Los Angeles (AP) A former comedy partner says George Carlin was “a genius” who will be sorely missed.

The ponytailed Carlin, whose sometimes raunchy take on life and language included 130 “tonight show” appearances, died in California last night after going to a health center because of chest pain. He was 71.

Carlin's routine called “the seven words you can never say on tv” got him arrested in 1972 when he uttered all seven during a show in Milwaukee.

And when the words were played on a New York radio station, it resulted in a Supreme Court ruling upholding the government's authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language.

Carlin told the Associated Press this year he was “perversely kind of proud” to be “a footnote in american legal history.”

Last week, it was announced that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain prize for American Humor.