HBO Pays Tribute to George Carlin

Zap2It.com | June 24, 2008

George Carlin

Network will air many of his comedy specials

HBO, George Carlin's TV home for more than 30 years, will celebrate the comedian's work over the next few days.

Carlin died of heart failure Sunday (June 22) at the age of 71. He was probably best known for his "seven words you can't say on television" routine, but his observations about the vagaries of language and everyday life also made him one of the enduring stars of the stand-up world. Last week he was chosen to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor; he'll now be the first person to be given the award posthumously.

He also did 14 comedy specials for HBO, spanning 30 years. HBO2 will air 11 of those shows over two nights, starting with his first one, 1977's "George Carlin at USC," at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday. The lineup also includes "Carlin on Campus" (midnight Wednesday), "What Am I Doing in New Jersey?" (8 p.m. Thursday) and "Jammin' in New York" (10 p.m. Thursday), which he called a highlight of his career.

The main HBO channel will air Carlin's most recent special, "It's Bad for Ya," at 9 p.m. Friday, June 27.

Here's the full schedule for the HBO2 Carlin tribute:

Wednesday, June 25

8 p.m. "George Carlin at USC" (1977)
9:30 p.m. "George Carlin Again!" (1978)
11 p.m. "Carlin at Carnegie" (1983)
Midnight "Carlin on Campus" (1984)
1 a.m. "Playin' with Your Head" (1986)

Thursday, June 26

8 p.m. "What Am I Doing in New Jersey?" (1988)
9 p.m. "Doin' It Again" (1990)
10 p.m. Jammin' in New York" (1992)
11 p.m. "Back in Town" (1996)
12:05 a.m. "You Are All Diseased" (1999)
1 a.m. "It's Bad for Ya" (2008)