George Carlin: See Photos of the Comedian

George Carlin was a revolutionary comedian. After bursting on the scene and nightclub circuit in the 1960s, he quickly rose in popularity along with his partner Jack Burns. The duo eventually split, and George began performing on his own. Like his buddy Lenny Bruce before him, George embraced counter-culture and developed into one of the most controversial comics of his day. He shocked and entertained in the 1970s with a routine dubbed ‘The 7 Words You Can Never Say On Television,’ where he joked about profane language.

While he courted controversy over his comedy, George continued performing and regularly reinvented himself, exploring all sorts of themes throughout his career, including aging, politics, and various controversial issues, like abortion, religion, and much more. His last special ‘It’s Bad For Ya,’ released shortly before his death in 2008, explored a number of these topics.

Scroll through our gallery to check out photos of George Carlin from throughout his career.