Getting in a final word or seven

Just months before he died, George Carlin was looking into the face of death – and making it the butt of his jokes.

“You know what I’ve been doing? Going through my address book and crossing out the dead people. It gives you a feeling of power, of superiority, to have outlasted another old friend,” Carlin says on what turned out to be his final comedy album.

“It’s Bad For Ya” came out Tuesday. Carlin died June 22 of a heart attack at age 71.

In an interview four months before his death, he said he was particularly pleased with the material he was working up for the album and an HBO show that aired last March.

“Some people who are close to me who have seen this show, and have seen a lot of the others, feel this is my best stuff yet,” he said.

Among them was daughter Kelly Carlin McCall, who was delighted to see a return to what she called her father’s “playful goofiness.”

Carlin waxes on – four-letter words in abundance – about the advantages of aging.

“It’s a great time of life, you get to take advantage of people and you’re not responsible for anything,” he says.

A drug she didn’t like?

Amy Winehouse was released from a London hospital Tuesday after an overnight stay to treat what her spokesman said was an adverse reaction to medication.

Winehouse, who won global acclaim for her 2006 album “Back to Black,” was admitted to a London clinic in June after collapsing at home. Her father said she had early stage emphysema from smoking cigarettes and crack cocaine.

No blame, just shame

Shia LaBeouf was not to blame for a weekend car crash in Los Angeles, authorities said Tuesday, pinning fault on the other driver for running a red light.

LaBeouf, who was booked for a misdemeanor DUI, had surgery on his left hand and will need a month off from shooting “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

Stepping out solo

Mario Lopez may be doing a happy dance after being picked as the new host of “Extra.”

The former “Dancing With the Stars” finalist, who’s been a correspondent for the syndicated entertainment newsmagazine and co-hosted its weekend edition since January 2007, will take over from Mark McGrath and Dayna Devon.

McGrath will focus on his band, Sugar Ray, while Devon returns to reporting.

Do the mashed potatoe

Finally, speaking of “Dancing With the Stars,” former vice president Dan Quayle reportedly is on the “short list” of stars in final negotations for next season.

The cast will be announced in late August.

The birthday bunch

Actor Edd “Kookie” Byrnes is 75. Bluesman Buddy Guy is 72. Director Peter Bogdanovich is 69. Singer Paul Anka is 67. Saxophonist David Sanborn is 63. Actor/politician Arnold Schwarzenegger is 61. Actress Delta Burke is 52. Actor Laurence Fishburne is 47. Actress Lisa Kudrow is 45. Actress Vivica A. Fox is 44. Director Christopher Nolan (“Memento”) is 38. Actor Tom Green is 37. Actress Christine Taylor is 37. Actress Hilary Swank is 34. Actress Jaime Pressly is 31. Actress Yvonne Strahovski (“Chuck”) is 26.