04 Jun From A Radar Technician To The Greatest Showman – George Carlin
George Carlin, known to be outspoken and funny, was one of the most celebrated comedy greats of all time. However, very few might know that before stepping onto the public stage, he was a veteran. Carlin joined the Air Force in 1954 after dropping out of high school so that he could use the GI Bill to cover his further education. He was recruited as a radar technician and was posted to Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana.
George Carlin was born in Manhattan. His father was a national advertising manager in the New York Sun, and his mother was a secretary. Carlin’s mother, Mary Beary, had abandoned him and his father when he was an infant. During his childhood, Carlin attended Corpus Christi, a Roman Catholic school in Morningside Heights.
In one of his interviews, Carlin mentioned that he was proud to have been generally discharged from the military instead of having a dishonorable discharge. During his service in the Air Force, he was deemed an unproductive Airman and court-martialed three times. Thanks to his gripping comedy and amazing sense of humor, he got to work as a disc jockey for the KJOE radio station while serving the military. His work at KJOE helped him explore other opportunities in the entertainment industry.
After getting the upper hand in the broadcast show, Carlin and his partner Jack Burns shifted to California, where they dominated the television. “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Tonight Show” are the two most popular television shows that featured George Carlin. Carlin was popular for his splendid comic timing, and his “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” pushed him into the limelight.
Despite being in and out of the entertainment industry, Carlin remained a celebrated and prolific comedian. He also went on to feature in several HBO specials, television shows, and movies.
Comedy Central ranks Carlin as the second greatest stand-up comedian of all time, behind Richard Pryor and ahead of Lenny Bruce. In 2008, Carlin passed away due to heart failure one week after performing at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
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