George Carlin began his career in comedy as a jacket and tie kind of guy, with a partner.
But after shedding his partner, Jack Burns, in the early '60s, and donning a beard, ponytail and the casual hippy garb of the time, Carlin went on to redefine standup comedy, shatter taboos, and redefine obscenity and indecency when his "dirty words" routine sparked a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Carlin, 71, died in Los Angeles of heart failure Sunday, days after learning he would receive the Kennedy Center Honors and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
In the past, those receiving the Kennedy Center award have been expected to attend the ceremony, but, in a break from tradition, officials announced the event would proceed as planned on Nov. 20.
Yesterday, comics paid tribute to his indispensable contribution to standup and humour.
"Carlin was a huge influence on comedians, and comedy in general, but it went beyond that," said Brent Butt, star of CTV's Corner Gas.
"He was one of those rare commentators, like court jesters in medieval England, who could use comedy and satire to actually influence the fabric of the culture.
"At his best, he had policy-makers and trendsetters in every industry taking note. That may have been a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your politics, but no one can deny it was happening," Butt added.
American shock comic Sandra Bernhard, in Toronto for Pride Week festivities and for an appearance on eTalk, called Carlin's passing "a sad end to an era. George was a trailblazer politically and a true original, and he will be deeply missed."
Carlin, born May 12, 1937, was a high school dropout raised by a single mother in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan. He began his career in the U.S. Air Force as an off-base disc jockey in Shreveport, La.
He moved on to another deejay job in Fort Worth, Tex., and stints as a carnival organist and marketing director for peanut brittle, before he and radio buddy Burns got their first break when they appeared on Jack Paar's Tonight Show.
Mark Breslin, founder of the Yuk Yuk's chain of comedy clubs, rated Carlin, along with Woody Allen and Richard Pryor, among the greatest comics of the late 20th century.
"I don't think there would be a Bill Maher today, a Jon Stewart or a Dennis Miller, without George Carlin. George Carlin kicked open the taboos for all those people and more, and so many comics working nightly in comedy clubs," Breslin said.
But Carlin was more than a buffoon in Breslin's estimation; he was a social satirist of keen intelligence.
"(Carlin) was a very smart guy and his comedy was smart. There was nothing silly or stupid about his comedy at any point
"He wasn't a comic who made a career out of movies ... (or) of sitcoms. He made a career the old-fashioned way: by getting up in front of people and telling the truth in a funny way." Breslin also recalled Carlin "was very good about spending time with young comics and giving them advice and helping them out."
"I would always go backstage whenever I would see him, here or in the States, and there was always a little lineup of comics waiting to meet him and talk to him, and he always had time for them. You know, that's a generous person."
Toronto-born comic Brian Lazanik called Carlin a true inspiration.
"He's only the reason I got into standup. He's only the reason everybody does (standup comedy) today. Everything we think of standup today, he's responsible for 80 per cent of it."
"He transcended the generations; that was the amazing thing," U.S. comedian Robert Klein said. "He was the universal American comedian. A counterculture Bob Hope but not quite counterculture."
"Nobody was funnier than George Carlin," said Judd Apatow, director of hit comedies such as Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Toronto-based comic Trevor Boris described Carlin as "definitely one of the prolific comics of all time," citing his 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials and his 130 appearances on The Tonight Show.
"I'm pretty young and the people I look up to are maybe a little bit more contemporary, but those people were all influenced by George Carlin ... he's the starting point."
With files from AP, Los Angeles Times
