Last Words – George Carlin with Tony Hendra

Begun in 1993, when George Carlin teamed up with Tony Hendra for the first time to chronicle his life story, Last Words was released in 2009, nearly a year and a half after Carlin’s 2008 death.  The autobiography covers nearly Carlin’s entire life, from the story of his conception to his plans for a Broadway show, plans which never happened due to his passing.

My first exposure to Carlin was as an actor, appearing as Rufus in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.  I can only imagine that is what drew me to his HBO comedy special, Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics, 2 years later.  From that point on, I was a fan.

I had gotten this book as a gift a few years back, and it literally sat in a closet until a few weeks back, when I decided it was time to finally dig into it.  It covered a lot of familiar territory, but also gave new insight into some of it, explaining why my mom would have been concerned about me listening, in 1990, to the same comic my dad listened to in the early 1970s.  When Carlin passed, he was recognized as one of the finest comic voices of his, or any other, generation.  This book reminds you that this was not always the case.