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Website
George
Carlin Website - The official George Carlin site (contains some adult
oriented material)
Stats
Birthday: May 12, 1937
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Date of Death: June 22, 2008
Biography from 1989 Excellent Adventure
Press Kit
When the ultra-hip Rufus suddenly appears in a phone booth to send the
wayward students thought the circuits of time, it comes as no surprise that he
is a citizen of the 27th century. There are those who insist GEORGE
CARLIN, who portrays him, is from somewhere beyond tomorrow as well.
Noted for the innovation and daring of his insights, Carlin has staked out a
special niche among today?s comedians through 13 hit albums and string of
top-rated TV specials. Carlin also won acclaim for his performance in the hit
film "Outrageous Fortune."
A native New Yorker, he began his career as a radio disc jockey with an ear
for dialects and an eye for the ludicrous. Segueing to nightclubs, he found his
metier in live performance.
As his popularity grew, so did his cross-country concert schedule. He now
averages over 100 one-man shows a year. He has also guest-hosted "Saturday
Night Live" and enlivened Johnny Carson?s "Tonight Show."
Carlin made his screen bow in "With Six You Get Eggroll" in 1966,
then followed with "Car Wash" ten years later.
"I guess I made only one movie a decade because I couldn?t understand
film performance," he explains. "But now, thanks to acting classes and
a personal calm within myself, I feel much more at home on a sound stage. I?m
planning to explore this whole thing a lot more."
Biography from 1991 Bogus Journey Press Kit
GEORGE CARLIN (Rufus) still manages to perform 100 comedy concerts a year as
one of the country?s top comedians while paying attention to another of his
career goals - acting. In addition to character parts in such recent films as
"Outrageous Fortune" and "Bill & Ted?s Excellent
Adventure," he plays a featured role in Barbra Streisand?s upcoming
"Prince of Tides." He had the title role in the 1988 Blake Edwards
television movie, "Justin Case."
A self-proclaimed teenage "class clown / street corner comedian,"
Carlin years ago laid out a career path for himself as a disc jockey, stand-up
comedian and comic film actor in such early films as "With Six You Get
Eggroll." After an initial period of extensive TV and nightclub exposure in
the second half of the 1960's, his stand-up career took a different turn when,
in 1970, he grew his now familiar beard and began doing material of a more
personal and political nature. A recording contract led to the release of
"FM & AM," a gold album that won him the 1972 Grammy award. It was
the first of four successive gold albums during the first half of the 1970s.
Eight additional albums have followed, including two collections.
In 1977, he taped for cable television "On Location: George Carlin at
USC," and initiated a string of six highly popular HBO comedy concert
broadcasts. The seventh and latest HBO stand-up show, "Doin? It
Again," will be broadcast later this year.
Carlin?s other film acting credits include "Car Wash," "Americathon,"
and "Working Trash."
Updated Biography
The dude who was chosen to play the part of the coolest future
dude ever couldn't have been more appropriate. For decades George Carlin
took truth, observations and experiences and expertly melded them
together with verbal ingenuity to create lasting comedy magic. He continually managed to shock and enlighten audiences while making them laugh, a
truly exceptional gift.
George reprised the role of Rufus for the 1990
Hanna-Barbera
animated series Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures for CBS-TV. A
little known fact about George Carlin is that he suffered several heart
attacks over the years, one on February 14th, 1991, just two weeks before
filming on Bogus Journey began.
In September of 1991 he began portraying the endearing character
Mr. Conductor on the Shining Time Station series, a role for which he
would be nominated for two Emmys. In May 1997 his book "Braindroppings"
was released and stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 18
weeks; the paperback version lasted even longer on the best seller list.
In 1998 George Carlin appeared in the film Dogma playing
Cardinal Glick. He later made an appearance in another Kevin Smith comedy,
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and in 2004 he appeared in yet another
Kevin Smith film, Jersey Girl. George also made an appearance in
the 2003 film Scary Movie 3 and appeared in the 2005 documentary The
Aristocrats. He also did some voice work for the animated film Tarzan
II and Happily N'Ever After, as well as giving voice to the
character Fillmore
in the film Cars.
While he continued to perform live on stage all around the
country, George found time to film his popular HBO Comedy Specials . . .
in March 2008 the cable network aired his last special entitled It's Bad
for Ya. His last book was titled When Will Jesus Bring the Pork
Chops? In 2007 a Career
Retrospective DVD Box Set was released to commemorate Carlin's 50th
anniversary in show business. And in June 2008, the Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts announced that George Carlin would be their 2008 honoree for
their Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Sadly, George Carlin passed away of heart
failure on June 22, 2008, just days after the Kennedy Center award
announcement. It appears the award will still be awarded to George
posthumously. Often controversial but always brilliant, the world will be
a sadder place without George Carlin's biting humor to keep us on our
toes.
Last updated: 6/28/08
For a list of Carlin's acting and writing credits,
please visit the Internet Movie Database
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