George Carlin - Archive of American Television Interview

Full 7-part interview with comedy legend George Carlin, recorded December 17, 2007. He talks about his early influences (particularly Danny Kaye's films) on his comic sensibilities. He then chronicles his life through in Air Force, as a disc jockey, and as half of a comedy team with Jack Burns, that led to his first professional appearance on television on Jack Paar's "Tonight Show". He notes the various "breaks" along the way that got him seen and furthered his career. He talks about going solo and working as a stand-up comedian for several years before breaking into TV again on such programs as "The Ed Sullivan Show". He speaks in detail about his infamous "Seven Dirty Words" monologue and the FCC case that resulted from it (filed against WBAI radio, for obscenity). He recalls his appearance as the very first host of "Saturday Night Live". He talks about his HBO specials and how they resurrected his career. He touches on his later work as an actor in Kevin Smith's movies and on such shows as the PBS series "Shining Time Station", which earned him two Daytime Emmy nominations. Conducted December 17, 2007 by Henry Colman and Jenni Matz, in Venice, CA.