The real "Son of Wino"

George Carlin

Obviously, my blogger name, son of wino pays homage to my mother, the late great wino (www.kismetfarm.blogspot.co.nz). Strangely coincidental, it is also the title of a stand up comedy skit by the (also) late, great George Carlin.
"Who was George Carlin" you ask? You could say that he was once the American equivalent to Spike Milligan, albeit a ruder, more upfront and 'in your face' version.  Later, he would become a pioneer of stand up comedy

The origins of 'wino' date back to one of his original skits, "WONDERFUL Wino!" from the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960's. Most memorably, Carlin stated that "The Beatles' latest record, when played backwards at slow speed, says 'Dummy! You're playing it backwards at slow speed!'" .
Son of Wino, which appeared on his FM & AM record inexplicably mocked the radio industry, attacking it's pretentious commercial presence in everyday life, with his constant reiteration of the phrase "It's 5 minutes past the Big Hour of 5" right through the act (all six and a half minutes of it).

Today, Carlin's most famous work is often regarded as seven words you can never say on television, by far his most expicit work.

Aside from comedy, Carlin famously lended his voice to the character 'Filmore', the organic fuel loving, hippified Volkswagen Microbus in Disney Pixar's 'Cars'. He also appeared as 'Mr. Conductor' in the children's series 'Shining Time Station'. Other famous appearance in films include playing the Roman Catholic Priest in Kevin Smith's 1999 dark comedy 'Dogma', and also starred in his own sitcom 'the George Carlin show' in the early 1990's

Carlin's death came in 2008, at the age of 71 following heart complications. In passing, his legacy and reach were realised, with such luminaries as Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, Bill Maher and Larry King all paying tribute to the man Comedy Central had rated as their second funniest man of all time.