George Carlin to be awarded Mark Twain Prize for humour

George Carlin, whose scatological humour earned him an obscenity charge in the 1970s, is to be awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced Tuesday it would honour Carlin for his 50-year career as a standup comedian, writer and actor.

Carlin, known for his black political humour was best-known in the '70s for a standup routine called Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.

The schtick was an observation on language, poking fun at commonly used "dirty words." He was arrested in 1972 in Milwaukee and charged under obscenity laws, a charge that was later dropped; the FCC later rebuked a New York radio station for playing the routine on air.

Carlin makes people laugh but he also makes them think, Kennedy Center chairman Stephen Schwarzman said.

Carlin became known as a standup on the Ed Sullivan Show, with routines that included Al Sleet, the hippie-dippie weatherman, and a parody of stupid disc jockeys.

He also frequently took on the taboo subject of religion, as well as murder, genocide and natural disasters. His fame spread because of a series of recordings of his routines, which often couldn't be broadcast.

In 1975, Carlin became the first host of Saturday Night Live.

Carlin was also the narrator of the U.S. version of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends from 1991 to 1998. He appeared in the film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and had a 1993 TV series on Fox that lasted 27 episodes.

In 2001, Carlin received a lifetime achievement award from the American Comedy Awards.

In a recent HBO special, It's Bad for Ya, he continues to dissect what he calls the "bulls---t" that surrounds ordinary Americans.

"Americans don't question things anymore. Americans don't question things because everyone is fat and happy," he said.

Other winners of the Mark Twain prize include Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin.