Last Words: A Memoir [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

George Carlin (Author), Tony Hendra (Contributor)

Book Description

Release date: November 10, 2009

As one of America's preeminent comedic voices, George Carlin saw it all throughout his extraordinary fifty-year career and made fun of most of it. Last Words is the story of the man behind some of the most seminal comedy of the last half century, blending his signature acer-bic humor with never-before-told stories from his own life.

In 1993 George Carlin asked his friend and bestselling author Tony Hendra to help him write his autobiography. For almost fifteen years, in scores of conversations, many of them recorded, the two discussed Carlin's life, times, and evolution as a major artist. When Carlin died at age seventy-one in June 2008 with the book still unpublished, Hendra set out to assemble it as his friend would have wanted. Last Words is the result, the rollicking, wrenching story of Carlin's life from birth -- literally -- to his final years, as well as a parting gift of laughter to the world of comedy he helped create.

George Carlin's journey to stardom began in the rough-and-tumble neighborhood of New York's Upper West Side in the 1940s, where class and culture wars planted the seeds for some of his best known material, including the notorious "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television." His early conflicts, his long struggle with substance abuse, his turbulent relationships with his family, and his triumphs over catastrophic setbacks all fueled the unique comedic worldview he brought to the stage. From the heights of stardom to the low points few knew about, Last Words is told with the same razor-sharp honesty that made Carlin one of the best loved comedians in American history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For more than a decade before his 2008 death, groundbreaking stand-up comedian Carlin had been working on his autobiography with writer Hendra (Father Joe), who finished it by distilling hours of conversations with the irascible social commentator. Armed with an eye for detail and a seemingly photographic memory, Carlin retraces his life in full, chronicling petty crimes and stolen kisses, escalating drug problems and the death of his wife with unflinching honesty. He applies that same precision to the mechanics of comedy, giving would-be comics a veteran's insight into the dynamics of crowds, the structure of a performance and the importance (or unimportance) of the social and political landscape. Tracing his evolution as a comedian from the first time he made his mother laugh to performing for an empty room in Baltimore to the series of HBO specials he made over the course of his career, Carlin peppers his narrative with the routines that have made him famous (though this is no gagfest, a la Brain Droppings, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, etc.). Throughout, Carlin comes off as a smart, humble everyman with a strong distaste for hypocrisy in all its forms; fans may be surprised at his discipline and drive, and anyone interested in comedy should find this autobio as illuminating as it is funny.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Last Words, a posthumous autobiography from George Carlin, is a jazzy, inward-looking piece of work...as a chronicler of the working of his own mind, Carlin is terrific."

-- The New York Times

"...what "Last Words" ultimately reveals is how Carlin became a political protester, slam poet, cynic, polemicist and performance artist whose messages were delivered under the veneer of humor."

--Washington Post

"The book is at turns biting and touching, and often both, which is what you would expect from a man for whom the sacred was profane and the profane, sacred."

--Entertainment Weekly

"...frank and insightful..."

--Time magazine

"This is not a collection of setups and punch lines, but a candid, fearless accounting of his life and art...Last Words shows a comic master at the height of his storytelling powers and with no limit to what he had left to say."

--L.A. Times

"For comedy fans, this book is vital. It's easily worth its weight in gold for the biting observations on showbiz and its personalities."

--San Francisco Chronicle

"[Last Words] sounds as if he is still with us, rested and ready to ridicule the latest cultural hypocrisies."

--The Washington Times

"Seven particular words are associated with the late comedian George Carlin, and sentimental is not one of them. But that's the surprising portrait that emerges from Last Words."

--Houston Chronicle

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 297 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1st edition (November 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439172951
• ASIN: B003NHR5VO
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (177 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

544 of 555 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What can I say? November 10, 2009

By K. Carlin

Format:Hardcover

Okay, so I AM biased. BUT! I even learned things about my dad that I didn't know. So imagine, if you are a fan, how fun it will be for you. My dad kept his inner life pretty close to his chest, and in this book he shows his hand fully.

Enjoy.

130 of 134 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "HOW CARLIN BECAME CARLIN." November 12, 2009

By Rick Shaq Goldstein

Format:Hardcover

This long overdue posthumously released biography of comic genius George Carlin provides fans detailed personal information in a no holds barred format. Though there are bits and pieces of his famed skits... that is not the reason you should buy this book. There are innumerable videos... DVD's and albums available that contain unlimited sketches. What the reader learns within these pages... is what George eventually... with a lot of self-searching... learned about himself over a lifetime. Carlin had to eventually come to grips with what he felt and believed as a person... through an introspective journey... that encompassed painful truths of his parental heritage... childhood environs... religious culture and beliefs... along with alcohol and drug abuse.

The fact that George was developing this book for almost fifteen years is explained in an enlightening introduction by his friend Tony Hendra. A summary of why this book took so long to be born... could probably be best described by a John Lennon lyric: "LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHILE YOU'RE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS." Though George may have been a "Clown-Prince" on stage... his family's foundation was less than regal. His Father was an alcoholic bully... who beat George's beloved older brother... and self-proclaimed "best pal" Patrick from the time he was small... thus leading to the family's separation. In one chilling scene Carlin's Mother is sitting in a Doctor's office... mere minutes away from aborting George. "MY MOTHER'S PRIMARY MOTIVE IN LEAVING MY FATHER WAS TO PROTECT ME FROM THE BEATINGS HE GAVE LITTLE PATRICK." Patrick was a role model for George... and not always in the best of lights. As an example when George followed Patrick into the Air Force the Carlin boys accrued five court- martial's between them.... But even from this experience the author... with the added benefit of time and space states: "WEIRD HOW THE MILITARY TOUCHES SO MANY ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. IT'S LIKE THE CHURCH IN THAT WAY. YOU HATE IT BUT IT FORMS YOU. IT'S A PARENT. MOTHER CHURCH AND FATHER MILITARY." As an Honorably Discharged Viet Nam era veteran... now benefiting from the same time and space... I couldn't agree with him more.

As Carlin painstakingly describes his own metamorphosis... he makes it clear how much he idolized ground-breaking comedian Lenny Bruce. So much of what Carlin became... and what he dreamed of becoming... was influenced by Lenny Bruce. Not only what Bruce did on stage... but what he did in the courtroom. It's easy for the reader to appreciate how cathartic these writings must have been for George... since on one hand he is reaching for fame and fortune on TV... and in the very next breath he is sharing all the things he couldn't stand about TV. He was a talk show "darling"... yet he hated the chit-chat minutiae. He reminisces as much about the performances where there was one person in attendance as he does about sellouts.

To truly know oneself is a unique gift. When you think of the type of comedy George Carlin created he once gave a pretty good self-definition of what he thought his "outer-talent" was. "I COULD ALWAYS THINK ON MY FEET, BUT I NEVER WAS QUICK AROUND THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO DOMINATE A TABLE. I WAS A PRODUCT OF IDEAS, NOT AD-LIBS."

The beauty of the story telling in this book is that the author openly shares his personal agony and pathos... while at his personal highs... and while at his personal lows... as it is painfully obvious... that he himself... was trying to fully understand what made Carlin... Carlin. Read more ›

80 of 83 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The long-awaited memoir from the greatest comedian of the 20th and 21st centuries November 10, 2009

By J. Ward

Format:Hardcover

I picked up this book yesterday and finished it this morning. It is a revelatory read, as George's previous three books are along the lines of his standup material, whereas this book is a narrative. We finally get a full three-hundred page book worth of the "real George" that we saw glimpses of throughout the years in his interviews and less guarded moments.

As a lifelong fan of Carlin, I could never understand why there weren't a ton of biographies written about him. There are lots of revelatory moments in the book; the amount of catastrophe that followed Mr. Carlin around in the 70s and 80s is truly staggering. However, George never displays a victim mentality; he never blames others for his problems, and his attitude as the narrator is charitable towards the individuals he knew.

It is made clear how easy it would have been for George to take the path of least resistance at his turning point in the early 1980s, struggling with a cocaine problem and owing massive amounts of back taxes. It is also made clear just how much of a lifesaver his 1980s business manager, Jerry Hamza, was for George.

Carlin details his business problems as well as all of his heart problems and heart surgeries, and he dives headlong into the mess of the 1970s and talks about his years of drug abuse very candidly, as well as his marriage to Brenda Carlin (née Hosbrook) and his wonderful daughter Kelly. He talks candidly about both his and his wife's near-death experiences in the 1970s and 1980s, and her death in 1998 from liver cancer....

It is clear from their History together and from Hendra's introduction (not the typical fawning introduction; clearly written about a close friend with whom he had worked for many years, with the caveat that Hendra was required to write in Carlin's voice a bit, a candid admission that is fitting with the subject of the book) - and that's what works so well. The voice in the book is clearly Carlin's. The voice of a friend for many of us who we never knew personally. The insight provided into his creative process is fascinating as well, woven consistently throughout the book.

One more aspect of Carlin's life that is shown in the book is just how much his daughter Kelly helped George and Brenda to clean up in the 1970s, when Kelly was only ten years old. She remained an important voice in George's life until the end, helping him shape his material in some ways (she advised him that 2005's brilliant "Life is Worth Losing" was just a bit too dark, with its material on suicide and graveyard set, resulting in the more homey "home office-style" stage-set for his last special, 2008's "It's Bad For Ya."

A fitting sendoff if ever there was one. I imagine he's screaming up at us right now. Read more ›

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, shoddy production. November 23, 2009

By Raymond

Format:Kindle Edition

I have just finished reading the Kindle edition of "Last Words" and it's brilliant and funny and well worth reading. However, I was struck by how awful the copy editing and production is. The book is so full of typos it's like reading a blog or something. Words are run together, and many proper names are uncapitalized. The title of chapter 18 is written as "BWING, DOING, GETTING", for instance (it's correctly written as "BEING", not "BWING", in the TOC). The photo at the head of Chapter 15, identified as "George and Patrick Carlin", is in fact a photo of Carlin performing, repeated from the previous chapter. And so on. Really, this is shockingly bad. I hope the print edition is better.

Still, great book!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars (Soon To Be Famous) Last Words. November 11, 2009

By Michelle R

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Most comedians have a short shelf life. They blaze onto the scene at the right time, and for a while they're molten, seeming to capture the zeitgeist. They say what people want to hear, perhaps validate some prejudices, and then they fade from the scene. Carlin continues to burn bright, even now, because he captured something lasting and true while still managing to be a rebel - a nearly impossible task. He was an intelligent man, perhaps a genius, and spoke to other thinking people. He pointed out hypocrisy, he punctured some sacred cows, and he made us give thought to the words we take for granted and the words we assign too much power.

Here now is his life in his words. The mother who taught him the power of language, the father who wasn't present but from whom he inherited an ability to see through the bull, his upbringing in New York, his time in the military, his family, his early career, and how he transitioned into the iconic performer we think of when we hear his name.

Last Words is an engrossing read for Carlin fans, people who are interested in one of the major voices of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Some events, some people, are unimaginable to imagine never having existed, and some of Carlin's thoughts are deeply rooted in our iconography. The book carries on in the tradition of making us think, even if there's not always agreement. We are reminded, reading this, that he will be a tough act to follow, but we desperately need people to keep trying.

This is a thoughtful book, but Carlin's wit is still very much on display. In the midst of a poignant anecdote he would land a great line, and I would find myself laughing when a moment before I was in complete solidarity with him over whatever sadness he was sharing.... After being tortured a few months back by David Cross'sI Drink for a Reason, I was glad to see a book done right, and hoping other comedians are taking note.

It's a cliche to say when someone is gone, "his best work was just ahead of him," but Carlin got even better as time went on. He believed that too. That time gave him complexity of thought an understanding -- a way to better tie the world together. It reminds me of Elton John's song about John Lennon:

And through their tears
Some say he farmed his best in younger years
But he'd have said that roots grow stronger, if only he could hear.

The book ends with Carlin discussing his desire to do a Broadway show about his life, and it's as if he's caught off in mid-thought, and as if that storyline is left dangling, and perhaps that's the perfect ending for the story of a man who lived a full life but was still taken from us too soon.

My one criticism is that the book deserved to be better edited. There were a number of times I was jarred by an error, and there seemed to be a particular problem with proper names. (This refers to the Kindle edition.) Read more ›