I was a big fan for much of his career and my life. Carlin was an undeniably brilliant observer of human nature and behavior - both the sane and insane varieties. No one could dissect the stupid and inane goings on of this world in quite the expert way he could. He was the original “question authority” figure – an attitude I and much of my generation easily gravitated toward. And, though it wasn’t his strongest point, he also wasn’t a bad character actor (did a great job in Prince of Tides). As the years rolled by however, the jovial, friendly sarcasm that made you feel as though you were privy to an inside joke, seemed to turn more and more toward anger and hatred. It was off-putting to say the least. I caught his live standup just about a year prior to his death much of which he read from notes he had propped up on a stool. Aside from a palpable melancholy I left the theater feeling as though I had just attended an impromptu service at the first church of the perpetually irritated atheist and wishing I’d saved my money and preserved my early memories.

Brilliant.  He never stopped speaking truth to power, and he never stopped poking holes in whatever passed for the conventional wisdom of the time.  Most of all, I will miss his probing of the language.  My two favorite bits are his take on "Baseball and Football" and "Modern Man".  The latter began his next-to-last HBO Special.  For those who think he had lost some of his creative edge as he got older, watch "Modern Man" on YouTube.  It may be his masterpiece.  And that's saying something, given the wealth of his material.

I couldn't believe it. My favorite comic of all time. I saw him on stage in Fort Worth a couple of years ago. I would use his jokes and live by many of them. I will miss him.

George Carlin was one of the funniest comedians ever.  I know I put it on a couple other posts but one of my favorite lines is: "You need a little danger in your life! What are you gonna do, play with your *1/*/ for another 30 years? Read People magazine and eat at Wendy's til the end of time? Take a f*ckin' chance!"     Actually good words to live by.

George- you rocked! One of the few who knew how to "tell it like it is" and not give a da*& about whether people like it or not - love ya!

A brilliant social satirist and entertaining comedian. Almost sorry I saw his most recent HBO (?) special as he was extremely bitter and angry. I believe the death of his wife affected him a great deal. RIP George and I hope you were wrong about God and religion and are now in heaven with your wife.

Although I only began seeing Carlin (on YouTube - I'm Canadian; there are currently no channels that service any of his specials or interviews) in April of this year, I still find it horrifying that he's dead. After watching literally everything in mainstream media (on YouTube, of course) that I can find, I have seriously seen conclusions made that likely would not be even noticed without people like Carlin. The wit, the euphemisms and the humour that Carlin brought to the world will be remembered for milleniums to come. And no matter in what section of his stage life you knew him, as long as you were open minded, there had to be one monologue or skit that you liked. Otherwise, you're arrogant, stubborn, stupid or just a plain ol' douchebag.

A brilliant illuminator of hypocrisy who could make us laugh at all our human foibles, but in later years he became bitter and caustic... some say his decline was caused by the death of his wife.

He'll be missed, but he wasn't always right about everything:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcr8dm9Prkk

Muddy knew better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUor-I2mbdY

Yeah! Muddy knew better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-5KoP4o4Xc

  UPDATE:

http://tinyurl.com/5ttkg9

I don't get what all these people mean when they say they don't "agree" with George Carlin. They don't agree with his comparisons of baseball and football? His views on people and their "STUFF"? Maybe it "hit too close to home" when he challenged people's perceptions (GOD FORBID!!) or when he exposed the rampant hypocrisy inherent within our society. When he'd say that the human race was on it's way out, it probably wasn't exactly received "with open arms", but it's hard to argue it's probability, especially based on our RECENT HISTORY. To "disagree" with him on THIS concept could be the VERY human trait that would guarantee it's likelihood. 

Actually, he is somebody who you really do start to miss after he's gone. He had guts and was not afraid to take on controversial subjects. He will be apreciated by many generations to come for his wit and wisdom.

Now I don't agree with him most of the time but I give him a thumbs-up for paving the way for most of today's stand-up comics.

I didn't agree with all of his ideas but he always made me laugh. Not many comics could be known as much for their story telling as they were for one liners and thoughts like "What if there were no hypothetical questions?" Carlin had no use for political correctness and not only talked about how silly it could get but how it often defeated its own purpose. 

As I said, I didn't always agree with him, but I respected him because he was genuine, unlike some of the phony attention grabbers that sometimes garner far more attention.

a 4.5. very funny stand up comedian. he could come up with some of the funniest routines mostly about everyday life. Like we buy a house to put our "stuff" in. and when we have to much stuff we get a bigger house. the seven words you cannot say on television daring. he could be raunchy at times. boy could he tell some good jokes.and some of them really hit home. I thought Oh no! not George Carlin. guess I will have to rent some of his "stuff" from the video store.

George Carlin and  Richard Pryor were my comedic  idles growing up. As a young teenager, some of his material was a little over my head, mostly because I was too stoned to understand it. In the later years he had some not so memorable shows,  though I still think most of his stuff was pretty good to great.

Probably should be a four- but I'll give him five for his excellent skill with the language.  No one was a better critic when it came to pointing out social hypocrisies than Carlin.  How many stand-up acts have been inspired by him?  I'm a little sad that he's gone- it's like losing the smart-aleck kid in class who you knew would always make you laugh in class when the teacher was boring.

  Can anyone remember "Shining Time Station"? He was a great Mr. Conductor. While he is more remembered for some unclean humor and the "Seven Things That You Can't Say on Television," his talent while being this old and still performing was a remarkable sucess for him.

he was an amazing comedian and i teared up a little, which is rare for me to do

Head and shoulders above any other comic of his time and one of the most influential communicators of the last 40 years.  Will be assessed by the historians on a par with Bob Dylan as the voice of his generation.  He owed a debt to Lenny Bruce, but if there was no George Carlin there would have been no Richard Pryor, no Bill Hicks, no Martin, Letterman, Williams, Murphy or Seinfeld. He unlocked the doors to a whole world that the generation of radio era  comics never dared venture into.  And besides all of that he was really fucking funny.

Iconic comic, who I'll certainly miss.  The legendary "7 words....." routine is brilliant, but my favorite is his "Differences between football and baseball..." monologue.  Clever, edgy stuff.

Its sad to see that George Carlin passed away. He was one of the elder statesman of comedy, and was very influential in how he pushed the boundaries of the media. He also managed to do that while being very funny. RIP Rufus.