George Carlin, a searing comic who pushed the boundaries of language and culture with his classic “Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV” routine, died Sunday of heart failure. He was 71.

His “Seven Words,” when played on New York radio, led to a 1978 Supreme Court ruling upholding the government’s authority to punish stations for broadcasting offensive language.

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Despite his bad-boy reputation, the stand-up comic hosted Saturday Night Live and made more than 100 appearances on The Tonight Show. His counterculture take on the world’s sorry state of affairs filled 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials and three books. Carlin won four Grammy Awards for best spoken comedy album, and it was announced Tuesday that he would be awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

In special honor of George Carlin, 2 words you can’t say on twitter.

(via 7d, the 8th dirty word, mattpdx, wired, nate angell)

UPDATE: The New York Times article I’ve been waiting on is finally up.

Still, when pushed to explain the pessimism and overt spleen that had crept into his act, he quickly reaffirmed the zeal that inspired his lists of complaints and grievances. “I don’t have pet peeves,” he said, correcting the interviewer. And with a mischievous glint in his eyes, he added, “I have major, psychotic hatreds.”

UPDATE 2: Mega George Carlin Video Tribute

UPDATE3: Fresh Air is remembering Carlin with a collection of audio clips.

You really should watch the act in question.