THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 11, 1996 TAG: 9601100134
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
SO FOX DROPPED ``The George Carlin Show'' after 27 episodes. So he isn't going to earn zillions from TV like fellow comics Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne, Tim Allen and Brett Butler.
Will Carlin arrive for his Friday-night concert at Portsmouth's Willett Hall in a funk because his sitcom didn't make people forget ``Seinfeld''?
Hardly.
``I'm happy it didn't work out because now I am back doing what I love,'' he said from somewhere on The Road, where he'll be spending 30 or 40 weekends this year.
That love is stand-up comedy, which has been Carlin's calling for 35 years. He's always been ``in,'' always been fresh and innovative.
Quentin Tarantino, the maverick who turned Hollywood upside down with ``Pulp Fiction'' and ``Reservoir Dogs,'' and who helps define what is hip, says in US magazine that he wanted to be George Carlin.
Carlin gives words s-o-o-o-o-o much power, said Tarantino.
How great is that?
The Fox sitcom, said Carlin, was a little detour in his career, the spur off the main track.
``I had resisted doing sitcoms for 20 years,'' he said. ``When Fox approached me, I thought maybe it was time to try to find my niche in this form of entertainment. I thought to myself, `Maybe I can hit a home run.' ''
To make that happen in series TV takes ``perfect chemistry, a perfect blending with your creative partners,'' Carlin said. There was no such natural phenomenon on the show. He fouled out to the catcher.
Carlin said he is virtually certain that he won't do another sitcom, but he is not thumbing his nose at TV. After all, it was on TV 30 years ago that he first made America laugh with the ``Wonderful WINO'' and ``Hippy Dippy Weatherman'' sketches. In 1965 and 1966, he appeared on national TV 58 times.
Television has been bery, bery good to Carlin.
And he will continue to work on the tube, as Mr. Conductor on ``Shining Time Station,'' the PBS children's series that does not turn kids' brains into oatmeal. When he tells you that Jack Frost is really a warm person, believe it.
He'll also continue his association with Home Box Office, for whom he has taped eight specials, including the 1992 Cable ACE winner ``Jammin' in New York.'' Carlin has just about pulled it all together for his ninth HBO concert in March.
Look for him to comment on abortions. And prison farms. And other things from the big and little worlds, as he calls them.
When there is the time and opportunity, he will take acting jobs.
``If an interesting part comes along, if a producer says I might be good as the strangler or something, I'd be willing,'' Carlin said. ``I'm beginning to accumulate confidence as an actor. I'm growing into the skills and techniques of acting. I do a good job as a supporting guy.''
In the overcrowded world of stand-up comedy, Carlin is no supporting guy. His is the name over the title. He is the star.
Trivia item: It was 1959 in Fort Worth, Texas, when Carlin the comic was born after he developed a nightclub act with Jack Burns.
``I like knowing that my stand-up and writing career have commanded a great deal of respect. I'm grateful for the longevity,'' Carlin said. ``One of the nicest things that happens to me is when somebody in an airport or wherever comes up to me and says, `You know what line of yours I like best?' They'll recite something I hadn't thought of in years.''
Something like the following parody of local TV news:
``The sun did not come up this morning. Huge cracks have appeared in the earth's surface, and big rocks are falling out of the sky. Details 25 minutes from now on Action Central News.''
Or the line about God:
``He can't be perfect. Everything he makes dies.''
Or the brutality of football, where they throw the bomb and play in sudden-death situations; and the gentility of baseball, where all anyone wants is to be, sigh, safe at home.
That material is drawn from the little world, where, according to Carlin, the experiences are shared. Like the losers in the Miss America pageant. Shouldn't they keep coming back until they win?
From the big world come his thoughts on the sanctity of life. More on that in the March HBO special. No sneak preview, Carlin said.
The big world. The little world. Observing others. The language of the time.
That language is often foul. Carlin will forever be known for his bit about the seven words that can never be used on television. Make that broadcast TV, because he certainly uses the seven words on cable.
His comment about that: ``I do not work using sexual material. But I do use the language we inherited from the policemen, servicemen and athletes in our lives. Some of our greatest role models are also among the most foul-mouthed.''
As if Carlin needed another endorsement of his celebrity - or standing as one of this generation's most lovable outsiders - they recently gave him a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.
His reaction?
``I only hope no one throws up on it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
George Carlin is touring the country doing stand-up comedy, with
Portsmouth among his first stops.
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