Great interview with a man who went from social comic to funny cultural critic in my lifetime. I bought his first albums and secretly listened to them out of earshot of adults, learning the connection between humor and veracity (the truth is funny), and I would have gushed just as much at the end the end of such an in-depth discussion with a comedic hero.

I think the best element of the interview is the fact that you can literally hear
Mr. Carlin refining what might be called his "philosophy of comedy" as he answers your questions - he has obviously spent considerable time meditating on his role as a comedian and this interview provides him with a medium in which to develop that meditation. He is a perfect interviewee for "Psychology Today" because he is naturally inclined towards thinking about the psychological aspects of humor; and he seemed very happy to have an interviewer who permitted him to speak about such aspects at length and who inspired thoughtful response.

Superb and enlightening. I linked to your post from my article I have 7 Words for George Carlin who Died at 71

Amazing interview, Jay. Thanks for posting it. What he said about art and his process is well put and inspiring. There is much here that makes me sad he's gone (which has been my constant state today) but also happy we had him as long as we did.

This interview is a wonderful summation of George Carlin, not just his 'act', but George Carlin the person and how he wrote and perceived the world. A real "writer's writer" type of interview, as it were. It is rare nowadays to be able to read something insightful and comprehensive, that takes the length needed to develop a point and does not cram everything into a pat sound bite. I'm glad we're left with this fortuitous last memory of him. Thanks Jay, and RIP George.

Jay:

You are much younger than I, but Carlin defined us Boomers as a generation. He said out loud what we feared to say, and gave voice to our silence. In his passing, our voice is less. Thank you for sharing this extraordinary moment.

Blessings,
Michael

Great interview, Jay... Back in the summer of 1974 when I was doing a newspaper internship for The Register in Torington, CT, George Carlin was booked to play the the Oaksdale Theatre in Wallingford. Being a huge fan, I thought doing an interview with him would be the coolest thing in the world. I was between my junior and senior years of college and, frankly, still very wet behind the ears. I didn't think it would be a big deal. While some of the details are fuzzy, I remember taking my girl friend to the show and sneaking down front to take a picture as he performed. Carlin stopped the show and mugged a bit for me, which was simultaneously embarrassing and thrilling. After the show, we went backstage and I was introduced to him, only to be told by him that he really didn't want to do an interview - but that he wanted to hear it directly from his mouth, not from some underling. While disappointed, I was nonetheless pleased to have met him. Here it is decades later, and I've since interviewed thousands of celebrities, but he's the only person to have ever had the class and taken the time to turn me down in person. I realize that this is kind of a self-serving anecdote, but my admiration for him as a person has remained steadfast since that night because of his graciousness and professionalism. And he was damn good at what he did, too.

I love how he chooses to bring the conversation towards psych on his own.

Thank you for making the effort to transcribe all of that and give us access to that kind of insight. Selected quotes in a feature story don't tell you as much about a person as just hearing (reading) them talk.

People in the future will study Carlin, and having such a great final interview is an asset.

What a great interview and what a horrendous loss for people who love to laugh. Carlin was rare unadulterated genius. Saw him once live at the Sahara and it was a showroom full of people of all ages and walks of life at his mercy, all howling in unison with gut-aching laughter. I rarely get too broken up about people I didn't know personally departing this veil but I truly feel I've lost a close friend today. Thanks forever George.

Where is the audio for this interview?

I have some of the same feelings of being an observer always on the outside looking in. Carlin was right in so many ways, and his humor was such a nice way of delivering sound philosophy.

And for those who think smoking pot makes you stupid, what better rejoinder than George Carlin, one of the world's most civilized men.

thank you for this wonderful, insightful piece. I have tears in my eyes; the best tribute to a man I consider a prophet of truth that I could ever read. I'm sharing it with everyone!

Our oldest daughter is named after George Carlin (Carlin, not George!). She has the same uncanny ability to figure out where the line of acceptability is then proceed to cross it!

Something I've noticed about people who drop out of school early and later become famous and quoted by academics: they are always thinking about that, they never stop talking about how great they feel about being respected by the academic world. But they dropped out because they despised that world. And their comedy or art or whatever is often a searing indictment of that world. But they crave the respect from it. An ironic situation.

It think it takes more faith NOT to believe in God than to believe in God.
I think it's sad he never had any experience with God.

Gloria, then you ought to commend George for the even greater faith you feel he had. It's a lot more courageous to live the way Mr. Carlin did (and as I like to believe I'm living) then to ask some deity that probably doesn't exist to do the heavy lifting of life for you.

Anyhow I want to thank you, Jay, for this outstanding interview with one of my heroes. I'm sure you'll treasure this forever!

It's very impressive how Jay gets Carlin to open up. He really seems willing to share a lot that I wouldn't have expected and that's very personal - like the bits about how drugs altered his perspective and influenced his comedy, or about his childhood and making his mother laugh. He clearly appreciated being interviewed by someone who knew so much about him and was so interested to learn more. And how lucky for us that we get something which really reads like "a retrospective of his life" before his untimely (at any age) passing.

Thanks for the great interview. It's revealing how much thoughtful preparation was behind Carlin's apparent spontaneity.

I haven't been this sad since my father passed away. I listened to George Carlin since I was 18. I'm 50 now. I knew he was that special from the moment I heard his routine on my LP. He had the gift to apply his thoughts in a way that made you really think and whether it was funny or not, it made sense. What a great loss for all. A true giant of comedy/psychology. I see Bill Maher as the next hope.

this brought a tear to my eye and I'm not one to cry when famous people die. Thank you for posting this.