Carlin was born on 6 November 1929 in Johnstone, Scotland, and he attended the Glasgow College of Dramatic Art.
[1][2][3] In the late 1950s, Carlin acted with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
He made his radio debut in 1955 on the Children's Hour[2] and went on to appear in a number of television programmes in the 1960s.
[1][4] Also in the 1960s he worked as a disc jockey on the BBC's Light Programme.
[2] Carlin died on 19 November 2017 in Gloucestershire, England.