Milwaukee and George Carlin had a special relationship from the moment he was arrested here 40 years ago for mentioning "the seven words that can never be said on television" on a Summerfest stage. The comedian died in 2008.
Carlin's daughter, Kelly, was 9 when the long arm of the Milwaukee law put her father in jail for alleged disorderly conduct and profanity. She went on to graduate magna cum laude from UCLA, get a master's degree in "Jungian depth psychology" and work as a therapist for a few years.
But she is a Carlin, and she has never been able to completely escape show business. Her new "The Kelly Carlin Show" debuts at 6 p.m. today on the SiriusXM satellite radio Raw Dog Comedy channel, which is #99. On the first Sunday of every month, Kelly will interview a famous comedian about life, careers and the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar.
First up today is Robin Williams, who will talk about being cast in "Mork & Mindy," among other things.
Carlin's interviews will be repeated several times for SiriusXM internet subscribers on channel 400. Here is a recent interview with Kelly Carlin from the New York Times.
Damien has been around so long, he was at Summerfest the night George Carlin was arrested for speaking the seven dirty words you can't say on TV. He was also at the Uptown Theatre the night Bruce Springsteen's first Milwaukee concert was interrupted for three hours by a bomb scare. Damien was reviewing the concert for the Milwaukee Journal. He wrote for the Journal and Journal Sentinel for 37 years, the last 29 as theater critic.
During those years, Damien served two terms on the board of the American Theatre Critics Association, a term on the board of the association's foundation, and he studied the Latinization of American culture in a University of Southern California fellowship program. Damien also hosted his own arts radio program, "Milwaukee Presents with Damien Jaques," on WHAD for eight years.
Travel, books and, not surprisingly, theater top the list of Damien's interests. A news junkie, he is particularly plugged into politics and international affairs, but he also closely follows the Brewers, Packers and Marquette baskeball. Damien lives downtown, within easy walking distance of most of the theaters he attends.
