The Cellar - Celebrity death that bummed you out the most...

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Cyd Charisse has passed at 86. She was lovely, a lithe, graceful, beautiful dancer and actress. "Brigadoon" and "Silk Stockings" will be viewed in her honor this weekend at my house.

George Carlin, today, age 71.

The men go early, don't they. Mr. Carlin's heart was a problem all along and it got him in the end, but so thankful he got so much longer after the first heart attack. Although many people found him bitter in the end - and one wonders whether that got him, really - he had both the sense of the common man and the wit of the wordsmith, a great combination for standup. His last HBO special found him really aging hard... but still bringing huge laughs.

His 70s vinyl albums taught me so much about life through his excellent observations, and helped form the center of my early funny bone. A serious thinker who loved to play with words. A great standup who could compose a truly original set out of what are usually considered "hack" standup topics, such as "dogs versus cats".

And the dude who built HBO, because outside cable TV he wouldn't be broadcast saying "fuck" -- an aesthetic rebel, defining his own way and defying the rules for the comedy that told truths and made the people laugh.

He'll get many accolades, and he'll deserve them. It's the rare standup who can last decades. It's probably the most difficult form there is. To last as long as Carlin did, to turn out routines utterly dense with material, to stay relevant and funny for so long is really quite miraculous.

Carlin said it best, "Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker and Tits." Strange to think a generation of kids only know him as the conductor on Thomas the tank engine.

I loved Carlin's wordplay and the 'light bulb' expression he would employ after asking one of his insightful questions that could leave one laughing too hard to answer. Must admit I did not enjoy Brain Droppings that much, but it hardly counts by comparison.

"We're gonna fuck ya now Sherrif. And we're gonna fuck ya slow."

I actually got weepy when I found out George Carlin died. George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, and Richard Pryor invented modern comedy. He was a legend and my life is a bit more empty knowing he's gone.

I remember when I was in high school listening to one of his comedy tapes in the car. I was laughing so hard I was in tears and I had to pull over because I couldn't see the road.

His creative use of the English language was hysterical. He was a poet, and a comic genius the likes of which the world will never see again. He was a national treasure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by George Carlin describing himself

"I'm a modern man, digital and smoke-free; a man for the millennium.

A diversified, multi-cultural, post-modern deconstructionist; politically, anatomically and ecologically incorrect.

I've been uplinked and downloaded, I've been inputted and outsourced. I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading.

I'm a high-tech low-life. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bi-coastal multi-tasker, and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.

I'm new-wave, but I'm old-school; and my inner child is outward-bound.

I'm a hot-wired, heat-seeking, warm-hearted cool customer; voice-activated and bio-degradable.

I interface with my database; my database is in cyberspace; so I'm interactive, I'm hyperactive, and from time to time I'm radioactive.

Behind the eight ball, ahead of the curve, ridin' the wave, dodgin' the bullet, pushin' the envelope.

I'm on point, on task, on message, and off drugs.

I've got no need for coke and speed; I've got no urge to binge and purge.

I'm in the moment, on the edge, over the top, but under the radar.

A high-concept, low-profile, medium-range ballistic missionary.

A street-wise smart bomb. A top-gun bottom-feeder.

I wear power ties, I tell power lies, I take power naps, I run victory laps.

I'm a totally ongoing, big-foot, slam-dunk rainmaker with a pro-active outreach.

A raging workaholic, a working rageaholic; out of rehab and in denial.

I've got a personal trainer, a personal shopper, a personal assistant, and a personal agenda.

You can't shut me up; you can't dumb me down. 'Cause I'm tireless, and I'm wireless. I'm an alpha-male on beta-blockers.

I'm a non-believer, I'm an over-achiever; Laid-back and fashion-forward. Up-front, down-home; low-rent, high-maintenance.

I'm super-sized, long-lasting, high-definition, fast-acting, oven-ready and built to last.

A hands-on, footloose, knee-jerk head case; prematurely post-traumatic, and I have a love child who sends me hate-mail.

But I'm feeling, I'm caring, I'm healing, I'm sharing. A supportive, bonding, nurturing primary-care giver.

My output is down, but my income is up. I take a short position on the long bond, and my revenue stream has its own cash flow.

I read junk mail, I eat junk food, I buy junk bonds, I watch trash sports.

I'm gender-specific, capital-intensive, user-friendly and lactose-intolerant.

I like rough sex; I like tough love. I use the F-word in my e-mail. And the software on my hard drive is hard-core—no soft porn.

I bought a microwave at a mini-mall. I bought a mini-van at a mega-store. I eat fast food in the slow lane. I'm toll-free, bite-size, ready-to-wear, and I come in all sizes.

A fully equipped, factory-authorized, hospital-tested, clinically-proven, scientifically-formulated medical miracle.

I've been pre-washed, pre-cooked, pre-heated, pre-screened, pre-approved, pre-packaged, post-dated, freeze-dried, double-wrapped and vacuum-packed.

And . . . I have unlimited broadband capacity.

I'm a rude dude, but I'm the real deal. Lean and mean. Cocked, locked and ready to rock; rough, tough and hard to bluff.

I take it slow, I go with the flow; I ride with the tide, I've got glide in my stride.

Drivin' and movin', sailin' and spinnin'; jivin' and groovin', wailin' and winnin'.

I don't snooze, so I don't lose. I keep the pedal to the metal and the rubber on the road. I party hearty, and lunchtime is crunch time.

I'm hangin' in, there ain't no doubt; and I'm hangin' tough.

Over and out."

-George Carlin

Just saw online that Bernie Mac died from complications from pneumonia. :(

Bill Melendez. Damn. One of the last great old school animators.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/...bit_melendez_3

I remember when "Peanuts" was only a comic strip - no TV specials, which were brought to us by Mr. Melendez. Damn, I'm old.

I had just watched Smokey and the Bandit II the night before.

No more Amos Moses.

Bill Melendez dies at 91.

Rest in peace, little Snoopy. :(

eta: didn't see that 'spode already mentioned this. We've lost Schulz and Melendez...does anyone know if Giraldi is still around? If not, my childhood is officially over.

This one really bummed me out a lot....

Don LaFontaine

I do a very good impression of him doing movie trailers. His voice was outstanding. I wish I could do what he did and make the kind of money he made doing it. The guy made millions and would sometimes do 36 different voice-over spots in a single day.

Oh, I heard that too Radar. That is "the" voice!

I remember a Janeane Garofalo bit where she talked about movie trailers all starting with "In a world..." and she mimicked his voice.

He had a nickname.... "The voice of god"