp
or is it a little jumbo?
1511
01:03:27,626 --> 01:03:29,584
BILL BURR: How interesting
just sonically...
1512
01:03:29,667 --> 01:03:31,000
Those words don't even
go together.
1513
01:03:31,083 --> 01:03:32,500
BILL: ...he was as a comedian.
1514
01:03:32,584 --> 01:03:33,959
It's like military intelligence.
1515
01:03:34,042 --> 01:03:35,709
How did they ever get
those two together?
1516
01:03:35,792 --> 01:03:36,876
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1517
01:03:36,959 --> 01:03:41,375
Been looking at that one
a long time. They got more.
1518
01:03:41,459 --> 01:03:45,167
BILL: The mastery that he had
of dynamics
1519
01:03:45,250 --> 01:03:47,167
in volume,
and where he had the mic,
1520
01:03:47,250 --> 01:03:50,000
and bringing his voice up,
and bringing it down,
1521
01:03:50,083 --> 01:03:52,292
he had an incredible
like broadcaster...
1522
01:03:52,375 --> 01:03:54,000
-We've met on the radio dial.
-...voice.
1523
01:03:54,083 --> 01:03:55,584
First of all, in the center
of the dial around...
1524
01:03:55,667 --> 01:03:57,792
BILL: When he would imitate
the sound of turning the dial.
1525
01:03:57,876 --> 01:03:58,918
(MIMICS FAST RADIO TUNING)
1526
01:03:59,000 --> 01:04:01,751
(MIMICS TUNING)
Do all of that stuff.
1527
01:04:01,834 --> 01:04:03,042
Eight hundred.
1528
01:04:03,125 --> 01:04:05,876
BILL:
Whatever he turned his focus to,
1529
01:04:05,959 --> 01:04:08,417
you were going at it
at light speed.
1530
01:04:08,500 --> 01:04:11,042
You have
in the center of that...
(MIMICS TUNING) ...dial.
1531
01:04:11,125 --> 01:04:13,250
And he just eviscerated it.
1532
01:04:13,334 --> 01:04:15,500
And then we get down lower
and lower,
1533
01:04:15,584 --> 01:04:20,042
-down to the hopelessness of 55.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1534
01:04:20,125 --> 01:04:22,209
Nowhere to go but up.
1535
01:04:22,292 --> 01:04:25,834
(MIMICKING RADIO TUNING)
Up... station... voices...
1536
01:04:25,918 --> 01:04:32,709
(MIMICS OVERLAPPING
RADIO CHATTER)
1537
01:04:32,792 --> 01:04:35,292
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, APPLAUDING)
1538
01:04:39,000 --> 01:04:41,584
INTERVIEWER: What kind of home
did you come from?
1539
01:04:41,667 --> 01:04:43,626
-GEORGE: Family?
-INTERVIEWER: Yeah.
Like your background.
1540
01:04:43,709 --> 01:04:44,959
GEORGE: No father in the home.
1541
01:04:45,042 --> 01:04:46,709
My mother raised
my brother and me
1542
01:04:46,792 --> 01:04:48,083
who was six years older than I.
1543
01:04:48,167 --> 01:04:49,959
PAUL REISER: So,
when I was in high school,
1544
01:04:50,042 --> 01:04:52,292
my older sister was in college
1545
01:04:52,375 --> 01:04:53,751
and had a radio show,
1546
01:04:53,834 --> 01:04:55,375
and somehow
had gotten to George,
1547
01:04:55,459 --> 01:04:58,125
and he agreed to be interviewed
for the radio show.
1548
01:04:58,209 --> 01:04:59,500
GEORGE: And so
I learned to be independent
1549
01:04:59,584 --> 01:05:02,334
in order to amuse myself.
And all those qualities
1550
01:05:02,417 --> 01:05:03,751
that have stuck
through all my life
1551
01:05:03,834 --> 01:05:05,834
were probably formed
by that necessity.
1552
01:05:05,918 --> 01:05:07,709
I remember opening the door
to that apartment
1553
01:05:07,792 --> 01:05:09,626
on the Lower East Side
of Manhattan.
1554
01:05:09,709 --> 01:05:12,000
And I remember hearing
the toilet flush. I went,
1555
01:05:12,083 --> 01:05:14,417
"George Carlin just peed
at my house.
1556
01:05:14,500 --> 01:05:15,959
I'm a-- What a lucky guy."
1557
01:05:16,042 --> 01:05:18,083
INTERVIEWER: There's nothing
that you'd rather be doing now?
1558
01:05:18,167 --> 01:05:19,417
GEORGE: Absolutely nothing.
1559
01:05:19,500 --> 01:05:24,125
My job is to think up amusing,
ironic, and absurd things,
1560
01:05:24,209 --> 01:05:26,459
which I have fun thinking up.
1561
01:05:26,542 --> 01:05:28,667
And then because
I'm a word freak and love that,
1562
01:05:28,751 --> 01:05:32,000
I get a chance to transform them
into the best possible words.
1563
01:05:32,083 --> 01:05:34,751
And then because I'm a hambone,
I get to stand up
1564
01:05:34,834 --> 01:05:36,584
and try to present them.
1565
01:05:36,667 --> 01:05:38,500
And what more could you ask for
1566
01:05:38,584 --> 01:05:42,667
than to share fun and funniness
with people, you know?
1567
01:05:42,751 --> 01:05:45,042
But it's growth, you know?
It's always growth.
1568
01:05:45,125 --> 01:05:48,167
And all I ever wanna know
is that I'm getting better,
1569
01:05:48,250 --> 01:05:50,167
that I'm doing things better,
thinking of more lines,
1570
01:05:50,250 --> 01:05:51,959
cutting and editing better.
1571
01:05:52,042 --> 01:05:54,751
Move upward, man,
you move onward.
1572
01:05:54,834 --> 01:05:56,500
REISER:
Now, he's ready to leave.
1573
01:05:56,584 --> 01:05:58,459
My father says,
"Where are you going?"
1574
01:05:58,542 --> 01:06:01,417
He says, "I got to go Midtown."
"Why?"
1575
01:06:01,500 --> 01:06:03,834
He says,
"I got to buy a camera."
1576
01:06:03,918 --> 01:06:06,626
My father says,
"Don't go up there.
1577
01:06:06,709 --> 01:06:09,375
I got a place downtown.
I'll take you to these guys.
1578
01:06:09,459 --> 01:06:11,542
Murray and Saul,
you'll get the best..."
1579
01:06:11,626 --> 01:06:14,209
Takes him in the car.
Now, we're in my family's car.
1580
01:06:14,292 --> 01:06:15,209
We're all in the car.
1581
01:06:15,292 --> 01:06:17,125
George is in the seat
next to my father.
1582
01:06:17,209 --> 01:06:19,918
My father is driving.
A year later,
1583
01:06:20,000 --> 01:06:21,876
my sister does
a follow-up interview.
1584
01:06:21,959 --> 01:06:23,626
Poor guy, he does a follow-up.
1585
01:06:23,709 --> 01:06:25,167
It's almost like
that classic joke.
1586
01:06:25,250 --> 01:06:26,751
"I don't know
if you remember us."
1587
01:06:26,834 --> 01:06:29,209
And he says,
"Oh, I absolutely..."
1588
01:06:29,292 --> 01:06:30,459
That was
the strangest interview.
1589
01:06:30,542 --> 01:06:32,292
All I know is
I was on my way uptown
1590
01:06:32,375 --> 01:06:33,792
to score some coke...
1591
01:06:34,834 --> 01:06:36,250
"and next thing,
I'm buying a camera."
1592
01:06:40,751 --> 01:06:42,500
GEORGE: It's true that along
with all the other shit
1593
01:06:42,584 --> 01:06:45,083
that came from drugs, some
of these brilliant motherfuckers
1594
01:06:45,167 --> 01:06:46,709
said some things
that weren't so cool.
1595
01:06:46,792 --> 01:06:48,918
For instance,
Napoleon is known to have said,
1596
01:06:49,000 --> 01:06:50,834
"Let's take everything
out of our pockets
1597
01:06:50,918 --> 01:06:51,918
and look at it."
1598
01:06:52,000 --> 01:06:53,792
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1599
01:06:53,876 --> 01:06:56,876
America's public enemy
number one
1600
01:06:56,959 --> 01:07:00,792
is drug abuse. In order
to fight and defeat this enemy,
1601
01:07:00,876 --> 01:07:04,375
it is necessary
to wage a new all-out offensive.
1602
01:07:04,459 --> 01:07:07,417
REPORTER: The drug problem
goes through our society
1603
01:07:07,500 --> 01:07:11,209
from one continuum to the other.
There is no one that escapes it.
1604
01:07:11,292 --> 01:07:12,626
GEORGE: The drug problem.
1605
01:07:12,709 --> 01:07:14,709
The drug problem is...
(CLEARS THROAT)
1606
01:07:14,792 --> 01:07:18,042
...if Eddy has four ounces
of number two Colombian tops...
1607
01:07:18,125 --> 01:07:19,209
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1608
01:07:19,292 --> 01:07:21,626
...and Danny has a half-ounce
of bad street grass,
1609
01:07:21,709 --> 01:07:23,042
how many joints
will they have to smoke
1610
01:07:23,125 --> 01:07:25,626
-before Danny talks to Eddy...
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1611
01:07:25,709 --> 01:07:27,626
GEORGE: The drug problem
seems to be
1612
01:07:27,709 --> 01:07:30,667
that nobody will really define
what the drug problem is.
1613
01:07:30,751 --> 01:07:32,209
To a lot of people,
the drug problem is,
1614
01:07:32,292 --> 01:07:34,167
-"I can't get any."
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1615
01:07:34,250 --> 01:07:36,792
GEORGE: You know, nobody knows
that we're all part of it,
1616
01:07:36,876 --> 01:07:39,667
that everybody in the country is
swimming in a sea of drugs, man.
1617
01:07:39,751 --> 01:07:41,375
I mean, we really got used
to that, didn't we?
1618
01:07:41,459 --> 01:07:43,250
We were told a long time ago,
weren't we?
1619
01:07:43,334 --> 01:07:44,292
"Say, is something wrong?
1620
01:07:44,375 --> 01:07:45,709
Why don't you take something
for it?"
1621
01:07:45,792 --> 01:07:47,125
They even make it easier
to get started,
1622
01:07:47,209 --> 01:07:49,083
a little orange flavoring
in those little tablets
1623
01:07:49,167 --> 01:07:50,876
-for you when you're young.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1624
01:07:50,959 --> 01:07:52,125
Little orange.
"Don't like your head?"
1625
01:07:52,209 --> 01:07:54,751
(CLICKS TONGUE)
"Two orange in the mouth.
1626
01:07:54,834 --> 01:07:58,334
"Yes, there'll be other colors
later on." (CLICKS TONGUE)
1627
01:07:58,417 --> 01:08:01,083
REPORTER: The adult world
have accepted and are living
1628
01:08:01,167 --> 01:08:02,417
the industrial slogan
1629
01:08:02,500 --> 01:08:03,876
of better living
through chemistry.
1630
01:08:03,959 --> 01:08:05,334
GEORGE: The drug companies
finally got us hooked.
1631
01:08:05,417 --> 01:08:07,292
We've been searching for it
all our lives as humans
1632
01:08:07,375 --> 01:08:09,167
ever since
before the loincloth...
1633
01:08:09,250 --> 01:08:11,459
People say, "We have
a drug problem in this country."
1634
01:08:11,542 --> 01:08:13,334
"Where do you hear that?"
"At the drugstore."
1635
01:08:13,417 --> 01:08:16,500
Every three or four blocks,
big sign, "Drugs."
1636
01:08:16,584 --> 01:08:17,876
Of course,
you have a drug problem
1637
01:08:17,959 --> 01:08:20,042
if they have stores for it.
Someone's got to abuse it.
1638
01:08:20,125 --> 01:08:21,584
And then there are drugs
we don't even talk about.
1639
01:08:21,667 --> 01:08:24,250
Forgetting alcohol and tobacco,
which is the greatest part
1640
01:08:24,334 --> 01:08:26,125
of the hypocrisy
because they're used and abused
1641
01:08:26,209 --> 01:08:27,542
more than anything,
and they're legal,
1642
01:08:27,626 --> 01:08:29,083
and the government
lives on them.
1643
01:08:29,167 --> 01:08:30,334
Forgetting that part
of the hypocrisy,
1644
01:08:30,417 --> 01:08:32,626
there's a lot of other
little middle-class drug trips.
1645
01:08:32,709 --> 01:08:34,125
Mom found those diet pills
1646
01:08:34,209 --> 01:08:36,626
did a little more than help
her diet, yessiree.
1647
01:08:36,709 --> 01:08:39,584
It made her grind her teeth
and feel good, too. "Hi."
1648
01:08:39,667 --> 01:08:41,334
It keeps her on the phone a lot.
"Hi, Marge..."
1649
01:08:41,417 --> 01:08:43,667
-(MIMICS GARBLED SPEECH)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1650
01:08:43,751 --> 01:08:45,375
"Where are you going, Mom?
Shopping at midnight?"
1651
01:08:45,459 --> 01:08:47,083
"Well, they're open.
Never mind. See you later. Bye."
1652
01:08:47,167 --> 01:08:49,584
(MIMICS GARBLED SPEECH)
There she goes.
1653
01:08:49,667 --> 01:08:51,959
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, APPLAUDING)
1654
01:08:57,459 --> 01:08:59,125
HOST 1: Would you welcome,
please, George Carlin
1655
01:08:59,209 --> 01:09:00,417
and his wife, Brenda.
1656
01:09:00,500 --> 01:09:03,375
Is it true you've given up
drinking and smoking, George?
1657
01:09:03,459 --> 01:09:05,250
Yeah. Brenda has all the vices
in the family now.
1658
01:09:05,334 --> 01:09:07,042
-I've doubled up for his sake.
-(HOST 1 GROANING)
1659
01:09:07,125 --> 01:09:08,417
No, I think
all I need is fruit juice,
1660
01:09:08,500 --> 01:09:10,042
and a little marijuana,
at an occasional party,
1661
01:09:10,125 --> 01:09:12,000
-and you're okay.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1662
01:09:12,083 --> 01:09:14,250
When the flute player shows up
or something, you know?
1663
01:09:14,334 --> 01:09:15,959
HOST 2: Yeah. You're
putting us on now, right?
1664
01:09:16,042 --> 01:09:18,083
Well, I don't know.
That's probably the safest
1665
01:09:18,167 --> 01:09:20,459
of any of the things
you can put in yourself,
1666
01:09:20,542 --> 01:09:22,792
including booze and tobacco.
1667
01:09:22,876 --> 01:09:24,667
Do you speak as an authority
on marijuana?
1668
01:09:24,751 --> 01:09:26,500
-I grew up in a neighborhood--
-HOST 2: You don't want to
1669
01:09:26,584 --> 01:09:28,375
-get him arrested on the show.
-You can only be arrested--
1670
01:09:28,459 --> 01:09:31,125
I don't have any or anything
like that. But, you know,
it's really quite safe.
1671
01:09:31,209 --> 01:09:32,334
With fruit juice?
1672
01:09:32,417 --> 01:09:34,292
-Fruit juice especially.
-(HOST 1 CHUCKLING)
1673
01:09:34,375 --> 01:09:35,918
You have a daughter.
As she gets older,
1674
01:09:36,000 --> 01:09:37,209
what are you going to tell her?
1675
01:09:37,292 --> 01:09:38,918
BRENDA: I would hope,
if she gets involved
1676
01:09:39,000 --> 01:09:41,042
in any kind of drugs,
that marijuana
1677
01:09:41,125 --> 01:09:43,876
would be the thing that would
happen to her, you know?
1678
01:09:43,959 --> 01:09:45,292
I think we could explain that
to her
1679
01:09:45,375 --> 01:09:47,250
and possibly talk her out of it,
but I'm...
1680
01:09:47,334 --> 01:09:49,834
Oh, my God.
My mom and that fucking hair.
1681
01:09:49,918 --> 01:09:52,751
Amazing.
And my mom is loaded there.
1682
01:09:52,834 --> 01:09:54,667
Totally. That's a loaded mom.
1683
01:09:54,751 --> 01:09:56,626
-GEORGE:
The big thing is if she sees...
-I don't... You know?
1684
01:09:56,709 --> 01:09:59,250
...a truthful attitude
around the home about marijuana,
1685
01:09:59,334 --> 01:10:00,918
'cause she's gonna know
from her school chums.
1686
01:10:01,000 --> 01:10:02,542
And if she sees that
we're being truthful about one,
1687
01:10:02,626 --> 01:10:04,209
perhaps she'll trust us then.
1688
01:10:04,292 --> 01:10:06,542
KELLY: The fact
that they talked about that,
1689
01:10:06,626 --> 01:10:08,542
America did not talk about that.
1690
01:10:08,626 --> 01:10:09,876
Because it's going to be part
of her life.
1691
01:10:09,959 --> 01:10:11,417
It's gonna be part of the future
of this country,
1692
01:10:11,500 --> 01:10:13,000
just as all drugs are.
The drug industry
1693
01:10:13,083 --> 01:10:14,792
has us taking things
to get awake,
1694
01:10:14,876 --> 01:10:16,292
things to go to sleep,
things to pep up,
1695
01:10:16,375 --> 01:10:18,626
things to forget about the grief
you had from something.
1696
01:10:18,709 --> 01:10:21,042
It's part of our culture.
We are a drug-oriented society.
1697
01:10:21,125 --> 01:10:22,876
We should be used to it.
And I want her to know
1698
01:10:22,959 --> 01:10:25,292
-which things are dangerous
and which aren't.
-HOST 2: Hmm.
1699
01:10:27,918 --> 01:10:30,334
KELLY: When my dad
made the change
1700
01:10:30,417 --> 01:10:33,500
from straight guy
to counterculture guy,
1701
01:10:33,584 --> 01:10:36,918
it was kind of exciting for Mom
because they were starting over
1702
01:10:37,000 --> 01:10:39,876
as if it was 1961, '62 again.
1703
01:10:39,959 --> 01:10:41,667
And she's like,
"I believe in you.
1704
01:10:41,751 --> 01:10:44,125
We're gonna do this together."
1705
01:10:44,209 --> 01:10:47,417
But then what happened,
of course, within two years
1706
01:10:47,500 --> 01:10:52,584
was skyrocketing gold records,
superstardom now,
1707
01:10:52,667 --> 01:10:55,918
and big agents, and big things.
1708
01:10:56,000 --> 01:10:58,584
And my mom
was enjoying the lifestyle,
1709
01:10:58,667 --> 01:11:00,918
but once again,
1710
01:11:01,000 --> 01:11:03,500
she's not pertinent
to the conversation.
1711
01:11:03,584 --> 01:11:07,375
She's not in on the ride.
And now, the drugs are there.
1712
01:11:08,626 --> 01:11:11,125
And cocaine
really changed everything.
1713
01:11:11,209 --> 01:11:13,334
There's one thing to have
one person drunk in the house
1714
01:11:13,417 --> 01:11:16,125
and the other one smoking weed
and a couple of beers,
1715
01:11:16,209 --> 01:11:19,125
very different when both people
are doing a drug
1716
01:11:19,209 --> 01:11:23,209
that makes that part
of your brain become aggressive
1717
01:11:23,292 --> 01:11:24,500
and greedy.
1718
01:11:24,584 --> 01:11:28,417
And it really did escalate
and undermine
1719
01:11:28,500 --> 01:11:29,626
everything in our family
1720
01:11:29,709 --> 01:11:32,584
when cocaine
came into the picture.
1721
01:11:32,667 --> 01:11:35,417
GEORGE: Parents are supposed
to pass along their authority.
1722
01:11:35,500 --> 01:11:37,042
As you grow up,
1723
01:11:37,125 --> 01:11:39,209
other parts of the world assume
some of that authority,
1724
01:11:39,292 --> 01:11:41,876
the police, the state,
the wife that you choose,
1725
01:11:41,959 --> 01:11:44,000
they get that authority
that your parents had.
1726
01:11:44,083 --> 01:11:46,751
But none of them
ever wield that authority
1727
01:11:46,834 --> 01:11:49,792
with the flair
that your parents did,
you know?
1728
01:11:49,876 --> 01:11:51,292
Can you picture a guy
at a tollbooth saying,
1729
01:11:51,375 --> 01:11:55,667
-"Did you eat your peas?"
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1730
01:11:55,751 --> 01:11:57,042
GEORGE: The thing
about being hot,
1731
01:11:57,125 --> 01:12:00,334
and being the hot new guy,
and the fastest new gun in town,
1732
01:12:00,417 --> 01:12:01,709
it was just incredibly exciting.
1733
01:12:01,792 --> 01:12:03,709
That's what it is, you know?
You all come from different...
1734
01:12:03,792 --> 01:12:05,334
And the first time
you get caught
1735
01:12:05,417 --> 01:12:07,000
in your own traffic jam,
1736
01:12:07,083 --> 01:12:08,667
the first time
you're driving to the theater
1737
01:12:08,751 --> 01:12:10,667
and you're stuck
in theater traffic,
1738
01:12:10,751 --> 01:12:13,792
it's just a fabulous feeling.
"I have created this."
1739
01:12:13,876 --> 01:12:16,626
These people have come here just
to hear me,
1740
01:12:16,709 --> 01:12:19,167
"to hear this stuff
that I'm doing, you know?"
1741
01:12:19,250 --> 01:12:21,292
I think about those things,
don't you?
1742
01:12:21,375 --> 01:12:22,375
On the way to the theater,
1743
01:12:22,459 --> 01:12:24,167
"What kind of a member
of the audience"
1744
01:12:24,250 --> 01:12:25,667
am I going to be tonight?
1745
01:12:25,751 --> 01:12:26,667
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1746
01:12:26,751 --> 01:12:28,918
GEORGE:
Will I be a credit to my row?"
1747
01:12:29,000 --> 01:12:30,083
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1748
01:12:30,167 --> 01:12:31,876
GEORGE: If there's a fire drill,
will my table
1749
01:12:31,959 --> 01:12:33,542
"stomp the shit
out of each other?"
1750
01:12:33,626 --> 01:12:35,125
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1751
01:12:35,209 --> 01:12:38,000
GEORGE: I had
a jet plane at the time.
I bought my own jet plane.
1752
01:12:38,083 --> 01:12:40,375
-INTERVIEWER: What?
-GEORGE: The Jet Commander.
1753
01:12:40,459 --> 01:12:42,876
-(CHUCKLING)
-(INTERVIEWER CHUCKLING)
1754
01:12:42,959 --> 01:12:44,250
GEORGE: And I sat
in my own plane
1755
01:12:44,334 --> 01:12:46,375
with two six-packs
and an ounce of pot
1756
01:12:46,459 --> 01:12:47,876
and a lot of cocaine
1757
01:12:47,959 --> 01:12:50,876
alone on the ramp at LaGuardia.
1758
01:12:50,959 --> 01:12:52,876
And I just had a party,
a one-man party.
1759
01:12:52,959 --> 01:12:54,209
(INTERVIEWER CHUCKLING)
1760
01:12:54,292 --> 01:12:56,584
GEORGE: Anyway, it was a symbol.
It's a wonderful symbol
1761
01:12:56,667 --> 01:12:57,959
-of excess.
-INTERVIEWER: Sure. Sure.
1762
01:12:58,042 --> 01:13:01,959
GEORGE: And it was a symbol,
too, of my complete lack
1763
01:13:02,042 --> 01:13:04,626
of appreciation for the need
1764
01:13:04,709 --> 01:13:08,709
to have sound attention
to my finances.
1765
01:13:11,751 --> 01:13:12,959
Brenda was on the home front
1766
01:13:13,042 --> 01:13:15,459
and had
to be the disciplinarian,
1767
01:13:15,542 --> 01:13:19,167
and I didn't see
her need for her identity.
1768
01:13:21,000 --> 01:13:25,417
I just... I hide a lot of stuff
from myself.
1769
01:13:25,500 --> 01:13:27,500
I deny a lot of stuff.
1770
01:13:27,584 --> 01:13:29,709
Leave it alone
unless it explodes.
1771
01:13:29,792 --> 01:13:31,417
And when it's not exploding...
1772
01:13:32,334 --> 01:13:33,792
it doesn't attract my attention.
1773
01:13:40,667 --> 01:13:42,918
(AUDIENCE CHEERING, APPLAUDING)
1774
01:13:45,000 --> 01:13:46,459
GEORGE: I just got to be honest
with you,
1775
01:13:46,542 --> 01:13:48,834
I'm not one of them
bullshit showbusiness people,
1776
01:13:48,918 --> 01:13:53,626
man, who makes believe
everything is going okay
1777
01:13:53,709 --> 01:13:57,292
because everything
is not going okay, man.
1778
01:13:57,375 --> 01:13:58,792
HOST: What did they do
to you in Milwaukee?
1779
01:13:58,876 --> 01:13:59,751
GEORGE: You know?
1780
01:13:59,834 --> 01:14:01,000
Well,
they tried to, they wanted to--
1781
01:14:01,083 --> 01:14:02,584
HOST: Do you want
to talk about a little bit?
1782
01:14:02,667 --> 01:14:04,584
-Sure enough.
-Sure enough, man.
1783
01:14:04,667 --> 01:14:07,292
♪ I'm from Milwaukee
and I oughta know ♪
1784
01:14:07,375 --> 01:14:09,959
In this country,
there's no morality in business.
1785
01:14:10,042 --> 01:14:12,834
It's strictly a ledger game.
Keep the ledger in the black.
1786
01:14:12,918 --> 01:14:15,375
It was a Summerfest
and it was a large gathering,
1787
01:14:15,459 --> 01:14:17,292
around 70,000.
Fuck everything else.
1788
01:14:17,375 --> 01:14:20,709
Don't worry about your soul.
Don't worry about the other guy.
1789
01:14:20,792 --> 01:14:21,834
Keep it in the black.
1790
01:14:21,918 --> 01:14:26,542
I had, or have,
a part of my presentation
1791
01:14:26,626 --> 01:14:29,876
called "The Seven Words
You Cannot Say on Television."
1792
01:14:29,959 --> 01:14:33,000
Four hundred thousand words
in the English language
1793
01:14:33,083 --> 01:14:35,542
and there are only seven of them
1794
01:14:35,626 --> 01:14:37,500
that you can't say
on television.
1795
01:14:37,584 --> 01:14:40,209
And the routine worked
everywhere, really, very well.
1796
01:14:40,292 --> 01:14:45,417
Three ninety-nine,
nine ninety-three to seven.
1797
01:14:45,500 --> 01:14:47,250
-Except in Milwaukee.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1798
01:14:47,334 --> 01:14:50,042
GEORGE: Now,
they must really be bad words.
1799
01:14:50,125 --> 01:14:53,417
One policeman took exception.
"He can't say that!"
1800
01:14:53,500 --> 01:14:56,834
(BABBLES) Apparently,
he hadn't been listening
1801
01:14:56,918 --> 01:15:00,000
in the locker room
to the other guys talking.
1802
01:15:00,083 --> 01:15:02,709
Those are the words
that will infect your mind,
1803
01:15:02,792 --> 01:15:06,667
curve your spine, and lose
the war for the allies, man.
1804
01:15:07,500 --> 01:15:08,667
KELLY: During the summertime,
1805
01:15:08,751 --> 01:15:10,709
Mom and I
would go on the road with him.
1806
01:15:10,792 --> 01:15:12,292
So, I'm backstage,
1807
01:15:12,375 --> 01:15:15,292
and the promoter comes up
to my mom and says to her,
1808
01:15:15,375 --> 01:15:17,125
"The cops are here.
1809
01:15:17,209 --> 01:15:20,751
They're not liking the language
that's coming from the stage,
1810
01:15:20,834 --> 01:15:22,959
and they're going
to arrest George."
1811
01:15:23,042 --> 01:15:24,751
And my mom knows that my dad
1812
01:15:24,834 --> 01:15:28,500
is carrying weed and coke
in his pockets.
1813
01:15:28,584 --> 01:15:31,959
She grabbed a glass of water
and walked out onto the stage,
1814
01:15:32,042 --> 01:15:33,292
whispering in his ear,
"Cops are here."
1815
01:15:33,375 --> 01:15:34,709
GEORGE: Okay, cool.
Thank you, baby.
1816
01:15:34,792 --> 01:15:36,375
KELLY: "Exit stage left."
1817
01:15:36,459 --> 01:15:38,459
GEORGE: Oh, that's not
what she told me.
1818
01:15:38,542 --> 01:15:40,375
She told me I had to split soon.
1819
01:15:40,459 --> 01:15:43,667
KELLY: He leaves the stage,
emptying his pockets.
1820
01:15:43,751 --> 01:15:46,167
The door opens. Cops are there.
1821
01:15:46,250 --> 01:15:50,792
And they arrested me
for disorderly conduct,
1822
01:15:50,876 --> 01:15:51,959
profanity,
1823
01:15:52,042 --> 01:15:55,083
as opposed to disorderly conduct
drunk, I guess...
1824
01:15:55,167 --> 01:15:58,375
REPORTER: ...that he did
on July 21st, 1972...
1825
01:15:58,459 --> 01:16:02,042
(READS POLICE REPORT)
1826
01:16:13,542 --> 01:16:17,417
In 1972, I happened to go
to my very first Summerfest
1827
01:16:17,500 --> 01:16:20,584
in Milwaukee.
Huge crowds and performance.
1828
01:16:20,667 --> 01:16:22,751
And I was there
when George Carlin
1829
01:16:22,834 --> 01:16:25,083
performed his routine.
1830
01:16:25,167 --> 01:16:29,209
The next morning, got up
for my Saturday rotation of duty
1831
01:16:29,292 --> 01:16:33,459
and in walked the police
with George Carlin in handcuffs.
1832
01:16:33,542 --> 01:16:34,792
GEORGE: The next day,
the district attorney
1833
01:16:34,876 --> 01:16:36,292
asked the policeman,
he was questioning me.
1834
01:16:36,375 --> 01:16:39,000
He says, "Was there disorder?
Was he saying this to people?
1835
01:16:39,083 --> 01:16:42,334
Was he mad? Was he disorderly?
Were the people disorderly?"
1836
01:16:42,417 --> 01:16:44,334
He said, "I dunno," he said...
(BABBLES)
1837
01:16:44,417 --> 01:16:47,209
So he turned to his assistant
district attorney, and he said,
1838
01:16:47,292 --> 01:16:49,417
"You were there.
What did the audience do?"
1839
01:16:49,500 --> 01:16:52,000
He said, "Well, they gave him
a standing ovation."
1840
01:16:52,083 --> 01:16:55,959
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, APPLAUDING)
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
1841
01:16:56,042 --> 01:17:00,000
I do recall that at some point
during the trial,
1842
01:17:00,083 --> 01:17:03,292
the judge sort
of covered his face.
1843
01:17:03,375 --> 01:17:06,209
He did not want people to see
that he was laughing
1844
01:17:06,292 --> 01:17:08,667
at the routine
that was being performed.
1845
01:17:08,751 --> 01:17:11,334
There was no dispute
that he said the words.
1846
01:17:11,417 --> 01:17:12,709
The issue was,
did it tend to cause
1847
01:17:12,792 --> 01:17:15,125
or provoke a disturbance?
And, of course,
1848
01:17:15,209 --> 01:17:19,584
not only did it not, I was there
and saw that it did not.
1849
01:17:19,667 --> 01:17:22,459
So, George Carlin
was not guilty.
1850
01:17:22,542 --> 01:17:24,918
♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
1851
01:17:34,250 --> 01:17:37,584
GEORGE: I thought I might
bring you up to date on the list
1852
01:17:37,667 --> 01:17:39,167
of words you can't say
all the time.
1853
01:17:39,250 --> 01:17:41,250
-That's the only thing.
-(AUDIENCE CHEERING, APPLAUDING)
1854
01:17:41,334 --> 01:17:43,500
That's the only thing
you can really call them
1855
01:17:44,083 --> 01:17:44,959
and includes them.
1856
01:17:45,042 --> 01:17:48,167
"The words you can't say
all the time."
1857
01:17:48,250 --> 01:17:50,083
Some of the time,
not all the time.
1858
01:17:50,167 --> 01:17:52,417
When you're a kid,
you can't say any of them.
1859
01:17:53,584 --> 01:17:58,083
(SCOFFS, GROANS) None at all.
1860
01:17:58,167 --> 01:18:02,792
Then pretty soon you're growing.
They can't stop that, can they?
1861
01:18:03,876 --> 01:18:07,083
But pretty soon, "hell"
and "damn" break through.
1862
01:18:07,167 --> 01:18:09,542
Dad tells you a joke
with "shit" in it. (EXHALES)
1863
01:18:09,626 --> 01:18:11,792
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, APPLAUDING)
1864
01:18:11,876 --> 01:18:14,792
"Don't tell your mom
I told you that."
1865
01:18:14,876 --> 01:18:17,626
"Why not?" "It's a word
you can't say all the time."
1866
01:18:17,709 --> 01:18:20,834
Not all the time. Mixed company,
there's ladies here.
1867
01:18:20,918 --> 01:18:23,292
"Hey, I got a joke for you,
Floyd, but this lady's here."
1868
01:18:23,375 --> 01:18:25,083
"Go ahead. She's filthy.
Tell me."
1869
01:18:26,209 --> 01:18:28,250
It's all it is.
It's your filth threshold.
1870
01:18:28,334 --> 01:18:30,042
The thing that bothers me
is that there's no list
1871
01:18:30,125 --> 01:18:32,792
of these words anywhere, man.
I mean, it would make sense
1872
01:18:32,876 --> 01:18:34,709
to have a list of them,
wouldn't it?
1873
01:18:34,792 --> 01:18:36,250
They never give you a list
when you're a kid.
1874
01:18:36,334 --> 01:18:38,959
You've got to say them
to find out what they are.
1875
01:18:39,042 --> 01:18:41,709
-Shit. (MIMICS THUD)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1876
01:18:41,792 --> 01:18:45,834
-Fuck. (MIMICS THUD)
-(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
1877
01:18:45,918 --> 01:18:48,292
Wouldn't it be smart
to give you a list?
1878
01:18:48,375 --> 01:18:52,375
"You're six years old now.
Here's the list of the words
1879
01:18:52,459 --> 01:18:56,417
your daddy and I don't ever
want to hear you say."
1880
01:18:56,500 --> 01:19:00,626
"Hey, thanks, Ma.
Boy, that'll come in handy.
1881
01:19:01,375 --> 01:19:02,792
Save me an ass-kicking."
1882
01:19:02,876 --> 01:19:04,459
-(MIMICS THUD)
-(GROANS)
1883
01:19:04,542 --> 01:19:07,292
The whole idea of the original
seven words routine
1884
01:19:07,375 --> 01:19:10,042
was that he wanted to know
1885
01:19:10,125 --> 01:19:14,042
what are the words that I might
get fined for saying on stage.
1886
01:19:14,125 --> 01:19:16,000
And he said, "You know,
1887
01:19:16,083 --> 01:19:18,000
ironically,
the FCC won't tell me.
1888
01:19:18,083 --> 01:19:19,167
So how do I know
1889
01:19:19,250 --> 01:19:20,959
if I'm gonna be in trouble
or not?"
1890
01:19:21,042 --> 01:19:23,751
GEORGE: I kept finding more ways
to describe dirty words
1891
01:19:23,834 --> 01:19:25,876
than there were dirty words.
1892
01:19:25,959 --> 01:19:32,250
They call them dirty, bad,
filthy, foul, vile, vulgar,
1893
01:19:32,334 --> 01:19:35,500
-off-color...
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1894
01:19:35,584 --> 01:19:36,667
...blue...
1895
01:19:38,042 --> 01:19:43,792
naughty, bawdy, saucy, raunchy,
1896
01:19:43,876 --> 01:19:47,751
street language, gutter talk,
locker room talk,
1897
01:19:47,834 --> 01:19:50,500
barracks language, indecent...
1898
01:19:51,751 --> 01:19:57,292
-in poor taste, suggestive...
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1899
01:19:57,375 --> 01:20:01,209
...cursing, cussing, swearing,
profanity, obscenity.
1900
01:20:01,292 --> 01:20:03,542
All I could think of was shit,
piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker,
1901
01:20:03,626 --> 01:20:04,542
motherfucker, and tits.
1902
01:20:04,626 --> 01:20:05,709
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, CHEERING)
1903
01:20:05,792 --> 01:20:06,876
Seven words.
1904
01:20:06,959 --> 01:20:08,792
He says the seven dirty words,
shit, piss, fuck, cunt,
1905
01:20:08,876 --> 01:20:09,918
cocksucker,
motherfucker, and tits.
1906
01:20:10,000 --> 01:20:11,125
Shit, piss, cunt.
1907
01:20:11,209 --> 01:20:14,500
Shit, piss, fuck, cunt,
cocksucker, motherfucker, tits.
1908
01:20:14,584 --> 01:20:15,834
And the crowd goes crazy.
1909
01:20:15,918 --> 01:20:17,709
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, CHEERING)
1910
01:20:17,792 --> 01:20:18,751
Shit, piss, fuck, cunt,
1911
01:20:18,834 --> 01:20:20,709
cocksucker,
motherfucker, and tits.
1912
01:20:20,792 --> 01:20:23,500
That was my original list.
I knew it wasn't complete.
1913
01:20:23,584 --> 01:20:25,751
-PATTON: Then he goes...
-But it was a starter set.
1914
01:20:25,834 --> 01:20:28,709
PATTON: ...and breaks apart
why are these dirty words?
1915
01:20:28,792 --> 01:20:30,000
GEORGE:
And usually, on television,
1916
01:20:30,083 --> 01:20:32,000
some of the words
aren't always dirty, like ass.
1917
01:20:32,083 --> 01:20:33,334
The word ass is okay.
1918
01:20:33,417 --> 01:20:34,918
Part of the time, you can say
ass on TV. You can say,
1919
01:20:35,000 --> 01:20:37,584
"Well, you've made a perfect ass
of yourself tonight."
1920
01:20:37,667 --> 01:20:40,250
But you can't say,
"Hey, let's go get some ass."
1921
01:20:40,334 --> 01:20:41,542
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, CHEERING)
1922
01:20:41,626 --> 01:20:43,751
GEORGE: You can use ass
in the religious sense.
1923
01:20:43,834 --> 01:20:45,250
If you happen to be the Redeemer
1924
01:20:45,334 --> 01:20:48,125
riding into town on one,
perfectly all right.
1925
01:20:48,209 --> 01:20:51,167
But don't get off and say,
"The donkey hurt my ass."
1926
01:20:51,250 --> 01:20:52,876
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1927
01:20:52,959 --> 01:20:54,334
GEORGE:
Same thing with the word ball.
1928
01:20:54,417 --> 01:20:56,709
It's okay for Joe Garagiola
at Saturday afternoon
1929
01:20:56,792 --> 01:20:59,584
to say, "Johnny Bench
has two balls on him."
1930
01:21:00,959 --> 01:21:02,334
But if he gets hit there,
1931
01:21:02,417 --> 01:21:03,876
they don't mention
he got hit in the balls.
1932
01:21:03,959 --> 01:21:06,250
They say it's a groin injury.
1933
01:21:06,334 --> 01:21:08,709
Words like prick,
prick is okay on television,
1934
01:21:08,792 --> 01:21:09,959
you can prick your finger.
1935
01:21:10,042 --> 01:21:13,500
-But don't finger your prick.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1936
01:21:13,584 --> 01:21:17,626
However,
you can refer to fucking.
1937
01:21:17,709 --> 01:21:22,250
You can talk about fucking.
They do that all the time.
1938
01:21:22,334 --> 01:21:24,000
Some of the times,
the show you're watching,
1939
01:21:24,083 --> 01:21:26,751
two people are probably fucking
in the other room.
1940
01:21:26,834 --> 01:21:29,375
Fucking is all right.
Fucking is part of the plot.
1941
01:21:29,459 --> 01:21:31,000
A lot of plots
are based on fucking.
1942
01:21:31,083 --> 01:21:32,292
Will they fuck?
Should they fuck?
1943
01:21:32,375 --> 01:21:33,959
Have they fucked? Did they fuck?
Will they fuck again?
1944
01:21:34,042 --> 01:21:36,500
Will they get sick from fucking?
Are they fucking too much?
1945
01:21:36,584 --> 01:21:37,918
Will they fuck
each other's friends?
1946
01:21:38,000 --> 01:21:39,334
Will they have a baby
from fucking?
1947
01:21:39,417 --> 01:21:42,250
Will they be sorry they fucked?
Will they be glad they fucked?
1948
01:21:42,334 --> 01:21:43,250
All fuck stories.
1949
01:21:43,334 --> 01:21:45,709
Every honeymoon joke
is a fuck joke.
1950
01:21:45,792 --> 01:21:47,542
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, CHEERING)
1951
01:21:49,959 --> 01:21:52,751
How did it get
such a bad reputation?
1952
01:21:54,667 --> 01:21:57,542
-We fucked it up.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
1953
01:21:58,292 --> 01:21:59,292
Yeah.
1954
01:21:59,375 --> 01:22:00,792
I mean, shit, piss, fuck, cunt,
cocksucker,
1955
01:22:00,876 --> 01:22:03,500
motherfucker, and tits,
in a way,
1956
01:22:03,584 --> 01:22:04,751
he's talking about it's bullshit
1957
01:22:04,834 --> 01:22:06,667
that there are 400,000 words
in the English language,
1958
01:22:06,751 --> 01:22:08,751
and these seven "bad words."
1959
01:22:08,834 --> 01:22:13,125
Like the fact you can isolate.
They must be outrageous...
1960
01:22:13,209 --> 01:22:15,459
for them to be isolated
from a group that large.
1961
01:22:15,542 --> 01:22:16,626
And it made you think about,
1962
01:22:16,709 --> 01:22:18,000
"Oh, why do we accept
some things as acceptable
1963
01:22:18,083 --> 01:22:20,626
and not... and other things
not as acceptable?"
1964
01:22:20,709 --> 01:22:22,918
And the whole point was
1965
01:22:23,000 --> 01:22:24,751
"What's going to happen?
You heard the word.
1966
01:22:24,834 --> 01:22:26,292
Did you go out
and murder someone?
1967
01:22:26,375 --> 01:22:30,292
Did you go shoot up heroin?
No, you heard a word."
1968
01:22:30,375 --> 01:22:32,792
It's not about the word,
it's about the context.
1969
01:22:32,876 --> 01:22:35,500
Words, he always said,
Carlin always said,
1970
01:22:35,584 --> 01:22:37,584
"It's not the word.
It's the context
1971
01:22:37,667 --> 01:22:39,584
in which you use that word."
1972
01:22:39,667 --> 01:22:42,292
And when you eliminate context,
you eliminate nuance,
1973
01:22:42,375 --> 01:22:44,334
you eliminate intent,
1974
01:22:44,417 --> 01:22:47,375
there's no comedy,
there's no satire,
1975
01:22:47,459 --> 01:22:49,292
there's no free speech.
1976
01:22:49,375 --> 01:22:52,083
One-thirty on
an autumn afternoon
back in 1973,
1977
01:22:52,167 --> 01:22:55,209
a man named John Douglas,
the head of an electronics firm
1978
01:22:55,292 --> 01:22:56,375
and father of six children,
1979
01:22:56,459 --> 01:22:58,959
was driving
with his 15-year-old son
1980
01:22:59,042 --> 01:23:00,250
up in Connecticut.
1981
01:23:00,334 --> 01:23:04,876
The car radio was turned on
to a station in New York, WBAI.
1982
01:23:04,959 --> 01:23:06,667
Well, suddenly, they heard
1983
01:23:06,751 --> 01:23:10,417
comedian George Carlin's record
called Filthy Words.
1984
01:23:10,500 --> 01:23:13,000
It's an assault on my senses.
I don't seek it.
1985
01:23:13,083 --> 01:23:14,000
I don't desire it.
1986
01:23:14,083 --> 01:23:17,334
It might be his freedom
of expression,
1987
01:23:17,417 --> 01:23:19,000
but perhaps he should give up
1988
01:23:19,083 --> 01:23:20,834
that particular freedom
of expression
1989
01:23:20,918 --> 01:23:22,167
for the good of the community.
1990
01:23:22,250 --> 01:23:24,542
REPORTER: Well, the FCC,
acting on Douglas's complaint,
1991
01:23:24,626 --> 01:23:26,417
imposed a ban on words like
the ones used
1992
01:23:26,500 --> 01:23:29,167
in the Carlin record.
Not necessarily obscene,
1993
01:23:29,250 --> 01:23:32,000
but words that, to many people,
might be offensive.
1994
01:23:32,083 --> 01:23:35,584
It was played in the context
of language
1995
01:23:35,667 --> 01:23:37,792
and how we consider language.
1996
01:23:37,876 --> 01:23:41,125
But it set off a chain reaction
of events
1997
01:23:41,209 --> 01:23:42,584
where the case
went through the courts
1998
01:23:42,667 --> 01:23:44,918
and the FCC was trying to use it
as a test case like,
1999
01:23:45,000 --> 01:23:46,876
"Where are we gonna draw
the line?"
2000
01:23:46,959 --> 01:23:48,584
INTERVIEWER: How can you defend
the use of words
2001
01:23:48,667 --> 01:23:50,959
like this
on broadcasting stations?
2002
01:23:51,042 --> 01:23:55,334
Well, you don't have
to defend them, I don't think.
2003
01:23:56,500 --> 01:23:57,876
They are protected
by the First Amendment,
2004
01:23:57,959 --> 01:24:00,209
by free speech. Just as
in newspapers, in books...
2005
01:24:00,292 --> 01:24:02,083
(CLEARS THROAT) ...and in films,
2006
01:24:02,167 --> 01:24:04,417
the broadcast media
should be no different.
2007
01:24:04,500 --> 01:24:07,417
My defense would be that there
are two knobs on these sets.
2008
01:24:07,500 --> 01:24:09,459
A person can choose
not to listen.
2009
01:24:09,542 --> 01:24:12,500
A person can change the station
if they like. The question is,
2010
01:24:12,584 --> 01:24:14,626
can the Federal Communications
Commission
2011
01:24:14,709 --> 01:24:16,417
abridge freedom of speech?
2012
01:24:16,500 --> 01:24:18,167
How did they get the power
to do that?
2013
01:24:18,250 --> 01:24:19,709
And that's what the case
is about.
2014
01:24:19,792 --> 01:24:21,542
I think
Mr. Carlin's a very funny man,
2015
01:24:21,626 --> 01:24:23,500
probably the funniest comedian
around today.
2016
01:24:23,584 --> 01:24:25,834
In a nightclub situation,
it would be perfectly in order
2017
01:24:25,918 --> 01:24:27,751
because for one thing,
I probably couldn't bring
2018
01:24:27,834 --> 01:24:29,083
anybody in under 18.
2019
01:24:29,167 --> 01:24:31,584
Well, there was just the point
of the fact
2020
01:24:31,667 --> 01:24:35,292
that there's no prior restraint.
Even though that's true,
2021
01:24:35,375 --> 01:24:37,834
the fact that you can
be punished for something
2022
01:24:37,918 --> 01:24:41,042
is a form of subtle
unspoken prior restraint.
2023
01:24:41,125 --> 01:24:43,375
There is a de facto censorship
here
2024
01:24:43,459 --> 01:24:45,542
whereby stations
will be afraid to make
2025
01:24:45,626 --> 01:24:48,000
a decision
because of the possibility.
2026
01:24:48,083 --> 01:24:50,334
Philosophically,
I do not buy the assumption
2027
01:24:50,417 --> 01:24:52,667
that these words
are somehow immoral
2028
01:24:52,751 --> 01:24:54,709
or indecent
in and of themselves.
2029
01:24:54,792 --> 01:24:58,334
Words are only symbols, and they
do not possess those qualities.
2030
01:24:58,417 --> 01:25:00,209
People can be immoral
or indecent.
2031
01:25:00,292 --> 01:25:02,375
The words themselves
cannot harm us.
2032
01:25:02,459 --> 01:25:04,167
The United States Supreme Court
says that
2033
01:25:04,250 --> 01:25:06,751
the public airwaves,
television, radio,
2034
01:25:06,834 --> 01:25:08,542
and other forms of broadcasting
2035
01:25:08,626 --> 01:25:11,584
are not the place
for what it calls "dirty words."
2036
01:25:11,667 --> 01:25:14,667
GEORGE: They had found
a new category of bad language.
2037
01:25:14,751 --> 01:25:16,125
NEWS ANCHOR:
...may restrict the broadcast
2038
01:25:16,209 --> 01:25:18,042
of indecent language. But...
2039
01:25:18,125 --> 01:25:22,417
GEORGE: Indecent.
And that was my contribution.
2040
01:25:22,500 --> 01:25:25,792
So I have this perverse pride
that I'm an important footnote
2041
01:25:25,876 --> 01:25:27,334
along the way somewhere
2042
01:25:27,417 --> 01:25:29,375
in the legal history
of our country.
2043
01:25:41,459 --> 01:25:43,375
HASAN MINHAJ:
Things like the seven words
2044
01:25:43,459 --> 01:25:45,584
or Lenny Bruce getting arrested,
2045
01:25:45,667 --> 01:25:48,375
it's no different
than that journalist in Belarus,
2046
01:25:48,459 --> 01:25:51,042
them landing the plane, and then
ripping him off the plane.
2047
01:25:51,125 --> 01:25:52,834
You know, there was
a great satirist in Colombia
2048
01:25:52,918 --> 01:25:54,417
that was killed
in the early '90s.
2049
01:25:56,334 --> 01:25:58,500
They are really
telling reminders
2050
01:25:58,584 --> 01:26:00,125
of what could go wrong.
2051
01:26:01,250 --> 01:26:02,876
If people in power
2052
01:26:02,959 --> 01:26:04,792
say, "Hey,
this is where the line is,
2053
01:26:04,876 --> 01:26:06,209
and you've crossed this line."
2054
01:26:21,542 --> 01:26:24,918
GEORGE:
♪ Everything is okay anyway ♪
2055
01:26:25,000 --> 01:26:28,209
♪ Everything is okay anyway ♪
2056
01:26:28,292 --> 01:26:30,417
♪ Well, if the sun comes out
Each day ♪
2057
01:26:30,500 --> 01:26:35,626
♪ Everything must be okay
Yes, everything is okay anyway ♪
2058
01:26:37,083 --> 01:26:40,250
♪ If all we ever had
Was total war ♪
2059
01:26:40,334 --> 01:26:43,542
♪ And peace and love
And giving were a bore ♪
2060
01:26:43,626 --> 01:26:45,876
♪ What if we cried and died
All day ♪
2061
01:26:45,959 --> 01:26:48,042
♪ You could still hear
Someone say ♪
2062
01:26:48,125 --> 01:26:50,167
♪ That everything is okay
Anyway ♪
2063
01:26:50,250 --> 01:26:52,542
NEWS ANCHOR 1: Good evening.
In a landmark ruling,
2064
01:26:52,626 --> 01:26:55,709
the Supreme Court today
legalized abortions.
2065
01:26:55,792 --> 01:26:58,792
GEORGE: ♪ Volcanoes, earthquakes
Floods and tidal waves ♪
2066
01:26:58,876 --> 01:27:00,459
NEWS ANCHOR 2:
Washington has been inundated
2067
01:27:00,542 --> 01:27:02,542
by another massive set
of Watergate transcripts.
2068
01:27:02,626 --> 01:27:05,125
GEORGE:
♪ And man is forced
To live again in caves... ♪
2069
01:27:05,209 --> 01:27:06,459
PRESIDENT NIXON: Therefore,
2070
01:27:06,542 --> 01:27:09,250
I shall resign the Presidency
effective at noon tomorrow.
2071
01:27:09,334 --> 01:27:11,125
GEORGE:
♪ But if all we had was fire ♪
2072
01:27:11,209 --> 01:27:13,125
♪ You'd still hear
The caveman choir ♪
2073
01:27:13,209 --> 01:27:14,459
REPORTER:
With communist forces
2074
01:27:14,542 --> 01:27:16,709
only a few miles
from the center of Saigon.
2075
01:27:16,792 --> 01:27:19,584
GEORGE:
♪ Singing everything
Is okay anyway ♪
2076
01:27:19,667 --> 01:27:21,959
Cocaine, there's one thing
to tell you about it,
2077
01:27:22,042 --> 01:27:23,334
it is extremely pleasurable.
2078
01:27:23,417 --> 01:27:25,584
A few blows of coke
make you feel like a new man.
2079
01:27:25,667 --> 01:27:27,959
Unfortunately, the new man
wants a couple of blows.
2080
01:27:28,042 --> 01:27:29,209
That's the danger.
Catch you later.
2081
01:27:29,292 --> 01:27:30,959
-Thank you, man. So long.
-(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
2082
01:27:31,042 --> 01:27:32,167
I couldn't help...
2083
01:27:32,250 --> 01:27:34,250
You just, kind of what might
have been called
2084
01:27:34,334 --> 01:27:35,667
a slight warning at the end,
2085
01:27:35,751 --> 01:27:37,083
-your last line about cocaine.
-Yeah.
2086
01:27:37,167 --> 01:27:38,250
-And you know people who have...
-Yeah.
2087
01:27:38,334 --> 01:27:39,751
...come to grief over cocaine?
I do.
2088
01:27:39,834 --> 01:27:40,918
Oh, sure.
2089
01:27:41,000 --> 01:27:42,500
-Yeah, I know a couple of them.
-The biggest problem is
2090
01:27:42,584 --> 01:27:43,542
if you can afford it
2091
01:27:43,626 --> 01:27:45,334
and if you don't have
a tight schedule,
2092
01:27:45,417 --> 01:27:47,334
like if you don't have anything
to do until March,
2093
01:27:47,417 --> 01:27:48,792
-you'll stay up.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2094
01:27:49,918 --> 01:27:51,542
GEORGE:
♪ Yeah, everything is okay ♪
2095
01:27:51,626 --> 01:27:55,584
♪ Anyway
Everything is okay anyway ♪
2096
01:27:55,667 --> 01:28:00,459
♪ Well, if you
Do not miss your pay ♪
2097
01:28:00,542 --> 01:28:02,834
♪ (PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
2098
01:28:51,667 --> 01:28:53,500
KELLY:
Dad would be on the road,
2099
01:28:53,584 --> 01:28:55,792
and I'd be calling down
to the liquor store
2100
01:28:55,876 --> 01:28:57,292
and ordering a case of wine
2101
01:28:57,375 --> 01:28:59,250
because that's what my mom
wanted.
2102
01:29:00,542 --> 01:29:01,751
There was this guy, Fred,
2103
01:29:01,834 --> 01:29:04,000
who was driving me
to school and back
2104
01:29:04,083 --> 01:29:07,584
because my dad does not trust
my mother in a car anymore.
2105
01:29:07,667 --> 01:29:08,709
I mean, I have this one memory
2106
01:29:08,792 --> 01:29:10,584
"where he comes to me
and he says, "Look,
2107
01:29:10,667 --> 01:29:14,083
I think the only way
we're gonna get Mom to get sober
2108
01:29:14,167 --> 01:29:16,417
is to really, really scare her.
2109
01:29:16,500 --> 01:29:19,417
So I'm going to tell her
that I'm leaving you.
2110
01:29:19,500 --> 01:29:21,209
Now, I'm not going to leave you,
2111
01:29:21,292 --> 01:29:23,584
but we're gonna pretend
that I am
2112
01:29:23,667 --> 01:29:25,834
because we need Mom
to be scared enough
2113
01:29:25,918 --> 01:29:27,751
"to do something
about her drinking."
2114
01:29:28,792 --> 01:29:31,209
I became his emotional ally.
2115
01:29:31,292 --> 01:29:33,000
I was like the only other adult
2116
01:29:33,083 --> 01:29:35,375
that he could talk to
about this.
2117
01:29:35,459 --> 01:29:39,375
GEORGE: The pain I felt
from watching Brenda,
2118
01:29:39,459 --> 01:29:42,500
it was just devastating,
that kind of pain.
2119
01:29:42,584 --> 01:29:44,792
And I wouldn't for a minute say,
"Well,
2120
01:29:44,876 --> 01:29:47,751
Brenda's alcoholism
caused my cocaine use,"
2121
01:29:47,834 --> 01:29:49,083
because that's absurd.
2122
01:29:49,167 --> 01:29:52,167
But it certainly had something
to do with it.
2123
01:29:52,250 --> 01:29:56,792
And Kelly suffered trauma
experiencing that in the home.
2124
01:29:56,876 --> 01:29:59,459
Mr. Carlin,
why do you wear your hair long
2125
01:29:59,542 --> 01:30:00,542
like a hippie freak?
2126
01:30:00,626 --> 01:30:02,000
-(CHUCKLES)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2127
01:30:02,083 --> 01:30:04,209
-HOST 1:
Who was that pretty girl?
-HOST 2: That sweet thing.
2128
01:30:04,292 --> 01:30:07,167
Kel, I guess I'm a hippie freak.
2129
01:30:07,250 --> 01:30:08,584
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2130
01:30:08,667 --> 01:30:11,209
-HOST 2: That's
George Carlin's daughter, Kelly.
-GEORGE: Yeah.
2131
01:30:13,083 --> 01:30:14,209
Look at her face.
2132
01:30:15,375 --> 01:30:18,250
♪ (QUIET MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
2133
01:30:18,334 --> 01:30:21,417
KELLY: I remember
the pressure of going to school
2134
01:30:21,500 --> 01:30:23,667
and having to pretend
like everything was fine
2135
01:30:23,751 --> 01:30:29,209
when it really, really wasn't.
There was violence in the house.
2136
01:30:29,292 --> 01:30:34,083
Mom was a very aggressive,
horribly angry drunk,
2137
01:30:34,167 --> 01:30:35,792
and my dad also had
2138
01:30:35,876 --> 01:30:38,375
his father's anger
and rage in him.
2139
01:30:39,334 --> 01:30:41,334
So I had
the therapist's phone number
2140
01:30:41,417 --> 01:30:43,334
and would call him at 2:00 a.m.,
2141
01:30:43,417 --> 01:30:46,000
"They're ready to kill
each other. What do I do?"
2142
01:30:46,083 --> 01:30:49,375
♪ (UNEASY MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
2143
01:30:50,709 --> 01:30:53,209
There was this one time
we had gone to Hawaii
2144
01:30:53,292 --> 01:30:56,167
for vacation. And at some point,
2145
01:30:56,250 --> 01:30:57,542
my mom picks up a knife
2146
01:30:57,626 --> 01:31:00,292
and is, like,
wielding a knife at my dad.
2147
01:31:00,375 --> 01:31:05,626
I throw myself in the middle
of it, and I was like,
2148
01:31:05,709 --> 01:31:08,876
"I cannot take this anymore.
This cannot go on like this.
2149
01:31:08,959 --> 01:31:12,918
I cannot handle
any more of this."
2150
01:31:13,000 --> 01:31:16,000
And I wrote out this document,
and it was like
2151
01:31:16,083 --> 01:31:20,125
this peace treaty,
like this UN-style peace treaty.
2152
01:31:20,209 --> 01:31:23,584
And it was like,
"I, George Carlin,"
2153
01:31:23,667 --> 01:31:27,876
will not snort cocaine
for the rest of the vacation.
2154
01:31:27,959 --> 01:31:31,500
I, Brenda Carlin,
will not drink alcohol
2155
01:31:31,584 --> 01:31:35,000
"for the rest of the vacation."
Made them sign it.
2156
01:31:35,083 --> 01:31:36,375
GEORGE: Oh, yeah,
this is when everything
2157
01:31:36,459 --> 01:31:37,667
was really unraveling.
2158
01:31:37,751 --> 01:31:41,292
My cocaine and drug use,
her drinking separately,
2159
01:31:41,375 --> 01:31:44,584
and our mutual dance of death.
2160
01:31:44,667 --> 01:31:48,667
I, one time, had a conversation
with about six people in my room
2161
01:31:48,751 --> 01:31:51,125
who weren't there.
Fucking hallucinating,
2162
01:31:51,209 --> 01:31:53,417
which would come
from not just the drug alone,
2163
01:31:53,500 --> 01:31:54,626
but staying up six days.
2164
01:31:54,709 --> 01:31:57,250
I would stay up
as much as six days
2165
01:31:57,334 --> 01:31:58,542
and not eat.
2166
01:32:00,167 --> 01:32:03,959
There are times
when I think I shall go crazy,
2167
01:32:04,042 --> 01:32:07,459
and then there are times
when I feel quite all right.
2168
01:32:07,542 --> 01:32:12,209
♪ So send in the clown ♪
2169
01:32:13,000 --> 01:32:16,626
♪ Don't fuck around ♪
2170
01:32:16,709 --> 01:32:23,709
♪ Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes
The pipes are calling ♪
2171
01:32:24,375 --> 01:32:27,083
(SINGING INDISTINCTLY)
2172
01:32:27,167 --> 01:32:28,334
I would miss dates,
2173
01:32:28,417 --> 01:32:30,459
and then they'd have
to reschedule them,
2174
01:32:30,542 --> 01:32:33,125
and I would go
to the cocaine doctor,
2175
01:32:33,209 --> 01:32:36,375
and he would make notes
that excused me
2176
01:32:36,459 --> 01:32:38,876
from the concert,
so we wouldn't get sued,
2177
01:32:38,959 --> 01:32:40,125
that I had laryngitis.
2178
01:32:40,209 --> 01:32:42,959
And I would have laryngitis
because I would sing
2179
01:32:43,042 --> 01:32:45,292
for six days
at the top of my voice
2180
01:32:45,375 --> 01:32:47,292
to the music I was playing.
2181
01:32:47,375 --> 01:32:53,167
♪ It's so easy to love... ♪
2182
01:32:53,250 --> 01:32:54,918
I would talk, talk,
talk, talk, talk
2183
01:32:55,000 --> 01:32:56,334
because the cocaine
made me talk.
2184
01:32:56,417 --> 01:32:58,209
And then I would try to do
a two-and-a-half-hour concert,
2185
01:32:58,292 --> 01:33:01,834
which is what I was doing then
and I would lose my voice.
2186
01:33:01,918 --> 01:33:06,584
Nobody gives a fuck
if you're stuck!
2187
01:33:06,667 --> 01:33:09,000
You're just stuck, you fuck.
2188
01:33:10,250 --> 01:33:12,834
Fuck you, you stuck fuck.
2189
01:33:12,918 --> 01:33:17,083
♪ (FUNKY MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
2190
01:33:17,167 --> 01:33:21,000
Hold it, guys.
The band is going crazy.
2191
01:33:21,083 --> 01:33:22,292
Can't talk much anymore.
2192
01:33:22,375 --> 01:33:24,209
Worked out pretty good. We got
our week pretty well done.
2193
01:33:24,292 --> 01:33:26,417
George had a very,
very bad throat.
2194
01:33:26,500 --> 01:33:27,709
He couldn't talk
for about two weeks
2195
01:33:27,792 --> 01:33:30,000
-before he got here.
-Part of it's disuse
2196
01:33:30,083 --> 01:33:31,500
and part of it's putting
it into action again.
2197
01:33:31,584 --> 01:33:32,959
-It's a little rugged.
-MIKE DOUGLAS: Yeah.
2198
01:33:33,042 --> 01:33:34,000
It'll come back.
2199
01:33:34,083 --> 01:33:35,417
MIKE: Why don't you bring
your mom out?
2200
01:33:35,500 --> 01:33:36,709
GEORGE: Mary Carlin, my mom.
2201
01:33:36,792 --> 01:33:42,334
-(AUDIENCE CHEERING, APPLAUDING)
-♪ (MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
2202
01:33:45,542 --> 01:33:48,125
I hope you're excited
about being here.
2203
01:33:48,209 --> 01:33:49,500
-Yes.
-Because I'm very excited
2204
01:33:49,584 --> 01:33:50,584
-about having you here.
-Well...
2205
01:33:50,667 --> 01:33:51,792
MIKE: He's a good kid, isn't he?
2206
01:33:51,876 --> 01:33:53,584
And I've watched you for years,
2207
01:33:53,667 --> 01:33:55,292
-and I love you.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2208
01:33:55,375 --> 01:33:57,000
-MIKE: Oh. Thank you. Thank you.
-Love you.
2209
01:33:57,083 --> 01:33:59,626
Boy,
are we going to get along well?
2210
01:33:59,709 --> 01:34:01,167
(CHUCKLES)
2211
01:34:01,250 --> 01:34:05,459
-He's a good boy, isn't he?
-Yeah, he's a good boy. Now.
2212
01:34:05,542 --> 01:34:06,792
-MIKE: Now.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2213
01:34:06,876 --> 01:34:08,125
MIKE: He wasn't always
a good boy?
2214
01:34:08,209 --> 01:34:09,375
No, no, no, no.
2215
01:34:09,459 --> 01:34:12,292
MIKE: What is your reaction
to George's present image?
2216
01:34:12,375 --> 01:34:13,959
Well, couple of years ago,
2217
01:34:14,042 --> 01:34:15,709
I hadn't seen him
with the beard,
2218
01:34:15,792 --> 01:34:17,459
nor the long hair.
2219
01:34:17,542 --> 01:34:20,167
No, not a word that I know.
2220
01:34:20,250 --> 01:34:22,709
And he suddenly appeared
in my home.
2221
01:34:24,167 --> 01:34:25,375
And there he stood.
2222
01:34:26,375 --> 01:34:29,000
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2223
01:34:29,083 --> 01:34:30,709
-MARY CARLIN: I went silent.
-(MIKE CHUCKLING)
2224
01:34:30,792 --> 01:34:34,167
And when I'm silent,
there's trouble.
2225
01:34:34,250 --> 01:34:36,918
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2226
01:34:37,000 --> 01:34:40,083
So he realized
something was happening.
2227
01:34:40,167 --> 01:34:42,918
And he said, "Mother,
2228
01:34:43,000 --> 01:34:45,584
don't you remember
what you wrote in my autograph
2229
01:34:45,667 --> 01:34:47,709
when I finished Corpus Christi?"
2230
01:34:49,083 --> 01:34:51,709
I said, "George...
2231
01:34:51,792 --> 01:34:57,209
insist on being yourself always
in all ways."
2232
01:34:58,250 --> 01:35:02,542
He said,
"Mother, eat your words."
2233
01:35:02,626 --> 01:35:04,959
(MIKE AND AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2234
01:35:08,876 --> 01:35:10,751
KELLY: My dad had invited
his mom to come out
2235
01:35:10,834 --> 01:35:16,000
for two weeks to stay with us,
and she never left.
2236
01:35:16,083 --> 01:35:20,584
This was at the rock bottom
of my mother's alcoholism.
2237
01:35:20,667 --> 01:35:25,959
My mother was barely functioning
at this point.
2238
01:35:26,042 --> 01:35:30,000
And Mary was pouring drinks
for my mother at noon.
2239
01:35:30,083 --> 01:35:32,959
Mary would have one,
and my mother would have two.
2240
01:35:33,042 --> 01:35:38,250
And then in my mother's ear,
telling every horrible thing
2241
01:35:38,334 --> 01:35:41,542
about my father,
what a bad son he is
2242
01:35:41,626 --> 01:35:43,667
and just, all of this darkness.
2243
01:35:44,834 --> 01:35:47,417
My mom is down to 87 pounds,
2244
01:35:47,500 --> 01:35:51,626
crawling to the bathroom,
and she was dying.
2245
01:35:51,709 --> 01:35:55,500
I was ordering booze by the case
and having my drugs delivered,
2246
01:35:55,584 --> 01:35:57,042
and I was a vegetable.
2247
01:35:57,125 --> 01:35:59,792
How was George
during this period?
What did he try to do with you?
2248
01:35:59,876 --> 01:36:02,167
He was frantic.
He really wanted to help me.
2249
01:36:02,250 --> 01:36:03,667
I didn't know
what was wrong with me.
2250
01:36:03,751 --> 01:36:05,417
I honestly thought I was insane.
2251
01:36:05,500 --> 01:36:07,334
I thought I was going blind
in one eye.
2252
01:36:07,417 --> 01:36:08,834
I thought I had a brain tumor.
2253
01:36:09,584 --> 01:36:10,792
Well, I knew I was going to die,
2254
01:36:10,876 --> 01:36:12,542
and I would stay awake
all night,
2255
01:36:12,626 --> 01:36:14,042
and I really hit a bottom.
2256
01:36:14,125 --> 01:36:16,125
INTERVIEWER:
What form was your bottom?
2257
01:36:16,209 --> 01:36:17,959
Well, I guess,
my ultimate was backing
2258
01:36:18,042 --> 01:36:20,417
through a lobby of an inn
2259
01:36:20,500 --> 01:36:22,292
-in the Pacific Palisades.
-INTERVIEWER: That's a bottom.
2260
01:36:22,375 --> 01:36:23,542
-Yes, it really was.
-INTERVIEWER: Yes.
2261
01:36:23,626 --> 01:36:25,709
It was my last cry for help.
2262
01:36:25,792 --> 01:36:27,959
KELLY:
My dad and I and a few doctors
2263
01:36:28,042 --> 01:36:30,584
finally convinced her
that she had to go
2264
01:36:30,667 --> 01:36:31,959
into the hospital.
2265
01:36:32,042 --> 01:36:33,417
There was no Betty Ford
back then.
2266
01:36:33,500 --> 01:36:37,042
There was no, really, rehab,
but it was a 21-day program.
2267
01:36:37,125 --> 01:36:38,709
And about halfway through,
2268
01:36:38,792 --> 01:36:40,792
once my mother
had stopped shaking,
2269
01:36:40,876 --> 01:36:43,876
and she could sit in a chair,
and she'd gotten
2270
01:36:43,959 --> 01:36:47,334
kind of some her mind back
and everything,
2271
01:36:47,417 --> 01:36:49,667
she just said,
"I'm not coming home
2272
01:36:49,751 --> 01:36:51,083
if she's in the house."
2273
01:36:52,292 --> 01:36:55,125
And my dad
within like 30 seconds
2274
01:36:55,209 --> 01:36:57,042
was like, you know,
"Be right back."
2275
01:36:57,125 --> 01:36:59,709
-(CAR ENGINE REVVING)
-(TIRES SCREECHING)
2276
01:36:59,792 --> 01:37:01,709
GEORGE: I had to kick
my mother out of my house.
2277
01:37:01,792 --> 01:37:06,876
Old woman. And I said,
"We're going to the airport."
2278
01:37:06,959 --> 01:37:10,375
-♪ (SOFT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
-I was never happier in my life.
2279
01:37:10,459 --> 01:37:14,209
I never had a greater feeling
of relief in my life
2280
01:37:14,292 --> 01:37:16,834
than to know that I'd never
have to take the car keys
2281
01:37:16,918 --> 01:37:18,209
out of her hand again,
2282
01:37:18,292 --> 01:37:21,459
that I would never
have to go through any of this
2283
01:37:21,542 --> 01:37:23,626
horrible fucking tension
2284
01:37:23,709 --> 01:37:26,167
and shit that went
with her drinking.
2285
01:37:26,250 --> 01:37:29,542
And, uh, life changed.
2286
01:37:32,000 --> 01:37:33,667
INTERVIEWER: When you came
out of the facility,
2287
01:37:33,751 --> 01:37:35,500
you knew that
you had to change your life...
2288
01:37:35,584 --> 01:37:37,542
-Absolutely. All the way.
-...or you would die again.
2289
01:37:37,626 --> 01:37:40,083
That's right. And I made
that statement to George.
2290
01:37:40,167 --> 01:37:44,292
I either find who I am...
And, I mean, I felt
2291
01:37:44,375 --> 01:37:46,709
like I had really been given
a second chance.
2292
01:37:46,792 --> 01:37:48,500
♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪
2293
01:37:48,584 --> 01:37:52,083
KELLY: After my mom got sober,
my mother flourished.
2294
01:37:52,167 --> 01:37:54,292
Not only was she
super involved in AA,
2295
01:37:54,375 --> 01:37:55,834
but she became a counselor
for people,
2296
01:37:55,918 --> 01:37:57,626
she volunteered at the VA.
2297
01:37:57,709 --> 01:38:02,375
And she immediately got involved
in my dad's production stuff.
2298
01:38:02,459 --> 01:38:03,542
So she became a producer.
2299
01:38:03,626 --> 01:38:05,417
She ended up working
for HBO for years.
2300
01:38:05,500 --> 01:38:08,626
She was a talent coordinator.
She became the Brenda Carlin
2301
01:38:08,709 --> 01:38:10,918
that she was always meant
to become.
2302
01:38:12,209 --> 01:38:13,375
GEORGE: I want to do one thing
2303
01:38:13,459 --> 01:38:15,459
before I go any further
because I am going to split.
2304
01:38:15,542 --> 01:38:16,584
There's somebody
2305
01:38:16,667 --> 01:38:18,417
that's very important
to this project and to me.
2306
01:38:18,500 --> 01:38:19,751
Brenda,
would you please come here?
2307
01:38:19,834 --> 01:38:22,459
I want to introduce you
to my wife of 17 years.
2308
01:38:22,542 --> 01:38:24,667
-(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
-She is the associate producer,
2309
01:38:24,751 --> 01:38:25,709
and she is my honey.
2310
01:38:25,792 --> 01:38:27,125
And if she don't come out
here now.
2311
01:38:27,209 --> 01:38:29,500
Come here, honey,
I want you to give me a kiss.
2312
01:38:29,584 --> 01:38:32,334
My wife, Brenda Carlin.
Come here, honey.
2313
01:38:43,000 --> 01:38:45,167
Thank you, lover. See you later.
2314
01:38:45,250 --> 01:38:47,709
Thank you all.
And good night. I love you!
2315
01:38:52,876 --> 01:38:55,167
(AUDIENCE CHEERING, APPLAUDING)
2316
01:38:59,000 --> 01:39:02,626
Live from New York,
it's Saturday Night.
2317
01:39:02,709 --> 01:39:05,626
♪ (MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
2318
01:39:10,250 --> 01:39:12,584
ANNOUNCER: NBC's Saturday Night.
2319
01:39:15,042 --> 01:39:19,751
Ladies and gentlemen,
George Carlin.
2320
01:39:33,626 --> 01:39:36,167
Talk about a live show. Wow.
2321
01:39:36,250 --> 01:39:39,834
Nice to see you, welcome,
and thanks for joining us live.
2322
01:39:39,918 --> 01:39:42,459
I'm kind of glad
that we're on at night,
2323
01:39:42,542 --> 01:39:45,083
so that we're not competing
with all the football
2324
01:39:45,167 --> 01:39:47,834
-and baseball games.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2325
01:39:47,918 --> 01:39:50,375
So many, man. All the time.
2326
01:39:50,459 --> 01:39:53,167
And this is the time of year
when there's both, you know?
2327
01:39:53,250 --> 01:39:55,000
Football's kind of nice.
They changed it a little bit.
2328
01:39:55,083 --> 01:39:56,417
They moved the hash marks in.
2329
01:39:56,500 --> 01:39:58,209
Guys found them
and smoked them anyway.
2330
01:39:58,292 --> 01:40:00,459
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2331
01:40:00,542 --> 01:40:02,751
JAMES SULLIVAN: Famously,
he was the first guest host
2332
01:40:02,834 --> 01:40:04,459
on Saturday Night Live.
2333
01:40:04,542 --> 01:40:07,542
But besides that feather
in his cap
2334
01:40:07,626 --> 01:40:08,959
of forever being able to say,
2335
01:40:09,042 --> 01:40:10,918
"I was the first guest host
for Saturday Night Live..."
2336
01:40:11,000 --> 01:40:12,667
GEORGE: ...the words
surrounding football
2337
01:40:12,751 --> 01:40:13,918
and baseball...
2338
01:40:14,000 --> 01:40:15,417
JAMES: ...he was not getting
the same kind of attention
2339
01:40:15,500 --> 01:40:17,375
that he had been getting
in the early '70s.
2340
01:40:17,459 --> 01:40:23,167
Football is technological.
Baseball is pastoral.
2341
01:40:23,250 --> 01:40:24,834
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2342
01:40:24,918 --> 01:40:30,834
Football is played in a stadium.
Baseball is played in a park.
2343
01:40:30,918 --> 01:40:35,459
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-In football, you wear a helmet.
2344
01:40:35,542 --> 01:40:38,626
-In baseball, you wear a cap.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2345
01:40:38,709 --> 01:40:42,167
JAMES: At that point, I think
there were people saying,
2346
01:40:42,250 --> 01:40:43,834
"Carlin's kind
of yesterday's news
2347
01:40:43,918 --> 01:40:45,000
in terms of comedy." Like
2348
01:40:45,083 --> 01:40:46,375
he's not as big
as Cheech and Chong,
2349
01:40:46,459 --> 01:40:48,042
for instance, is right now.
2350
01:40:48,125 --> 01:40:49,792
Led Zeppelin. (MIMICS WHIRRING)
2351
01:40:49,876 --> 01:40:51,959
Hey, be careful with that shit,
man.
2352
01:40:52,042 --> 01:40:53,500
PAUL: In comedy, the art form...
2353
01:40:53,584 --> 01:40:55,876
-Here I come to save the day.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2354
01:40:55,959 --> 01:40:58,792
...and the business of comedy
were changing radically.
2355
01:40:58,876 --> 01:41:00,751
-Oh, my God.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2356
01:41:00,834 --> 01:41:03,125
PAUL: You know, that's the time
where Steve Martin
2357
01:41:03,209 --> 01:41:04,459
-was coming through.
-Okay, good. Now,
2358
01:41:04,542 --> 01:41:07,042
let's repeat
the non-conformist oath.
2359
01:41:07,125 --> 01:41:09,167
"I promise to be different."
2360
01:41:09,250 --> 01:41:11,792
AUDIENCE:
I promise to be different.
2361
01:41:11,876 --> 01:41:13,542
"I promise to be unique."
2362
01:41:13,626 --> 01:41:15,459
AUDIENCE:
I promise to be unique.
2363
01:41:15,542 --> 01:41:18,876
"I promise not to repeat things
other people say."
2364
01:41:18,959 --> 01:41:19,959
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2365
01:41:20,042 --> 01:41:22,876
Steve Martin's work
was a response
2366
01:41:22,959 --> 01:41:26,667
to the counter-cultural comedy
of the '70s.
2367
01:41:26,751 --> 01:41:29,792
Steve said,
"That's now become the trope."
2368
01:41:29,876 --> 01:41:31,417
Excuse me, folks,
but you're not thinking
2369
01:41:31,500 --> 01:41:32,959
of going back
to the mainland, are you,
2370
01:41:33,042 --> 01:41:34,292
without seeing
this historical site?
2371
01:41:34,375 --> 01:41:36,834
JAMES: Suddenly the gigs
were kind of drying up.
2372
01:41:36,918 --> 01:41:39,167
So he was getting offered
goofy stuff
2373
01:41:39,250 --> 01:41:42,667
like Perry Como's Christmas
in Hawaii Special.
2374
01:41:42,751 --> 01:41:45,334
You guys with the peg legs,
stand up straight.
2375
01:41:45,417 --> 01:41:47,500
Guys with the eye patches,
look this way.
2376
01:41:47,584 --> 01:41:49,667
But he knew that to continue
to sell out
2377
01:41:49,751 --> 01:41:50,709
the venues that he was playing,
2378
01:41:50,792 --> 01:41:53,667
he had to be a known figure
from TV.
2379
01:41:53,751 --> 01:41:58,959
Oh, Mr. Wow, this is certainly
a great opportunity.
2380
01:41:59,042 --> 01:42:02,334
-Thank you.
-GEORGE: You can't be
the hot new guy in town forever.
2381
01:42:02,417 --> 01:42:04,834
I really mean it!
2382
01:42:04,918 --> 01:42:07,209
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
-GEORGE:
You can't be the fastest gun
2383
01:42:07,292 --> 01:42:10,292
because a faster gun is coming
to town in a few years.
2384
01:42:10,375 --> 01:42:14,083
My record career began to kind
of wane in the '70s...
2385
01:42:14,167 --> 01:42:16,167
-(SHRIEKS)
-...as did the counterculture.
2386
01:42:16,250 --> 01:42:17,459
Are you finished?
2387
01:42:17,542 --> 01:42:18,542
Disco came into play,
2388
01:42:18,626 --> 01:42:20,334
and the people
who are the true radicals,
2389
01:42:20,417 --> 01:42:21,876
they retreated to the hills,
2390
01:42:21,959 --> 01:42:23,792
and the other ones went
and got MBAs
2391
01:42:23,876 --> 01:42:25,375
-and stuff like that.
-(INTERVIEWER CHUCKLING)
2392
01:42:25,459 --> 01:42:27,125
GEORGE: And there I was,
2393
01:42:27,209 --> 01:42:30,500
sort of not knowing who I was
and who I should become
2394
01:42:30,584 --> 01:42:32,042
to be true to myself.
2395
01:42:32,125 --> 01:42:35,709
Tragedy at the parade today.
An open manhole-- yes, yes--
2396
01:42:35,792 --> 01:42:38,626
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2397
01:42:38,709 --> 01:42:41,000
Funny where tragedy crops up.
At the parade today...
2398
01:42:41,083 --> 01:42:42,918
(CLEARS THROAT)
...an open manhole cover
2399
01:42:43,000 --> 01:42:44,834
claimed-- not the cover,
the manhole--
2400
01:42:44,918 --> 01:42:46,167
-(CHUCKLES)
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2401
01:42:46,250 --> 01:42:48,334
It's about shot now,
but I'll finish it anyway.
2402
01:42:48,417 --> 01:42:54,375
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, CHEERING)
2403
01:42:55,375 --> 01:42:57,876
TONY ORLANDO:
George was a very warm,
2404
01:42:57,959 --> 01:43:00,459
almost shy personality,
2405
01:43:00,542 --> 01:43:03,000
contrary to what you saw
on stage.
2406
01:43:03,083 --> 01:43:07,125
There was a humble side
to George that I didn't expect,
2407
01:43:07,209 --> 01:43:10,083
but I don't know how many people
hung out with George
2408
01:43:10,167 --> 01:43:11,334
because I never saw George
2409
01:43:11,417 --> 01:43:13,918
hanging with other performers
that much.
2410
01:43:14,000 --> 01:43:15,876
You know, I don't even know
who his friends were.
2411
01:43:16,876 --> 01:43:18,667
It's so weird.
2412
01:43:18,751 --> 01:43:21,209
You didn't sense
that he was lonely,
2413
01:43:21,292 --> 01:43:22,667
but he liked being alone.
2414
01:43:24,542 --> 01:43:29,709
But he comes to my office at CBS
and asked me for a job.
2415
01:43:30,626 --> 01:43:32,542
Now, I was blown away
2416
01:43:32,626 --> 01:43:35,417
because I would think
I would be the last guy
2417
01:43:35,500 --> 01:43:38,459
that George--
Tony Orlando and Dawn show?
2418
01:43:38,542 --> 01:43:39,584
That I would be the last--
2419
01:43:39,667 --> 01:43:42,626
So, I probably
was the last guy on his list.
2420
01:43:42,709 --> 01:43:44,250
-(CHUCKLES)
-♪ (DISCO MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
2421
01:43:44,334 --> 01:43:47,792
ALL:
♪ Climb the highest mountain ♪
2422
01:43:47,876 --> 01:43:50,792
♪ And we'll sail
The seven seas... ♪
2423
01:43:50,876 --> 01:43:53,209
TONY: Now, remember,
this time period,
2424
01:43:53,292 --> 01:43:57,375
there was only three networks.
So, 40 million people
2425
01:43:57,459 --> 01:43:59,083
was with us
every Wednesday night.
2426
01:44:01,250 --> 01:44:03,375
That was a 36th share.
2427
01:44:04,626 --> 01:44:07,584
Today, that probably
would be the Super Bowl.
2428
01:44:08,375 --> 01:44:10,209
Now it's time for George.
2429
01:44:10,292 --> 01:44:12,500
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
2430
01:44:14,125 --> 01:44:16,918
How you doing? Thank you.
Thank you very much.
2431
01:44:18,584 --> 01:44:19,626
Thank you.
2432
01:44:19,709 --> 01:44:21,209
I bet you've had words
you'd like to change
2433
01:44:21,292 --> 01:44:22,667
or things you'd like to add
to the language.
2434
01:44:22,751 --> 01:44:24,042
Things that could be easier.
2435
01:44:24,125 --> 01:44:26,209
Arthritis should be
arth-wrong-us.
2436
01:44:26,292 --> 01:44:27,834
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2437
01:44:27,918 --> 01:44:29,417
I think we should have
cheese fon-don't
2438
01:44:29,500 --> 01:44:31,542
for people who don't like
cheese fondue.
2439
01:44:31,626 --> 01:44:33,500
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2440
01:44:33,584 --> 01:44:38,125
-Migraine should be your-grain.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2441
01:44:38,209 --> 01:44:45,167
-Sure.
-(AUDIENCE CHEERING, APPLAUDING)
2442
01:44:46,876 --> 01:44:51,667
-Hernia ought to be his-nia.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2443
01:44:51,751 --> 01:44:53,959
And hysterectomy
ought to be her-terectomy.
2444
01:44:54,042 --> 01:44:55,792
(LAUGHING CONTINUES)
2445
01:44:55,876 --> 01:44:57,626
INTERVIEWER:
Why did you take that job
2446
01:44:57,709 --> 01:44:59,459
on Tony Orlando and Dawn?
2447
01:44:59,542 --> 01:45:01,709
GEORGE:
Because it was a chance to work
2448
01:45:01,792 --> 01:45:03,792
within the system
outside of the system.
2449
01:45:03,876 --> 01:45:07,125
Once a week in your own spot,
which is great exposure, right?
2450
01:45:07,209 --> 01:45:08,626
INTERVIEWER: It's hard
for a lot of young people,
2451
01:45:08,709 --> 01:45:11,876
I think, to justify going on
Dinah Shore and Mike Douglas,
2452
01:45:11,959 --> 01:45:13,417
who are not the greatest
flaming radicals...
2453
01:45:13,500 --> 01:45:15,542
-GEORGE: Yes.
-...why do you do that?
2454
01:45:15,626 --> 01:45:17,292
GEORGE: I don't go on things
2455
01:45:17,375 --> 01:45:19,792
because of flaming radicals
to start with.
2456
01:45:19,876 --> 01:45:22,125
At the time
when I appeared more radical,
2457
01:45:22,209 --> 01:45:24,334
I used to make
the observation that,
2458
01:45:24,417 --> 01:45:27,375
"Wow, there are people out there
fighting in streets,"
2459
01:45:27,459 --> 01:45:29,751
getting whacked out
on picket lines and stuff.
2460
01:45:29,834 --> 01:45:32,334
If these few jokes I make
qualify me as a radical,
2461
01:45:32,417 --> 01:45:34,000
"then the movement
is in big trouble."
2462
01:45:34,083 --> 01:45:35,500
INTERVIEWER:
Well, you've mellowed them.
2463
01:45:35,584 --> 01:45:37,334
-Is that right?
-GEORGE: That's right. Sure.
2464
01:45:37,417 --> 01:45:39,334
I've passed
some of my rebelliousness
2465
01:45:39,417 --> 01:45:40,792
out of my system by now,
2466
01:45:40,876 --> 01:45:43,918
and it was never meant
to be my mode, I guess.
2467
01:45:44,000 --> 01:45:45,375
INTERVIEWER:
You don't have any formal...
2468
01:45:45,459 --> 01:45:46,626
-You don't go to church?
-GEORGE: No.
2469
01:45:46,709 --> 01:45:49,250
We didn't raise our daughter
in a church either.
2470
01:45:49,334 --> 01:45:50,959
In times of stress,
2471
01:45:51,042 --> 01:45:53,667
I still go back
and say the Hail Mary,
2472
01:45:53,751 --> 01:45:56,083
but I know that I'm using it
as more as a mantra
2473
01:45:56,167 --> 01:45:59,125
than as an appeal
to some person.
2474
01:45:59,209 --> 01:46:01,375
I think that sense
of superior being
2475
01:46:01,459 --> 01:46:04,709
that we look to
when we look to that, is us.
2476
01:46:04,792 --> 01:46:06,834
We're calling
on a higher potential
2477
01:46:06,918 --> 01:46:08,167
in ourselves when we say,
2478
01:46:08,250 --> 01:46:09,792
"Please help me, God."
We're saying,
2479
01:46:09,876 --> 01:46:12,918
"Please, God, help me find
in me what it is like you
2480
01:46:13,000 --> 01:46:16,209
that'll make me do this
the way I'd love it."
2481
01:46:16,292 --> 01:46:18,918
See what I mean? Good ideas.
No book learning.
2482
01:46:19,000 --> 01:46:20,417
-(CHUCKLING)
-(INTERVIEWER CHUCKLING)
2483
01:46:20,500 --> 01:46:23,167
It's nice to be able to sit down
and talk to a genius.
2484
01:46:23,250 --> 01:46:24,417
GEORGE: Oh, yeah? Well,
2485
01:46:24,500 --> 01:46:26,375
we're going to have
to redefine that term.
2486
01:46:28,375 --> 01:46:30,500
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
2487
01:46:31,876 --> 01:46:36,876
♪ (GEORGE SCATTING GOOFILY) ♪
2488
01:46:36,959 --> 01:46:44,584
♪ All I have to keep me
Is my memories of you ♪
2489
01:46:44,667 --> 01:46:49,125
♪ I sit alone at night
And wonder what did do ♪
2490
01:46:50,167 --> 01:46:52,083
♪ I lost you, it's true ♪
2491
01:46:52,167 --> 01:46:57,167
♪ But I still have my memories
Of you ♪
2492
01:46:57,250 --> 01:46:59,959
♪ Memories of you ♪
2493
01:47:00,042 --> 01:47:02,751
(VOCALIZES)
2494
01:47:02,834 --> 01:47:04,584
CREW MEMBER: Okay, George,
give me some head movement.
2495
01:47:04,667 --> 01:47:06,500
Then let's start again.
2496
01:47:06,584 --> 01:47:09,667
PAUL: He had been the guy
changing the form,
2497
01:47:09,751 --> 01:47:11,459
and suddenly, he wasn't anymore.
2498
01:47:11,542 --> 01:47:12,667
What is a handicap?
2499
01:47:12,751 --> 01:47:15,334
A handicap is a hat
that's there when you need it.
2500
01:47:16,876 --> 01:47:18,000
What is a cap pistol?
2501
01:47:18,083 --> 01:47:22,042
A gun for shooting hats off.
Get it? (MIMICS GUNSHOT)
2502
01:47:22,125 --> 01:47:25,292
PAUL: So, Carlin felt
out of step creatively.
2503
01:47:25,375 --> 01:47:28,626
He wasn't filling theaters
the way he had been.
2504
01:47:28,709 --> 01:47:30,375
That's why I think
a lot of the work he did
2505
01:47:30,459 --> 01:47:34,792
around that time,
it's kind of exploratory.
2506
01:47:34,876 --> 01:47:36,083
It's kind of... I don't know.
2507
01:47:36,167 --> 01:47:37,959
It's hard to describe,
2508
01:47:38,042 --> 01:47:39,918
but it's certainly not
his best work.
2509
01:47:40,000 --> 01:47:41,834
GEORGE: I want to tell you
how much I love peas.
2510
01:47:41,918 --> 01:47:45,375
I used to say, "I love this."
"Boy, I really love baseball.
2511
01:47:45,459 --> 01:47:46,876
Hey." (CHUCKLING)
2512
01:47:47,751 --> 01:47:49,375
GEORGE: You like baseball.
2513
01:47:49,459 --> 01:47:52,542
-I fucking love peas, man.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2514
01:47:52,626 --> 01:47:54,292
PATTON: He was kind
of in the wilderness.
2515
01:47:54,375 --> 01:47:59,417
GEORGE: (SINGING TO TUNE OF
"GIVE PEACE A CHANCE")
♪ All I am saying ♪
2516
01:47:59,500 --> 01:48:03,584
♪ Is give peas a chance ♪
2517
01:48:03,667 --> 01:48:06,542
He had kind of collapsed
in on himself a little bit,
2518
01:48:06,626 --> 01:48:09,834
where he was literally
parsing words
2519
01:48:09,918 --> 01:48:12,542
to a point
where it sounded like
2520
01:48:12,626 --> 01:48:14,292
someone doing a parody
of George Carlin.
2521
01:48:14,375 --> 01:48:20,584
Underrated vegetables
like beets. Beets.
2522
01:48:20,667 --> 01:48:23,918
SCTV did a pretty vicious
take on him.
2523
01:48:24,000 --> 01:48:26,000
-Beats me.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2524
01:48:26,083 --> 01:48:29,417
There's red wine,
and there's white wine,
2525
01:48:29,500 --> 01:48:31,709
-but there's no green wine.
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2526
01:48:31,792 --> 01:48:35,250
There's green grapes,
but no green wine.
2527
01:48:35,334 --> 01:48:36,709
-Why?
-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2528
01:48:36,792 --> 01:48:39,709
For God's sakes,
will you just shut up?
2529
01:48:41,250 --> 01:48:42,751
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
2530
01:48:42,834 --> 01:48:44,709
Max, do you ever notice
when you're making a movie
2531
01:48:44,792 --> 01:48:48,125
that you always show eating
but never going to the bathroom?
2532
01:48:48,209 --> 01:48:51,334
Come on, come on, and stop doing
those stupid bits.
2533
01:48:51,417 --> 01:48:53,375
Women hate them. I hate them.
2534
01:48:53,459 --> 01:48:54,709
GEORGE: At the end of the '70s,
2535
01:48:54,792 --> 01:48:56,792
somebody wrote a column
in some paper,
2536
01:48:56,876 --> 01:48:58,918
and it was a paper I admired,
saying...
2537
01:48:59,000 --> 01:49:02,918
(READS PROMPT)
2538
01:49:07,292 --> 01:49:10,792
And then in an article
somewhere, Cheech Marin,
2539
01:49:10,876 --> 01:49:12,167
he says...
2540
01:49:12,250 --> 01:49:14,042
(READS PROMPT)
2541
01:49:14,125 --> 01:49:15,500
He's obsolete.
2542
01:49:15,584 --> 01:49:18,125
(READS PROMPT)
2543
01:49:18,209 --> 01:49:20,959
-I see that.
-INTERVIEWER: Jesus.
2544
01:49:21,042 --> 01:49:23,459
GEORGE: So I say to myself,
2545
01:49:23,542 --> 01:49:25,375
"I'm gonna make
these people pay..."
2546
01:49:26,542 --> 01:49:27,792
by getting better
2547
01:49:27,876 --> 01:49:30,792
"and learning how to really
be a fucking artist."
2548
01:49:30,876 --> 01:49:36,542
And it gave me an inner resolve
to be terrific.
2549
01:49:36,626 --> 01:49:37,959
♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
2550
01:49:38,042 --> 01:49:39,667
To go to a new level.
2551
01:49:39,751 --> 01:49:44,250
To just fucking show the world
what was really inside of me.
2552
01:49:44,334 --> 01:49:46,667
♪ (MUSIC SWELLS) ♪
2553
01:49:49,167 --> 01:49:50,918
♪ (MUSIC LOWERS) ♪
2554
01:49:55,250 --> 01:50:00,000
♪ ("I CAN'T STAND IT"
BY LOU REED PLAYING) ♪
2555
01:51:53,792 --> 01:51:55,209
♪ (SONG FADES) ♪