ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 31, 1996 TAG: 9605310004
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
George Carlin is pulling for the end of the world.
``I root for the big comet,'' he said in a recent interview from his home in Los Angeles. ``And if it would come through the hole in the ozone layer, that would be poetic justice.''
His only other wish would be for the comet to strike halfway around the globe first, so he could watch the end of civilization unfold for 18 hours on CNN.
Not very funny, is it?
But it is the essence of cantankerous funny man Carlin at 59 - maybe more cantankerous now and just as funny as ever.
Funny and bleak, that is.
``I don't have a lot of faith in the way this species has organized itself,'' Carlin continued in further explaining his rather unconventional comedy world view.
Of course, Carlin has made a career out of being unconventional. He will bring his stand-up act to the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium for one show tonight.
A native of New York City, Carlin was a high school dropout who joined the Air Force and worked on B-47 bombers before becoming a radio announcer.
He started in comedy in 1959, teaming with radio peer Jack Burns in Fort Worth, Texas, on a nightclub act. It was a partnership that lasted two years and landed them on the ``The Tonight Show'' with Jack Paar before they went their separate ways.
Carlin returned to New York to work as a solo act in the folk clubs and coffee houses of Greenwich Village, where he developed some of his best-known comedy characters, including the Indian Sergeant, the Wonderful Wino and the Hippy Dippy Weatherman.
He soon became a household name, logging nearly 150 television appearances between 1965 and 1970. He worked Las Vegas, but he thought that after a while his material became too safe, too bland and too mainstream in the process.
So, he grew a beard, began dressing more casually and returned to the irreverent, unconventional style he had developed in Greenwich Village.
Only he took it a little further.
He was fired by a Las Vegas hotel for using an off-color word. He was arrested in Milwaukee for performing his trademark routine, ``Seven Words You Never Say on Television.'' And he was host of the first ``Saturday Night Live.''
But the counterculture audience that he had tapped into so successfully began changing. The hippies became yuppies and Carlin once again found himself at a career crossroads.
He dipped back into conventional themes again for new material, like his routine ``A Place For My Stuff.''
Then he started to develop this bleak world view that has defined his comedy in the 1990s.
``It developed as a sort of artistic stance,'' he said.
It has been liberating, too. He said that by not having an emotional stake in the world's outcome, he is free to view mankind's decline from a fresh perspective - as purely entertainment.
``I'm here for the show,'' he explained.
Meanwhile, there is a more conventional side to Carlin.
He still performs about 150 shows a year. He is writing an autobiography. He is working on a Broadway show for himself that he plans to make into his 10th HBO special.
He continues to act in movies and on television. His film credits include ``The Prince of Tides,'' ``Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure,'' and ``Outrageous Fortune.'' On television, he has played Mr. Conductor on the children's program ``Shining Time Station.'' He had a part in the Lonesome Dove sequel, ``Streets of Laredo.'' And he starred in the short-lived sitcom, ``The George Carlin Show.''
In 1992, he won his second Grammy Award for his comedy album, ``Jammin' in New York.'' He also has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
And talk about conventional, particularly in show business: Carlin has been married to the same woman for 35 years. They have one daughter, Kelly, a documentary filmmaker.
Carlin said his daughter doesn't exactly share his philosophy. But it doesn't really bother her that he roots for the big comet. Much like his longtime fans, she understands.
``She certainly has a good idea of the folly,'' he said.
* George Carlin: Tonight at 8 in the Roanoke Civic Center Auditorium. Tickets are $21; they may be purchased through the box office (call 981-1201), through Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone by calling 343-8100.
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: George Carlin has become a comical curmudgeon: ``I don'tby CNBhave a lot of faith in the way this species has organized itself.''
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