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Carlin was very funny in the 70's. Back then, whenever a good stand-up appeared on television, you would stop whatever you were doing and watch. There were a number of very good ones: Richard Pryor, Robert Klein, Albert Brooks - but Carlin was probably the best.
Somewhere along the line, he adopted the persona of curmudgeon - and became less funny; very hit or miss.
I saw his act in Vegas in 2001. He was sometimes funny, but mostly just long-winded. Still, it was nice to see a legend in person - and the crowd loved him.
I watched his latest HBO special - it was excruciating.
In the next few days, you're going to hear about what a genius he was. It's absolutely true - he just hasn't displayed any of it in about twenty years.