George Carlin, RIP

By
on

Comedian George Carlin has died at 71. Below is the 1985 short Drawing on My Mind, written and narrated by Carlin and directed by the accomplished Bob Kurtz.

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  • Tissa Tack

    Boy, what a cruddy way to start the week off…. He’ll really be missed.

  • http://robcatview.blogspot.com robcat2075

    At least now he won’t have to sit through that Mark Twain Award show and pretend to smile in amusement from the balcony while lesser comedians take the stage to show his old clips and explain why he’s funny.

  • Paul N

    This is very sad news, but may I respectfully inquire as to why Carlin’s passing is noted here when Stan Winston’s death last week went without notice? Without a doubt Stan had more to do with animation and inspiring animation careers than Carlin ever did.

  • slowtiger

    To quote a friend of mine: “I hereby apologize for any conclusion people have drawn from topics I made no mention of.”

  • http://www.upapix.com Tee

    Carlin will be sorely missed, one of the most brilliant comedians and commentators of our time. But, fortunately, Bob Kurtz is alive and creating, and Joe Siracusa who’s delightful sound efx and efx/music graced Drawing on My Mind, is also very much with us. He has more vitality at 90 than anyone I know. Well, thanks Amid for lightening out spirits on this sad day.

  • Murphy Rushing

    People complained in recent years how Carlin had seemingly grown bitter. Anyone with a mind would grow bitter, given the political landscape during the past seven or eight years. He was a rare comedian who continued to grow.

  • http://torontoanimation.blogspot.com TempleDog

    Hmmm…Paul N’s gotta point. Nobody on the Brew mentioned Stan Winston’s death? Anyhoo, Carlin. Good man, gonna miss him. Hey, it’s George freakin’ Carlin…nothin’ that comes out of my freakin’ gob will do the man justice, so I’ll just thank him for the funny.

  • http://dmgermain.blogspot.com David Germain

    This short reminds me of Tex Avery’s many spot gag cartoons (House of Tomorrow, Cross-Country Detours, etc.)

    I concur. George Carlin was indeed a great talent that left us way too soon.

  • Chuck R.

    Murphy Rushing:
    Bitterness I can excuse, but his critics were right: he completely lost the ability to pepper his diatribes with humor. Even in the clip above, he relies heavily on Bob Kurtz to take his grumblings and elevate it to something approaching comedy. I’ll fondly remember his classic “7 words” and try to forget the one-note curmudgeon he became.

  • http://cidcartoons.blogspot.com Rodrigo

    RIP George Carlin. :(

  • stavner

    Don’t forget roller f*&%ing!

  • doug holverson

    That’s a pretty ’70s looking short for being made in the middle of the ’80s. I’d almost expect Timer to walk through and implore me eat my veggies….

    Anyhow, RIP Philmore the Microbus.

  • http://checkeredgeekcartoons.blogspot.com Zach

    My heroes keep dying. First Ollie Johnston, then Bo Diddley, now George Carlin. It’s a little depressing.
    I love the short though. I actually grew up watching a lot of stuff like this. My town’s local video stores used to have a lot of “Animation Festivals” on tape, full of this kind of stuff. You know, Plympton, Frederick Back, etc. They’ve probably gotten rid of it by now.

  • http://marcosgp.blogspot.com/ Markus

    He was also the voice of Fillmore in Cars

  • Mike Johnson

    I hadn’t seen this short before. Very funny!

    I don’t really care if he had anything to do with animation or not, because George certainly will be missed, and that’s NO BULLS#!T!

  • yvette kaplan

    I, like so many, was very saddened by hearing this news this morning. Not only because I was a long time fan, but because by some strange combination of good luck and perhaps somewhat questionable judgement for both of us– I actually had the opportunity to voice direct the legendary Mr. Carlin on a handful of additional dialogue lines he read for last year’s Happily N’Ever After. I want to say without question, that he was one of the most gracious, patient, good natured and good humored professionals I have ever worked with. I was admittedly more than a little nervous, partly because of his status and his “bitter” stage persona, but mainly because of an extremely unpleasant experience I had just the week before directing another “celebrity” voice– but there was no comparison– Mr.Carlin was leagues ahead of that young prima donna in grace and human kindness. He instantly put me, and everyone in the room at ease. He was interested in us, and in what was needed- even for the embarrassingly small amount of lines he had to read– unfortunately, part of my last minute redirection of the movie included trimming his character’s scenes — but as a pro all he wanted was to do a good job. The topper, he had just come from an MRI, and was clearly in some pain — he was walking with a slight limp, and I think he may even have had a cane though I can’t remember for sure. Yet he not only gave his all, he stayed at least an extra ten or fifteen minutes to sign autographs and chat with a small onslaught of sound engineers/reverent fans who met him at the sound booth door as soon as he exited it.
    George Carlin was a pro, and a mensch. I am honored to have had that experience. No matter the outcome of the film, I got to meet and interact with a great talent, a great man. He will be missed.

  • Carolyn Bates

    George played the curmudgeonly hermit, Zugor in Disney’s 2005 Tarzan 2, directed by Brian Smith. Brian’s favorite quote from George during recording was, “Remember, a pessimist is really only a disappointed optimist.” George was interested in the animation process and very pleased to see his likeness in the Zugor character designs. At the records, he was always gracious, open to input, quietly spoken, and erudite, which his public persona might belie. Rest in Peace, George.

  • Chris Sobieniak

    What Zach said is true, though for me, I had to find some of these at a public library AV department and later from mail order and/or eBay. This short was highlighted on “International Tournee of Animation Vol. 2″ from Expanded Entertainment, where the video on YT was taken from.

  • Graham

    Are you sure this is a 1980s cartoon? This feels very 1970s-era.