Pitchfork

Comedian George Carlin died of heart failure yesterday, June 22, the Associated Press reports. According to his own website, Carlin had heart problems in the past. He was 71 years old.

In his lifetime, Carlin received numerous accolades for his groundbreaking comedy: Grammy Awards, Emmy nominations, HBO specials, bestselling books, the role of host on the first episode of "Saturday Night Live". And on November 10, he will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in a posthumous ceremony in Washington, D.C. to be broadcast on PBS.

Beloved by his peers and the entertainment establishment he so often unsettled, Carlin acheived greatness through the tone and content of his work.

As a stand-up comedian, he ruthlessly riffed on taboo topics such as religion, sex, drugs, and obscenity laws with verbal dexterity and razor-sharp wit. A prime example of this was his "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine, which led to a 1978 Supreme Court ruling on broadcasting obscenity.

However, Carlin was also capable of harnessing his talents in the service of more family-oriented entertainment. He endeared himself to children in the early 1990s as Mr. Conductor on "Shining Time Station". He enlightened two historically challenged Wyld Stallyns in need of guidance in the Bill & Ted movies. And his "Baseball-Football" routine is a hilarious exploration of the linguistic differences between two American sports.