George Carlin was a good performer. He was a good orator. He was a good and creative writer. But, to me, he was not particularly funny. I know the comedy world at large may frown upon that statement, but who in the world said I had to agree with everyone! I’ve listened to Carlin. I’ve watched some of his specials and have even watched his Tonight Show appearances. On one particular appearance, he rambled off a long list of items as part of his set. None of these items were particularly funny to me. In fact, during the 5 minute rant, I giggled once. Then again, the audience didn’t laugh much either. But ohhhhh, the fact that he was brilliantly able to ramble off a 5 minute list of cleverly listed items got his fan base’s full attention. Then, at the end, a rousing round of applause. I sat there thinking, “I thought this was supposed to be a stand up comedy routine?”
I will never reach the level of fame or recognition that George Carlin reached, but it does not mean that I have to admire him for his stand up comedy. What I do admire is, his ability to write, perform and create a fan base that was clearly devoted to him, even in death. I feel the same about Bill Hicks. Sure he was a ground breaker in the stand up comedy scene, but I didn’t find him funny. And I’m not obligated to. Here are a list of comics that I think are much more brilliant than they were:
Brian Regan
Jim Gaffigan
Mitch Hedberg
Nick Swardson
(Just to name a few). YouTube them. Then, YouTube Carlin and Hicks. Form your own opinion. I’ll respect it either way.
Oh, and if you are, by any chance, a rock & roll musician, you do not have to like “Stairway to Heaven” or even give a crap about Led Zepplin or Rush.
What ever dream you have, follow your own inspirations and don’t be scared to admit that you don’t follow the general consensus about anyone! After all, isn’t that what George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Led Zepplin and Rush did?
By the way, I loved George Carlin in the role of Popeye’s long lost papi in the movie, “Popeye”.
Comedian Omar Tarango 
I will agree the Carlin wasn’t always in my opinion “funny”. However, I appreciated him because he was smart and articulate. These qualities lack in so many of our performers these days!
I agree with you! He wasn’t one of my favorites but he certainly put in the work and earned his audience! For that, I admire him greatly! Thanks for the great comment!
thank you I totally agree. Carlin was a great speaker and very engaging but it didn’t make me laugh. Same with Bill Hicks. Brian Regan isn’t the world’s most elegant speaker but he isn’t trying to be,,,and he makes me laugh more than any other comedian.