Bodog Beat

George Carlin opening the 13th annual U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in 2007. (AP Images)

Iconic comedian George Carlin died over the weekend at the age of 71.

On Sunday, Carlin admitted himself to St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica complaining of chest pains and died later that evening of heart failure.

Carlin gained notoriety in the 1970s for his infamous monologue, Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV, which lead to landmark First Amendment rulings on broadcasting offensive language by the Supreme Court. In 1972, Carlin was arrested in Milwaukee on indecency charges after doing the routine on stage there. He was exonerated by a Wisconsin judge who dismissed the case, saying it was indecent but citing free speech.

Carlin won four Grammy Awards for best spoken comedy album and was nominated for five Emmys. On November 10th, it was announced that Carlin would be the 11th person inducted into the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ pantheon of humor and receive this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He is survived by wife Sally Wade and daughter Kelly Carlin McCall.