Well, fuck. George Carlin — Crown Prince of the Euphemism, Godfather of Free Speech, and one of the most notorious comedians to hit the airwaves — has gone in for the big sleep:

Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71.

Carlin, who had a history of heart and drug-dependency problems, died at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PDT (2 a.m. British time) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.

Carlin’s chosen subject matter was never lacking in controversy, but it was his particular form of unapologetic and hard-hitting delivery that couldn’t ever (and never will) be truly duplicated onstage. However, before we get all sentimental and shit, we realize that Carlin probably wouldn’t want to be mourned in a traditional sense. Actually, he’s probably giving us the finger at this very moment.

So, we’re gonna go watch the video of Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words” monologue after the cut, and we’ll probably check out the transcript yet again. Then, as a tribute, we’re gonna work every single one of those filthy words into conversation today. Repeatedly.

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