George Carlin, who did a lot to broaden and redefine American comedy and culture, along with contemporary Richard Pryor, died Sunday of heart failure. Carlin was 71.He was offensive, rude, and hilarious.
He's most famous for his Seven Diry Words routine, but his genius was in his ability to play with the English Language and to expose the audience to very different perceptions about it. His routine about the differences between football and baseball is as funny as Abbott & Costello's Who's On First routine.
He also did a superb job of narrating the children's show, Thomas The Tank Engine, where he managed to be both eager and childlike and step completely outside his usual persona.
It's ironic that heart failure was the cause of death, because he had more heart than most people could dream of.