George Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, actor, philosopher, author, and social critic. He was famous for his black comedy and reflections on politics, the English language, psychology, religion, and other taboo subjects.
Carlin did 14 stand-up comedy specials for HBO, first of which was filmed in 1977. He was a frequent performer and guest host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He hosted the first episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975. His final HBO special was It’s Bad for Ya. It was filmed less than four months before his death from cardiac arrest.
In 2008, Carlin was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor posthumously. In 2017, he was ranked second on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. In 2004, Comedy Central placed him second on its list of “Top 10 Comedians of US Audiences”.