Editing George Carlin (section)

== Career ==
=== 1959–1969: Early work and breakthrough ===
[[File:Away We Go (1967) Press Photo of George Carlin and Buddy Greco (2).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Carlin (standing) with singer [[Buddy Greco]] in 1967]]
In 1959, Carlin met [[Jack Burns]], a fellow DJ at radio station [[KMNY|KXOL]] in [[Fort Worth, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.texasradiohalloffame.com/georgecarlin.html|title=Texas Radio Hall of Fame: George Carlin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040923044145/http://www.texasradiohalloffame.com/georgecarlin.html |archive-date=September 23, 2004 |access-date=June 11, 2014}}</ref> They formed a comedy team and after successful performances at Fort Worth's [[Beat Generation|beat]] coffeehouse The Cellar, Burns and Carlin headed for California in February 1960.<ref name="james7"/>

Within weeks of arriving in California, Burns and Carlin put together an audition tape and created ''The Wright Brothers'', a morning show on [[KDAY]] in Hollywood. During their tenure at KDAY, they honed their material in beatnik coffeehouses at night.<ref name=bio60s>{{Cite news |url=http://www.georgecarlin.com/time/time3B.html |title=Timeline – 1960s |work=George Carlin Biography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000621020616/http://www.georgecarlin.com/time/time3B.html |archive-date=June 21, 2000 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}</ref> Years later, when he was honored with a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]], Carlin requested that it be placed in front of the KDAY studios near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entity_id=19830&source_type=A|title=Biographical information for George Carlin|publisher=Kennedy Center|access-date=July 30, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220184243/http://kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entity_id=19830&source_type=A|archive-date=February 20, 2009}}</ref> Burns and Carlin recorded their only album, ''[[Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight]]'', in May 1960 at Cosmo Alley in Hollywood.<ref name=bio60s /> After two years as a team, they parted to pursue individual careers, but "remain[ed] the best of friends".{{sfn|Carlin|Hendra|2009|pp=47–8}}

[[File:George Carlin 1969.JPG|thumb|upright|right|200px|Carlin performing on UK's ''[[This Is Tom Jones]]'' in 1969]]
In the 1960s, Carlin began appearing on television variety shows, where he played various characters, including a Native American sergeant, a stupid radio disc jockey, and a hippie weatherman.<ref name=timeline /> Variations on these routines appear on Carlin's 1967 debut album, ''[[Take-Offs and Put-Ons]]'', which was recorded live in 1966 at The Roostertail in Detroit and issued by [[RCA Victor]] in 1967.<ref name=timeline>{{cite web |url=http://www.georgecarlin.com/home/home.html |title=George Carlin's official site (see Timeline) |publisher=Georgecarlin.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008001351/http://www.georgecarlin.com/home/home.html |archive-date=October 8, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2014}}</ref> During this period, Carlin became a frequent performer and guest host on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', initially with [[Jack Paar]] as host, and then with [[Johnny Carson]]. Carlin became one of Carson's most frequent substitutes during his three-decade tenure. Carlin was also cast in ''Away We Go'', a 1967 CBS comedy show.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061235/fullcredits | title=Away We Go (1967– ) Full Cast & Crew | website=IMDb | access-date=June 18, 2016}}</ref> His material during his early career and his appearance—he wore suits and had short-cropped hair—was seen as conventional, particularly compared to his later [[anti-establishment]] material.<ref>''[[ABC World News Tonight]]''; June 23, 2008.</ref>

Carlin was present at [[Lenny Bruce]]'s arrest for obscenity at the [[Gate of Horn]] club in Chicago on December 5, 1962. As the police began detaining audience members for questioning, they asked Carlin for identification. After responding that he did not believe in government-issued IDs, Carlin was arrested and taken to jail with Bruce in the same vehicle.<ref>{{cite web|title=Comedians in Courthouses Getting Cuffed: Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, December 1962|url=http://thecomicscomic.com/2014/03/25/comedians-in-courthouses-getting-cuffed-lenny-bruce-and-george-carlin-december-1962/|website=The Critic's Comic|date=March 25, 2014 |access-date=February 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode|title=Profanity|episode-link=List of Bullshit! episodes|series=Penn & Teller: Bullshit!|series-link=Penn & Teller: Bullshit!|network=[[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]|air-date=August 12, 2004|season=2|number=10}}</ref>

=== 1970–1971: Transformation ===
In the late 1960s, Carlin made about $250,000 annually.<ref name=Zoglin/> In 1970, he changed his routines and his appearance; he grew his hair long, sported a beard and earrings, and typically dressed in T-shirts and blue jeans. He lost some TV bookings by dressing strangely for a comedian at a time when clean-cut, well-dressed comedians were the norm. He hired talent managers Jeff Wald and Ron De Blasio to help him change his image, making him look more "[[Hip (slang)|hip]]" for a younger audience. Wald put Carlin into much smaller clubs such as [[The Troubadour, West Hollywood|The Troubadour]] in West Hollywood and [[The Bitter End]] in New York City, and later said that Carlin's income declined by 90% but his later career arc was greatly improved.<ref name=Zoglin>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xg1h5lBheQC&pg=PT34 |pages=34–35 |last=Zoglin |first=Richard |title=Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2008 |isbn=9781596919440 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}</ref>

=== 1972–1979: Stardom and acclaim ===
[[File:George Carlin In concert at the Zembo Mosque, Harrisburg, Pa.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Carlin in the 1970s]]
In 1970, record producer [[Monte Kay]] formed the [[Little David Records]] subsidiary of Atlantic Records, with comedian [[Flip Wilson]] as co-owner.{{sfn|Sullivan|2010|p=114}} Kay and Wilson signed Carlin away from [[RCA Records]] and recorded a Carlin performance at Washington, D.C.'s [[The Cellar Door|Cellar Door]] in 1971, which was released as the album ''[[FM & AM]]'' in 1972. De Blasio was busy managing the fast-paced career of [[Freddie Prinze]] and was about to sign [[Richard Pryor]], so he released Carlin to Little David general manager Jack Lewis, who, like Carlin, was somewhat wild and rebellious.{{sfn|Sullivan|2010|p=158}} Using his own persona as a springboard for his new comedy, he was presented by [[Ed Sullivan]] in a performance of "The Hair Piece" and quickly regained his popularity as the public caught on to his style.<ref name="GoldmarkBio">{{cite web|last=Goldmark|first=Tony|title=George Carlin – Biography|url=http://www.amoeba.com/george-carlin/artist/146678/bio|website=Amoeba Music|access-date=September 1, 2016|quote=He bridged these two sides of his persona with 'The Hair Piece,' a whimsical poem about public aversion to long hair that he performed on Ed Sullivan, effectively reintroducing and reinventing himself to America. FM & AM went Gold, got him a gig at Carnegie Hall, and won the Grammy award for Best Comedy Album.}}</ref>

Starting in 1972, singer-songwriter [[Kenny Rankin]] was Carlin's label-mate on Little David Records, and Rankin served many times as Carlin's musical guest or opening act during the early 1970s. The two flew together in Carlin's private jet; Carlin says that Rankin relapsed into using cocaine while on tour since Carlin had so much available.<ref name="Jet">{{harvnb|Carlin|Hendra|2009|p=[https://archive.org/details/lastwords0000carl/page/151 151]}}</ref> ''FM & AM'' proved very popular and marked Carlin's change from mainstream to counterculture comedy. The "AM" side was an extension of Carlin's previous style, with zany but relatively clean routines parodying aspects of American life. The "FM" side introduced Carlin's new style, with references to marijuana and birth control pills, and a playful examination of the word "shit". In this way, Carlin renewed a style of radical social commentary comedy Lenny Bruce had pioneered in the late 1950s.<ref name=Zoglin/>

[[File:George Carlin and a cardboard cutout of himself from a few years ago, c. 1973.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Carlin c. 1973, with a cardboard cutout of himself as he looked in the 1960s]]
In this period, Carlin perfected his well-known "[[seven dirty words]]" routine, which most notably appears on ''[[Class Clown]]'' as follows: "'Shit', 'piss', 'fuck', 'cunt', 'cocksucker', 'motherfucker', and 'tits'. Those are the heavy seven. Those are the ones that'll infect your soul, curve your spine and keep the country from winning the war." On July 21, 1972, Carlin was arrested after performing the routine at [[Milwaukee]]'s [[Summerfest]] and charged with violating obscenity laws.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=626471|title=Carlin's naughty words still ring in officer's ears|author=Jim Stingl|newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|date=June 30, 2007|access-date=March 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929124942/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=626471|archive-date=September 29, 2007}}</ref> The case, which prompted Carlin for a time to call the words the "Milwaukee Seven", was dismissed in December when the judge declared that the language was indecent but that Carlin had the freedom to say it as long as he caused no disturbance.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 23, 1972 |title=Against Comedian: Charges Refused |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19720723&id=3RcfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3488,3633489 |work=The Tuscaloosa News |access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref> In 1973, a man complained to the [[FCC]] after listening with his son to a similar routine, "Filthy Words", from Carlin's ''[[Occupation: Foole]]'', which was broadcast one afternoon on radio station [[WBAI]]. The FCC cited Pacifica for violating regulations that prohibit broadcasting "obscene" material. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] upheld the FCC action by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling that the routine was "indecent but not obscene" and that the FCC had authority to prohibit such broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience.<ref>''[[F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation]]'', 438 U.S. 726 (1978); the court documents contain a complete transcript of the routine.</ref><ref name="EFF">{{cite web |url=https://w2.eff.org/legal/cases/FCC_v_Pacifica/fcc_v_pacifica.decision |title=FCC vs. Pacifica Foundation |date=July 3, 1978 |publisher=[[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] |access-date=June 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211103830/http://w2.eff.org/legal/cases/FCC_v_Pacifica/fcc_v_pacifica.decision |archive-date=December 11, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The controversy increased Carlin's fame. He eventually expanded the "dirty words" theme with a seemingly interminable end to a performance, finishing with his voice fading out in one HBO version and accompanying the credits in the ''[[Carlin at Carnegie]]'' special for the 1982–83 season, and a set of 49 webpages organized by subject and embracing his "Incomplete List of Impolite Words".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.georgecarlin.com/dirty/2443.html |title=BBS – Incomplete List of Impolite Words |publisher=George Carlin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406052624/http://www.georgecarlin.com/dirty/2443.html |archive-date=April 6, 2012 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}</ref> On stage, during a rendition of this routine, Carlin learned that his previous comedy album ''FM & AM'' had won a Grammy. Midway through the performance on the album ''Occupation: Foole'', he can be heard thanking someone for handing him a piece of paper. He then exclaims "shit!" and proudly announces his win to the audience.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55pfcmUzGhw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/55pfcmUzGhw| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=George Carlin - Occupation: Foole|date=July 27, 2012 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Over his career, Carlin was arrested seven times for reciting the "Seven Dirty Words" routine.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Watkins|first1=Mel|last2=Weber|first2=Bruce|date=June 24, 2008|title=George Carlin, Comic Who Chafed at Society and Its Constraints, Dies at 71|language=en|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24carlin.html|access-date=April 7, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Carlin hosted the premiere broadcast of [[NBC]]'s ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' on October 11, 1975. Per his request, he did not appear in its sketches.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Geoffrey Hammill, The Museum of Broadcast Communications |url=http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/saturdaynigh/saturdaynigh.htm |title=Saturday Night Live |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020820194836/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/saturdaynigh/saturdaynigh.htm |archive-date=August 20, 2002 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}</ref> The next season, 1976–77, he appeared regularly on [[CBS]] Television's ''[[Tony Orlando & Dawn]]'' variety series.<ref name="TVGuideTonyOrlandoAndDawn">{{cite web|title=Tony Orlando and Dawn 1974 TV SHOW|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/tony-orlando-and-dawn/cast/205090/|website=TVGuide.com|access-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901182949/http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/tony-orlando-and-dawn/cast/205090/|archive-date=September 1, 2016 }}</ref> Carlin unexpectedly stopped performing regularly in 1976, when his career appeared to be at its height. For the next five years, he rarely performed stand-up, although it was at this time that he began doing specials for HBO as part of its ''[[On Location (TV series)|On Location]]'' series; he did 14 specials, including 2008's ''It's Bad for Ya''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biography.com/people/george-carlin-9542307#comic-great |title=George Carlin stand up comedian does 14 specials for On Location |publisher=[[Biography.com]] ([[FYI (TV network)|FYI]] / [[A&E Networks]]) |access-date= October 8, 2016}}</ref> He later revealed that he had suffered the first of three [[heart attacks]] during this layoff period.<ref name="bravo">{{cite episode|title=George Carlin|series=Inside the Actors Studio|series-link=Inside the Actors Studio|network=[[Bravo (US TV channel)|Bravo TV]]|air-date=October 31, 2004|season=11|number=4}}</ref> His first two HBO specials aired in 1977 and 1978.<ref name="EssSplitsider2015">{{cite news|last1=Ess|first1=Ramsey|title=How George Carlin Changed comedy In His First HBO Special|url=http://splitsider.com/2015/04/how-george-carlin-changed-comedy-in-his-first-hbo-special/|newspaper=Splitsider|access-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160617094322/http://splitsider.com/2015/04/how-george-carlin-changed-comedy-in-his-first-hbo-special/|archive-date=June 17, 2016 |date=April 24, 2015}}</ref><ref name="LeveretteOttBuckley2009">{{cite book|last1=Leverette|first1=Marc|last2=Ott|first2=Brian L|last3=Buckley|first3=Cara Louise|title=It's Not TV: Watching HBO in the Post-Television Era|date=March 23, 2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135902742|page=128|url=https://www.routledge.com/Its-Not-TV-Watching-HBO-in-the-Post-Television-Era/Leverette-Ott-Buckley/p/book/9780415960380|access-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901182100/https://www.routledge.com/Its-Not-TV-Watching-HBO-in-the-Post-Television-Era/Leverette-Ott-Buckley/p/book/9780415960380|archive-date=September 1, 2016}}</ref>

=== 1980–1987: HBO and film ===
In 1981, Carlin returned to the stage, releasing ''[[A Place for My Stuff]]'' and returning to HBO and New York City with the ''[[Carlin at Carnegie]]'' TV special, which was filmed at [[Carnegie Hall]] and aired during the 1982–83 season. Carlin continued doing HBO specials every year or two over the following decade and a half. All of Carlin's albums from this time forward are from the HBO specials.<ref>{{cite web|date=August 22, 2020|title=The Late George Carlin Returns to HBO!|url=https://hbowatch.com/the-late-george-carlin-returns-to-hbo/|access-date=August 13, 2021|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Shaffer|first=Claire|date=August 10, 2020|title=George Carlin to Get Two-Part Documentary From HBO and Judd Apatow|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/george-carlin-documentary-hbo-judd-apatow-1041957/|access-date=August 13, 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en}}</ref> He hosted ''SNL'' for the second time on November 10, 1984, this time appearing in several sketches.<ref name="NBCSNL11101984">{{cite web|title=Monologue: George Carlin Returns to Host SNL|url=http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/george-carlin-monologue/n9279|website=NBC.com|access-date=September 1, 2016}}</ref>

Carlin began to achieve prominence as a film actor with a major supporting role in the 1987 comedy hit ''[[Outrageous Fortune (film)|Outrageous Fortune]]'', starring [[Bette Midler]] and [[Shelley Long]]; it was his first notable screen role after a handful of previous guest roles on television series. Playing drifter Frank Madras, he poked fun at the lingering effect of the [[1960s counterculture]].

=== 1988–1989: Changes in material and tone ===
Beginning in 1988, Carlin evolved and adopted both a new appearance and a new direction. As he did in his first change of direction in the early 70s, Carlin blended his old and new styles by bringing in politics and disdain for society with [[nihilist]] humor while using some of the previous material direction of pointing out the odd things we all do and continued his fascination with language, but with disdain for its current uses by society. He also began growing a ponytail at this time. This led to darker material and an aggressive tone over the next 2 decades, which were his most popular and widely seen shows via HBO specials which he continued to do until his death.<ref>{{cite web|title=George Carlin Changes His Act|url=https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/comedy/george-carlin-what-am-i-doing-in-new-jersey-transcript/|website=Scraps From The Loft|date=May 14, 2019 |access-date=January 12, 2025}}</ref>

=== 1989–1997: TV series and more films ===
In 1989, he gained popularity with a new generation of teens when he was cast as Rufus, the time-traveling mentor of the title characters in ''[[Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure]].'' He reprised the role in the sequel, ''[[Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey]]'' (1991), and in the first season of the [[Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990 TV series)|cartoon series]]. In 1991, Carlin had a major supporting role in the film ''[[The Prince of Tides]]'', which starred [[Nick Nolte]] and [[Barbra Streisand]], as the gay neighbor of the main character's suicidal sister.<ref name="Grimes1992">{{cite web|last1=Grimes|first1=William|author-link=William Grimes (journalist)|title=George Carlin, Small but Amusing|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/21/news/george-carlin-small-but-amusing.html|website=New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526055649/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/21/news/george-carlin-small-but-amusing.html|archive-date=May 26, 2015 |date=January 21, 1992}}</ref>

In 1991, Carlin became the second American narrator of the children's television series ''[[Thomas & Friends]]'', narrating the series' [[Thomas & Friends series 1|first]] [[Thomas & Friends series 4|four]] seasons.<ref name=LAT/> He played Mr. Conductor on the [[PBS]] show ''[[Shining Time Station]]'' until 1996, replacing [[Ringo Starr]] on both programs.<ref name=LAT/> According to [[Britt Allcroft]], who developed both shows, on the first day of the assignment, Carlin was nervous about recording his narration without an audience, so the producers put a stuffed teddy bear in the booth.<ref name=LAT>{{cite news|last=Allcroft |first=Britt |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-oew-allcroft26-2008jun26,0,3849505.story |title=The George Carlin I knew |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 26, 2008 |access-date=May 5, 2012}}</ref>

Carlin's [[Jammin' In New York]], a new HBO special in 1992, highlighted the directional change he'd been honing the last few years as he wore all black with longer hair and a new biting humor. Critics applauded the show and he continued down this path of more serious subjects and nihilistic tone for the remainder of his life. Carlin opined that this show was his favorite.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/22409|title=Jammin' In New York|access-date=January 12, 2025}}</ref>

In 1993, Carlin began a weekly [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] sitcom, ''[[The George Carlin Show]]'', playing New York City [[taxicab]] driver George O'Grady. <!--He quickly included a variation of the "seven words" in the plot.--> The show, created and written by ''[[The Simpsons]]'' co-creator [[Sam Simon]], ran for 27 episodes, through December 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.georgecarlin.com/time/time3E.html |title=1990–1999 |publisher=GeorgeCarlin.com |access-date=July 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130011335/http://www.georgecarlin.com/time/time3E.html |archive-date=January 30, 2009 }}</ref> In ''[[Last Words (book)|Last Words]]'', Carlin wrote of ''The George Carlin Show'', "I had a great time. I never laughed so much, so often, so hard as I did with cast members [[Alex Rocco]], [[Christopher Rich (actor)|Chris Rich]], [[Anthony Starke|Tony Starke]]. There was a very strange, very good sense of humor on that stage ... [but] I was incredibly happy when the show was canceled. I was frustrated that it had taken me away from my true work."{{sfn|Carlin|Hendra|2009}}{{page needed|date=November 2021}} Carlin was honored at the 1997 [[Aspen Comedy Festival]] with a retrospective, ''[[George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy]]'', hosted by [[Jon Stewart]]. His first hardcover book, ''[[Brain Droppings]]'' (1997), sold nearly 900,000 copies and spent 40 weeks on the ''[[New York Times]]'' best-seller list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/artists/?entity_id=19830|title=The Kennedy Center|access-date=June 12, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224111638/http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/artists/?entity_id=19830|archive-date=December 24, 2013}}</ref>

=== 2000–2008: Final HBO specials ===
[[File:Loz carlinbd2.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Carlin at a book signing for ''[[Brain Droppings]]'' in 2004]]
Carlin later said that there were other, more pragmatic reasons for abandoning his acting career in favor of standup. In an interview for [[Esquire (magazine)|''Esquire'']] magazine in 2001, he said, "Because of my abuse of drugs, I neglected my business affairs and had large arrears with the IRS, and that took me eighteen to twenty years to dig out of. I did it honorably, and I don't begrudge them. I don't hate paying taxes, and I'm not angry at anyone, because I was complicit in it. But I'll tell you what it did for me: it made me a way better comedian. Because I had to stay out on the road and I couldn't pursue that movie career, which would have gone nowhere, and I became a really good comic and a really good writer."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/george-carlin-quotes-0102 |title=What I've Learned: George Carlin |publisher=Esquire.com |date=June 23, 2008 |author=Larry Getlen |access-date=June 10, 2014}}</ref>

In 2001, Carlin was given a [[Lifetime Achievement Award]] at the 15th Annual [[American Comedy Awards]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} In 2003, Representative [[Doug Ose]] introduced a bill (H.R. 3687) to outlaw the broadcast of Carlin's "seven dirty words",<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/house-bill/3687|title=H.R.3687 - To amend section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, to provide for the punishment of certain profane broadcasts, and for other purposes.|date=December 8, 2003|website=congress.gov}}</ref> including "compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms)". The bill omitted "tits", but included "asshole", not one of Carlin's original seven words. It was referred to the [[United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties|House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution]] in 2004 and was tabled.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Jesus is coming.. Look Busy (George Carlin).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Carlin in April 2008]]

Carlin performed regularly as a headliner in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], but in 2004 his run at the [[MGM Grand Las Vegas]] was terminated after an altercation with his audience. After a poorly received set filled with dark references to suicide bombings and beheadings, Carlin complained that he could not wait to get out of "this fucking hotel" and Las Vegas; he wanted to go back east, he said, "where the real people are". He continued: "People who go to Las Vegas, you've got to question their fucking intellect to start with. Traveling hundreds and thousands of miles to essentially give your money to a large corporation is kind of fucking moronic. That's what I'm always getting here is these kind of fucking people with very limited intellects." An audience member shouted, "Stop degrading us!" Carlin responded, "Thank you very much, whatever that was. I hope it was positive; if not, well, blow me." He was immediately fired, and soon thereafter his representative announced that he would begin treatment for alcohol and prescription painkiller addiction on his own initiative.<ref name="tagreviewj">{{cite news |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Dec-04-Sat-2004/news/25407915.html |title=Dark Carlin |newspaper=reviewjournal.com |date=December 4, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041207042940/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Dec-04-Sat-2004/news/25407915.html |archive-date=December 7, 2004 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/12/27/george.carlin/index.html? |title=George Carlin enters rehab |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=December 29, 2004 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}</ref>

After his 13th HBO special on November 5, 2005, ''[[Life Is Worth Losing]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hbo.com/events/gcarlin/?ntrack_para1=insidehbo3_text|title=Carlin: Life is Worth Losing |publisher=HBO |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060115070120/http://www.hbo.com/events/gcarlin/?ntrack_para1=insidehbo3_text |archive-date=January 15, 2006 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}</ref> Carlin toured his new material through the first half of 2006. Topics included suicide, [[natural disaster]]s, [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]], [[genocide]], [[human sacrifice]], threats to [[civil liberties]] in the U.S., and his theory that humans are inferior to other animals. At the first tour stop, at the Tachi Palace Casino in [[Lemoore, California]], he said the appearance was his "first show back" after a six-week hospitalization for heart failure and [[pneumonia]].{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} In the 2006 [[Pixar Animation Studios|Pixar]] animated film ''[[Cars (film)|Cars]]'', Carlin voiced Fillmore, an anti-establishment hippie [[Volkswagen Type 2|VW Microbus]] with a [[psychedelic art|psychedelic]] paint job and the license plate "51237" (Carlin's birthday in [[Date and time notation|m/dd/yy format]]).{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} In 2007, he voiced the wizard in ''[[Happily N'Ever After]]'', his last film.

Carlin's last HBO stand-up special, ''[[It's Bad for Ya]]'', aired live on March 1, 2008, from the [[Wells Fargo Center for the Arts]] in [[Santa Rosa, California]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2007-09-24-carlin-collection_N.htm |title=George Carlin reflects on 50 years (or so) of 'All My Stuff' |author=Wloszczyna, Susan |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=September 24, 2007 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}</ref> Themes included "American bullshit", rights, death, old age, and child-rearing. He repeated the theme to his audience several times throughout the show: "It's all bullshit, and it's bad for ya".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyr_ec6etjo |title=George Carlin - It's all bullshit, and it's bad for you. |website=YouTube |date=March 14, 2016 }}</ref> When asked on ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]'' what turned him on, he responded, "Reading about language". When asked what made him proudest of his career, he cited the fact that his books had sold close to a million copies.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}