A requiem for a man of Seven Dirty Words

Cultural satirist George Carlin passed away over the weekend at St. John's Health Center in in Santa Monica, Calif., a victim of heart failure. Carlin, a recent recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, began his career in the 1950s. His exploration of language and the human condition included an arrest and a Supreme Court fight over his content. He was the first host of Saturday Night Live in 1975, and his movie credits include the Bill and Ted movies and Dogma. He was 71.