From 7 words to endless ideas
In 2004, Comedy Central ranked George Carlin second (to Richard Pryor) on its list of the 100 all-time greatest stand-up comedians, not bad for a high-school dropout and former radio DJ who became a counterculture icon by playing characters like Al Sleet , the ``hippie-dippie weatherman." With more than 20 comedy albums, 13 HBO specials, numerous TV and movie roles, and three best-selling books on his resume, Carlin hasn't let commercial success keep him from pushing the comedic envelope, much as he did 30 years ago when first deconstructing the ``seven words you can never say on television ."
In recent years, Carlin, 69, has been plagued by heart problems and substance-dependency issues that landed him in rehab. Now touring again, he'll perform at four local venues in the next four days: Hampton Beach Casino in New Hampshire tonight ; South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset tomorrow ; Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis on Saturday ; and North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly on Sunday . Carlin checked in by phone from his home in Southern California.
How's your health?
Pretty good, except for a back problem this week. I had a heart-failure episode late last year, but happily that's passed.
Are any of these physical issues related to your rehab?
No, the rehab went fine. It hasn't been an issue for me, or even on my mind now.
You appeared on ``The Tonight Show" recently with right-wing pundit Ann Coulter . Many were predicting a Carlin-Coulter smackdown, which never happened. Why not?
Because Leno's show is an entertainment show, not a place for political wrangling. More importantly, you can never really win an argument with a zealot. It's impossible to make a nuanced argument against someone like [Coulter], who's very clever, because she'll jump in with some slogan. So unless you're willing to out-outrage someone like that, you can't win.
Did you and Coulter exchange words off-camera?
Not really. She has a reputation for being charming and disarming, and she was.
You started in Boston radio in 1959 and lasted only three months here. How come?
I borrowed a news unit [vehicle] to go to New York for the weekend. There was a prison break at Walpole. I told them from New York, ``Listen, just wait for the next prison break. They happen all the time." That didn't sit well.
You also hosted the first ``Saturday Night Live" show, in 1975 .
Which I don't remember much of, because of the drugs I was using at the time. I wasn't a competent or confident sketch-comedy actor, either, but I was too completely creamed on cocaine that night to do a good job.
Are you using new material on your current tour or synthesizing older stuff?
I make changes as I go, but they're not based on my thinking, ``Oh, they didn't like that." Basically, I'm at the stage where I'm breaking down the old show and building the new one, which includes stuff about the flag and God.
You mean the recent effort to pass a flag-burning amendment?
No, more about the commonality of flags and how I don't think they're special. I knew a bowling alley once that had its own flag. Every city and state has one. They're a logo, a marketing tool.
Do you consider yourself more a monologist these days, a la Spaulding Gray , or a stand-up comedian?
I always referred to myself as a comedian who wrote his own material. Now I see myself more as a writer who performs his own material. I still do raunch, I still do absurdity. But I like to dig into ideas with more depth and perspective than I used to. I hate to make this sound too serious, however, because the laughs and fun are still there.
Has becoming a best-selling author changed how you view yourself?
To a certain degree, yes. Oddly, though, the book audience and performing audience are not totally congruous. I noticed that six months after the first book [``Braindroppings "] became a big seller, when I'd casually mention it in concert and get only a smattering of recognition. Still, I'm very proud my three books have sold about 3 million copies.
How did you feel about the Comedy Central honor?
The nice thing is, it was voted by comedians. However, it was a little embarrassing to be placed ahead of Lenny Bruce . In terms of the kind of artist he was and the impact he had on comedy, he deserves to be ahead of me.
Are you content with your own career at this point?
I am. I've done movie acting, but I found out that (a) I wasn't as good at it as I am at what I normally do, and (b) it wasn't as much fun. I'm a loner. I enjoy the solitude of being a writer and stand - up comedian. Making movies is too slow and too collaborative. There's not much satisfaction in it unless you're an Al Pacino.
In the animated film ``Cars," you do the voice for an old hippie microbus named Fillmore . How come you didn't object to being typecast? Or demand to play a Maserati instead?
Obviously this was a perfect fit. Including, of course, the not-so-heavily-disguised ``I've got some good fuel for you, man" line.
One Amazon.com poster calls you ``angry, vulgar, and sophomoric." Are you comfortable with that?
Anyone who's been around me knows I'm not an angry person. What I do have is a very heightened sense of contempt and disappointment in my culture, my religion, my species. I feel let down, and that irritates me. If you forgive a little amateur psychology, there's a hurt in me -- as a disillusioned idealist -- that I channel into my material.
Are you more disillusioned than ever?
Right now it's more the enjoyment of watching it all dissolve. We live in a very trivial society, I feel -- one that's all about marketing to the lowest common denominator and short attention spans.
How do you spend your workday when you're not performing?
I have between 2,000 and 3,000 computer files on various subjects that I'm continually adding to and drawing from. I'm not hooked on the Internet, but I go to it for lots of things.
Regarding the Internet, has it had a democratizing effect on comedy today?
Happily, that's something I've never thought about. Look, comedy is very much what it always was for stand-ups like me: a person with some jokes and ideas to share. I do this to show off and to satisfy my left brain, because I am a show off. But I don't think of comedy as ``going" anywhere, except maybe to the beach on a hot day.
George Carlin performs at the South Shore Music Circus tomorrow (8 p.m., $42; 617-931-2787), two shows at the Cape Cod Melody Tent on Saturday (5 p.m., 9 p.m.; $42-$55; 800-347-0808), and one show at North Shore Music Theatre on Sunday (7:30 p.m.; $50-$60; 978-232-7200). His show tonight at the Hampton Beach Casino is sold out.
Joseph P. Kahn can be reached at jkahn@globe.com. 
