Respect the Classics, Man…

The passing of George Carlin affects us all in different ways. My first experiences with his material were when, in the DC area, a low-powered AM station went to an all-comedy format when I was in elementary school.  They would run stand-up routines and parody songs all day — mostly rated PG until 10pm came around. That’s when they would unleash the harder stuff.

Except when they would run some of that stuff during the day “by accident.” I recall hearing my mom switch the radio off quickly during one of his routines on the way home from school.  So I listened for him at night — with my radio close by my bed.  This was a man who broke through boundaries.

And later in life, of course, I was amazed at how well he played Cardinal Glick in “Dogma” — the leader of the “Catholicism – Wow!” campaign.

But in our house nowadays, George Carlin’s voice lives on, day after day, in the spirit of this fine character:

That’s Fillmore, the trippy resident of Radiator Springs (from the Disney/Pixar film Cars) who is always at odds with his straight-laced next-door neighbor, Sarge.  The very same one who blasts Jimi Hendrix’s Star Spangled Banner every morning, retaliating against Sarge’s protests with “Respect the classics, man!” The very one who spends his time hocking “organic fuel” *wink, wink* to the masses, crying conspiracy against the government for not realizing the benefits.

Since this is Av’s favorite film, we see it often. And experience Fillmore in the Cars videogames we have.  Avi will also, at times, do his impressions of Fillmore. (“It’s a conspiracy, man!”) It was nice that Carlin’s talents could pass to the next generation as well.

Bye, George. You shall be missed…