George Denis Patrick Carlin was born May 12, 1937, in the Bronx, New York. Carlin and his younger brother, Pat, were primarily raised by their mother in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights section. Mary Carlin, a devout Irish Catholic, worked as a secretary to support her children. She had left Carlin’s father Patrick, a national advertising manager for the New York Sun, when he was an infant. Carlin attended parochial school and much of his negative religious sentiment stems from his experience as a Roman Catholic altar boy. Carlin completed two years of high school before dropping out in the ninth grade.

Carlin was noted for his political insights, his black humor and his observations on language, psychology, religion and on many taboo subjects. Carlin and his "Seven Dirty Words" comedy routine were central to the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, in which a narrow 5–4 decision by the justices affirmed the government's right to regulate "indecent" material on the public airwaves.

In the 2000s, Carlin's stand-up routines focused on the flaws in modern-day America. He often took on contemporary political issues in the United States and satirized the excesses of American culture.

He placed second on the Comedy Central cable television network list of the 10 greatest stand-up comedians, ahead of Lenny Bruce and behind Richard Pryor. He was a frequent performer and guest host on The Tonight Show during the three-decade Johnny Carson era, and was also the first person to host Saturday Night Live.

On June 22, 2008, Carlin was admitted to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California after complaining of chest pain. He died later that day at 5:55 p.m. PDT of heart failure at the age of 71. Two of the networks he had an influence on changed their schedule in tribute to Carlin. HBO devoted several hours to broadcast eleven of Carlin's HBO specials on June 25 to June 28, 2008, while NBC scheduled the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live which Carlin guest hosted.