# Was George Carlin All That Funny? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119 "2008-06-24T22:40:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/21 "2008-06-25T02:30:33Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I’ve got that album and the audience laughs at that bit. If the audience laughs, it’s funny, isn’t it? [/QUOTE] Have you ever not laughed at something others did laugh at? Obviously some people,lots of people,find Carlin funny.More power to them.I do not. Who does the Porky Pig/Elmer Fudd? Carlin? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/22 "2008-06-25T02:31:57Z")
And so we swirl around the drain of wondering whether making people laugh makes somebody funny or not… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/23 "2008-06-25T02:35:43Z")
I was around in 1967 when Take Offs and Put Ons came out. I thought it was hysterical then. Later, after hearing all the great comedians of the day, I would elevate it to one of the funniest albums ever recorded. The Seven Words routine is the kind of brilliant that comes along only once in a lifetime. It said everything about our society at the time. It just towers over so much of the rest of his humor, like finding “jumbo shrimp” funny. And that’s really the issue. Like every other great artist, he had a few years at the peak of his profession, a number of years when his professionalism and hard work carried him, and a number of years when his name carried him. Remember the bits at the peak. Most artists never see the peak from where they stand, much less ever scale it. If you’re doing a complete assessment of his entire life and career, the rest come into play. But never funny? That is like saying that the Beatles weren’t a good band. They were, objectively, or else the term doesn’t have any meaning. And Carlin was a great stand-up comedian, or else the term doesn’t have any meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/24 "2008-06-25T02:45:15Z")
I think the finest comedians that this nation has ever known - Bruce, Carlin, Pryor, and Rock, to name a few - actually were more wry social commentators than “ha ha funny!” comic types. I mean, the best riffs from all of those guys could be reprinted in a sociology textbook and it would fit perfectly. To be honest, true comic genius is humorous, but it isn’t always funny. I’ve only known Carlin since the 80s to present, and I always enjoyed his HBO shows and appearances on the late night shows. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/25 "2008-06-25T03:04:19Z")
I think if you are proud of America and think American society is just fine, you wouldn’t like Carlin. I think he is the best standup comedian EVER. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/26 "2008-06-25T03:07:26Z")
Funnier than he will ever be in the future. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/27 "2008-06-25T03:26:44Z")
In the 60s I was a comedy wonk (that the only thing people today know of Jackie Vernon is “Frosty the Snowman” is a crime against humanity) and the first Carlin I heard was like a dopeslap into the future. Then his Catholic schools albums came out and “it was funny because it was true”-- someone in my own class (may (may?) have been me) had tried the International Dateline trick on Faddah. As time went on Carlin became less edgy and more wry, then started to verge on really effing annoying. As career moves go his latest could’ve come 10 or 20 years ago and my reactions, “It’s sad but he stopped being funny or relevant ages ago,” and “Who knew he’d live this long?” would be the same. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/28 "2008-06-25T03:34:47Z")
I thought his early work was reasonably funny, but when I saw him a few years ago, I left before the end of the first act. He was merely vulgar and misanthropic, and the group I was with decided that we didn’t want to spend more time with a crowd that thought he was funny. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/29 "2008-06-25T03:36:48Z")
[QUOTE=Koxinga] You seem to be humor impaired. You probably wouldn’t even find Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd funny. [/QUOTE] I wouldn’t. (Now Elmer Fudd raping Porky Pig … ) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/30 "2008-06-25T03:51:44Z")
[QUOTE=MadTheSwine] old school stuff like Peanuts,Beetle Bailey,Hagar [/QUOTE] I’ve never heard those examples used in defense of a good sense of humor. (Though I must admit, while I like where he’s coming from, Carlin reminds me too much of one of my friends’ hippie dads to find too funny. Just not my thing). ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/31 "2008-06-25T04:06:11Z")
Yes he was that funny. I may be atypical on this board as my introduction to him was 'You Are All Diseased" which came out in 1999, when I was 19. I thought it was the most hilarious thing I’d ever heard. After that I went out in search of all his earlier works. IMHO, everything before “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics” is not that funny. My favorite Carlin was the cursing, misanthropic Carlin. Also IMHO, he pretty much stopped being funny after “Complaints and Grievances”. _Favorite Carlin memory:_ After discovering 'You Are All Diseased", I downloaded another album. The album I downloaded started with: _“Why??! Why!?!? Why is it most of these anti abortion people are people you wouldn’t want to fuck in the first place?!”_ On a more disappointing note, I once bought tickets to a George Carlin show in Great Falls, MT (pretty much the closest US city of any size to my hometown) and dragged a friend to go see his show. Turns out I had the dates wrong and missed him by a day. I still feel shame to this day for fucking that up. I’ll miss ya you old cocksucker. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/32 "2008-06-25T13:55:02Z")
[QUOTE=MadTheSwine] I enjoy a good laugh as much as anybody…except for Captain Johnson. I have a comic strip book collection that most people would envy, which includes Calvin and Hobbes,Get Fuzzy,The Far Side,Overboard,Shermans Lagoon,One Big Happy,Frazz,old school stuff like Peanuts,Beetle Bailey,Hagar and many,many others,most of which I find very funny,not to mention dozens of joke books. [/QUOTE] If you aren’t already familiar with the strip, you might take a look at **Tundra** , which at times rivals The Far Side for quirky [humor.](http://www.tundracomics.com/content_sub1.asp?SUB1_ID=37&SUB_ID=50&CAT_ID=45) ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/33 "2008-06-25T14:23:07Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Fight] I’ve never heard those examples used in defense of a good sense of humor. QUOTE] For a young boy whose love of comic strips was just beginning they were priceless,I read the books over and over. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/34 "2008-06-25T14:41:08Z")
[QUOTE=MadTheSwine] Who does the Porky Pig/Elmer Fudd? Carlin? [/QUOTE] It was part of a bit about how rape jokes have become unacceptable. George Carlin and Sam Kinnison are the only comics I know of who could pull off really **funny** material about violence against women. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/35 "2008-06-25T14:42:05Z")
[QUOTE=Nunavut Boy] I’ll miss ya you old cocksucker. [/QUOTE] Well said. And yes, IMHO, as most other posters have indicated, he was _that_ funny and insightful and influential. If Lenny Bruce was, say, the Bob Marley of introducing a whole new approach to a wider audience, Carlin was like The Police - taking parts of that new approach but tying it to pop craftsmanship and accessibility to much bigger commercial success vs. Marley. Not sure who Pryor would be in this analogy - most likely Miles Davis or Jimi Hendrix - an innovator on a whole 'nother level. (don’t tug on that too hard, okay? I am sure it will fall apart at the slightest prodding… 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/36 "2008-06-25T14:50:48Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] **ralph** All comedy dates (which is why we don’t roll in the aisle for Shakespeare anymore), but GC had the goods. [/QUOTE] Speak for yourself! Just to take one example, the dialog in _Comedy of Errors_ where Dromio compares a fat serving-wench to the globe, placing countries in various locations of her body, is side-splitting. Also, the Brannaugh _Much Ado About Nothing_ keeps me rolling on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/37 "2008-06-25T15:19:16Z")
Oh my lord, yes. The mere thought of his euphemism treadmill routine–shell shock to combat fatigue to post traumatic stress syndrome–makes me smile; reading it makes me giggle; and actually seeing it reduces me to a laughing idiot. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/38 "2008-06-25T15:23:10Z")
It must be an age thing, because I don’t find him funny, either. It’s kind of like that thread from a while ago where people were talking about how funny an episode of Mama’s Family or something was, and I didn’t get it at all. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/39 "2008-06-25T15:25:36Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] Oh my lord, yes. The mere thought of his euphemism treadmill routine–shell shock to combat fatigue to post traumatic stress syndrome–makes me smile; reading it makes me giggle; and actually seeing it reduces me to a laughing idiot. [/QUOTE] I was trying to remember the rest of that progression. One of his smartest points, in my opinion. Without being derisive, **MadTheSwine** , a big fan of comic strips and joke books probably is not going to like George Carlin. He is probably just too abrasive for you. And I used to read a lot of jokebooks as a kid. The Porky Pig joke really loses something in the explanation, but he was doing an aside about taste and the assertion that some things can never be funny. He used that example to prove you can make a funny joke about rape, and in my opinion, he’s right and it’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119/40 "2008-06-25T15:27:37Z")
I picked up a compilation of _FM & AM_, _Class Clown_, and _Occupation: Foole_ last night (as it happened, I needed some stand-up I hadn’t heard before anyway). It’s fairly tame so far, but his delivery is pretty good and is funny enough. The hair poem was fun. What’s surprising me is his voice; I’m so used to the older George Carlin that it’s just odd to hear his voice as yet untouched by cigarettes. I presume that’s why his voice was so gravelly in his later years, anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-carlin-all-that-funny/454119.md?page=3)