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.