George Carlin’s Portrait Chosen by the Public for Display
A portrait of George Carlin will be installed in the National Portrait Gallery’s “Recognize” space—a wall in one of its galleries that highlights one important person in the collection as chosen by fans and friends of the museum who voted through Smithsonianmag.com. The museum’s historians and curators selected three comedian’s portraits to choose from: Ellen DeGeneres, George Carlin and Groucho Marx. Thousands of votes were cast, and Carlin received the most votes. Arthur Grace’s photographic portrait of him will appear on the Recognize wall March 27.
Last fall, the Portrait Gallery created ‘Recognize” as an opportunity for people to decide what will go on display as it continues to acknowledge those who have influenced American politics, history and culture. Twice a year, the museum presents three portraits, and the public can vote for the one they would like to see on the “Recognize” wall.
Carlin (1937–2008) was known for his blunt and unapologetic approach to taboo subjects, including politics, language, psychology and religion. Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” routine led his arrest in 1972 for violating obscenity laws. The routine became central to a Supreme Court case in which the court affirmed the government’s power to censor material on public airwaves. Carlin was a frequent performer and guest host on The Tonight Show during Johnny Carson’s tenure as host. He also appeared in numerous films, including the cult classics Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. He starred in the sitcom The George Carlin Show from 1993 to 1995 and released 14 HBO comedy specials. In 2008, Carlin was posthumously awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
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I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!
My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.
Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.
As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.
All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.
