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50 free George Carlin trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This George Carlin trivia quiz covers the whole arc of the comedian's life: the Morningside Heights kid from 'White Harlem' who was thrown out of Cardinal Hayes at 15, the Air Force radar man court-martialled three times, the DJ who teamed up with Jack Burns, the suit-and-tie Tonight Show regular who reinvented himself in 1970 with long hair and FM & AM, and the counterculture star whose 'seven dirty words' got him arrested in Milwaukee and landed a radio station in front of the Supreme Court. It also asks about hosting the first Saturday Night Live, the 14 HBO specials from USC in 1977 to It's Bad for Ya in 2008, the five Grammys, Rufus in Bill & Ted, Mr. Conductor and Thomas the Tank Engine, Fillmore in Cars, the Fox sitcom he was glad to see cancelled, the Las Vegas firing, the wives, the heart attacks, the Mark Twain Prize, George Carlin Way, and the internet hoaxes he spent his last years debunking. Every answer is checked against Wikipedia's article on Carlin, and each explanation adds one further fact. Good for comedy nerds, free-speech classes and pub quizzes.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which New York neighbourhood did George Carlin grow up, calling it 'White Harlem'?
Morningside Heights
Part of West 121st Street there was renamed George Carlin Way in 2014.
Q 02From which Irish county did Carlin's father emigrate?
Donegal
Carlin called himself 'fully Irish'; his police-officer grandfather copied out Shakespeare by hand for fun.
Q 03Which entertainer did the young Carlin idolise and dream of emulating as a comedic actor?
Danny Kaye
His daughter Kelly said he took more film roles late in life because he 'never gave up on the Danny Kaye dream'.
Q 04In which branch of the US military did Carlin serve, training as a radar technician?
Air Force
Stationed at Barksdale, he moonlighted as a DJ in Shreveport, was court-martialled three times and got a general discharge in 1957.
Q 05With which fellow DJ did Carlin form his first comedy team in Fort Worth in 1959?
Jack Burns
They hosted a morning show on KDAY in Hollywood; Carlin later asked for his Walk of Fame star to be placed outside the KDAY studios.
Q 06What was the title of Carlin's 1967 debut solo album?
Take-Offs and Put-Ons
It was recorded live at The Roostertail in Detroit in 1966 and released by RCA Victor.
Q 07At whose obscenity arrest in a Chicago club in 1962 was Carlin also arrested, after refusing to show ID?
Lenny Bruce
He said he did not believe in government-issued IDs and rode to jail in the same vehicle as Bruce.
Q 08For which late-night host was Carlin one of the most frequent substitutes over three decades?
Johnny Carson
His clean-cut early act, in suits with cropped hair, was conventional compared with what came later.
Q 09By roughly how much did Carlin's income fall after he reinvented himself in 1970 with long hair and jeans?
90%
Manager Jeff Wald moved him into small clubs like The Troubadour and The Bitter End, and said his career arc was far better for it.
Q 10Which comedian co-owned Little David Records, the label that signed Carlin away from RCA?
Flip Wilson
Producer Monte Kay set it up as an Atlantic subsidiary; singer Kenny Rankin was Carlin's label-mate and frequent opening act.
Q 11Which 1972 album marked Carlin's shift to counterculture comedy and won his first Grammy?
FM & AM
The 'AM' side was his old clean style; the 'FM' side brought marijuana, birth control pills and a playful look at one four-letter word.
Q 12On which album does Carlin's famous 'seven dirty words' routine appear?
Class Clown
He called them 'the heavy seven', the ones that would 'infect your soul, curve your spine and keep the country from winning the war'.
Q 13At which festival was Carlin arrested for obscenity after performing the seven words in July 1972?
Milwaukee's Summerfest
Q 21Which famous venue hosted the 1982-83 HBO special that marked Carlin's return to the stage?
Carnegie Hall
He had stopped performing regularly in 1976, a layoff during which he suffered the first of three heart attacks.
Q 22Which 1987 Bette Midler and Shelley Long comedy gave Carlin his breakthrough film role as drifter Frank Madras?
Outrageous Fortune
The character poked fun at the lingering hangover of the 1960s counterculture.
Q 23What is the name of the time-travelling mentor Carlin plays in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure?
Rufus
He reprised the role in Bogus Journey and the first season of the cartoon.
He briefly called them 'the Milwaukee Seven'; the judge dismissed the case, ruling the words indecent but legal absent a disturbance.
Q 14How many times in his career was Carlin arrested for performing the dirty-words routine?
Seven
He later expanded the theme into an 'Incomplete List of Impolite Words' spread across 49 web pages.
Q 15Which station's broadcast of Carlin's 'Filthy Words' led to FCC v. Pacifica Foundation?
WBAI
A father listening with his son complained; the routine came from the album Occupation: Foole.
Q 16How did the Supreme Court rule in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation in 1978?
5-4 that the routine was indecent but not obscene
The FCC could ban such material during hours when children might be listening; broadcasters began issuing a 'Carlin Warning' to performers.
Q 17Which television show did Carlin host on its very first broadcast on October 11, 1975?
Saturday Night Live
At his own request he appeared in no sketches; when he hosted again in 1984 he did.
Q 18How many stand-up specials did Carlin make for HBO?
14
The first, George Carlin at USC, aired in 1977; the last, It's Bad for Ya, in March 2008.
Q 19How many Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album did Carlin win?
Five
For FM & AM, Jammin' in New York, Brain Droppings, Napalm and Silly Putty and It's Bad for Ya.
Q 20On which album can you hear Carlin learn mid-routine that FM & AM had won a Grammy?
Occupation: Foole
He thanks someone for a piece of paper, swears, and proudly tells the crowd.
Q 24Whom did Carlin replace as narrator of Thomas & Friends and as Mr. Conductor on Shining Time Station?
Ringo Starr
Nervous about narrating without an audience, he was given a stuffed teddy bear in the booth on day one.
Q 25In The Prince of Tides (1991), Carlin plays what?
The gay neighbour of the hero's sister
The film starred Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand.
Q 26Which HBO special did Carlin call his favourite, showcasing his darker new direction in 1992?
Jammin' in New York
Critics applauded it and he stuck with the more serious, nihilistic tone for the rest of his life.
Q 27What was Carlin's occupation in his Fox sitcom The George Carlin Show?
New York cab driver
Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon wrote it; Carlin said he was 'incredibly happy' when it was cancelled after 27 episodes.
Q 28Who created and wrote The George Carlin Show?
Sam Simon
Simon co-created The Simpsons; the sitcom ran through December 1995.
Q 29What was Carlin's first hardcover book, which sold nearly 900,000 copies in 1997?
Brain Droppings
It spent 40 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list; its audio version won him a Grammy in 2001.
Q 30Which agency did Carlin owe large arrears to from drug-era neglect, taking 18 to 20 years to pay off?
The IRS
He said the debt made him a better comedian because it kept him on the road instead of chasing a movie career.