Top 40 Radio
and Comedy Great
GEORGE CARLIN
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| George Carlin began his professional career in radio (KJOE in Shreveport, Louisiana) in July 1956 at the age of 18 while serving in the USAF. His top forty music show had 50% of the audience in the 9 station Shreveport radio market. The turning point for Carlin came in Fort Worth, Texas (1959) on KXOL. Carlin arrived in Dallas area radio at KXOL, just as our other Bob (Bob Whitney) arrived at KBOX, Dallas.
Together with newsman Jack Burns, George Carlin started developing comedy routines for an eventual nightclub act. Burns and Carlin stayed together for two years, eventually making a first appearance on "The Tonight Show" with Jack Paar. The following video was made with George shortly before his death by Jenni Matz and Henry Colman for the Archive of American Television on Dec. 17, 2007. It is an excerpt from several hours of interviews with Carlin. George Carlin died on June 22, 2008. He was 71 years old. His death occurred one week after his last performance at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The Kennedy Center posthumously awarded Carlin the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on November 10, 2008. |