George Carlin's darkest jokes revisited

15 years ago, George Carlin joked about liking it when lots of people die. The set was supposed to be in his upcoming HBO special but he scrapped it. 

Carlin's no stranger to controversy. The counter cultural comic's been shocking audiences since the 1970s. (Remember Seven Dirty Words You Can Never Say on Television?)

But this material hit a little too close to home. You see, it was recorded on September 10, 2001. 

The night before 9/11.

Longtime friend and producer of Carlin's, Rocco Urbisci joins Candy Palmater to shed some light on why the material was scrapped and what the purpose of a comic like Carlin is. 

Sensitive, not censored

The decision to revamp the HBO special into Complaints and Grievances was not a case of censorship, Urbisci says. It was a case of being sensitive. Even though Carlin's comedy was often boundary crossing, there was no need, in this instance, to cause pain.

"We're going to perform a show for the audience and make them forget for an hour. And make them laugh. And who better than him?" asks Urbisci.

But now 15 years later, the act has been restored on a new album along with the special's original title: I Kinda Like It When a Lot of People Die.

WEB EXTRA | Here's a preview of Carlin's posthumous comedy album, I Kinda Like It When A Lot Of People Die.