Comedian George Carlin (67) said on Monday he was undergoing treatment for excessive use of alcohol and prescription painkillers.
“I’m going into rehab because I use too much wine and Vicodin,” Carlin said in a statement. “No one told me I needed this; I recognized the problem and took the step myself,” he clarified.
Carlin – whose latest book “When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?” a national bestseller – had battled in the 1980s for cocaine addiction but said he quit on his own. He also has suffered three heart attacks.
On his current problem, Carlin said: “I could easily have continued functioning at a good level for awhile but my use would have progressed. I would have been in deeper trouble, and I didn’t want to tolerate that. I know it isn't easy, but I'm highly motivated, and will do whatever's needed.”
Carlin’s spokesman said the comedian entered rehab on Monday but did not know how long he would remain in treatment. Carlin was currently scheduled to begin a new engagement at Stardust Hotel in Vegas in February.
Carlin, long known for provocative material that puts his audiences on edge, achieved status as an anti-establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine about seven dirty words you could not say on television. A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of his “Filthy Words” routine ultimately reached the Supreme Court.
