Remembering George Carlin

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Hosted byIan Punnett

Kelly Carlin is the daughter of George Carlin, the iconoclastic comedy legend. Joining Ian Punnett, she discussed growing up with her famous father and the challenges he faced being a public and controversial figure during a time of great social change. Carlin detailed her father’s transformation from mainstream comic to countercultural hero. As the 1960s progressed, she said that he became more uncomfortable with his relatively safe stage act, and "knew he could not live with himself" by being what the straight society wanted him to be. He "idolized" legendary comedian Lenny Bruce, who actually helped Carlin get an agent and jobs in nightclubs, and was taken away in a police car along with Bruce when he was arrested at a show, basically as a show of solidarity.

George Carlin did not directly bear the brunt of the legal firestorm over his "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television," it was radio station WBAI that played the record that was slapped with a lawsuit. Kelly Carlin said that her father never had to appear in court as a result, but that he later got a "got a kick" out of the fact that the case became a legal landmark and especially that the judges on the Supreme Court were forced to listen to the routine. At this point, she said that the case is almost irrelevant, since "technology has moved on" and people have access to almost any sort of content on demand. Although she recalled that the family didn’t talk about death, in his last HBO special, she felt her father "was talking directly to me and trying to prepare me on some level" during his final time on stage.

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Open Lines followed in the second half. Michael in North Carolina asked if there have been Bigfoot sightings in all 50 states (Hawaii is the only one not on that list.) Nancy called from Texas with a ghost story that happened to her just this week as her father passed away. She started noticing "dark shadows" in her home, as well as a repeated "three knocks" on her door even before her father’s death. Laura called in from Florida to praise George Carlin and gleefully recalled routines from his many comedy albums. Perry in California talked about the breaking news about the suicide of celebrity Anthony Bourdain and pointed out that many people also kill themselves slowly with illegal or prescription drugs.

Frank in Alabama thanked both Ian and George Noory for getting him through a long convalescence after a brain hemorrhage by commenting that "we get well together." Barbara in North Carolina said she was a fan of the band Boston and thanked Ian for including one of their songs on the playlist for the evening. She commented that "much of what we seem to be missing in our society is compassion and empathy" and that might prevent people from making desperate decisions. Jack in Virginia said that he battled depression earlier in life, and almost by accident found that vitamin D3 was so effective for him, that it was "like a switch was turned on."

News segment guest ‪Blake Wilson discussed a possible solution to the "Mojave Man" mystery.

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