If we could have a Comedy Olympics and award a gold medal to the person who has exemplified the most consistently funny act or routine, who would it be?
Some candidates:
Jonathan Winters
Brother Dave Gardner
Dennis Miller
Robin Williams
Rita Rudner
Elaine Boozler
Ellen Degeneres
Mort Sahl
Chris Rock
W.C. Fields
Groucho Marx
Henny Youngman
Charlie Callas
I know I’m leaving out some very funny people, so help…
Classic: George Burns & Gracie Allen
Modern: Margaret Cho
Who’s doing the writing for them?
If Groucho Marx has S. J. Perelman and George S. Kaufman doing his lines, as they did in real life, then he wins hands down.
If they’re writing their own lines, then Woody Allen is the all-time funniest. (Listen to his three comedy albums and you’ll be convinced.)
George Carlin
I’d say it’s either Seinfeld, Carlin, or Norm MacDonald
Gotta agree with you there on both counts.
For stand-up comics, Eddie Murphy was amazing when he was young–just watch Delirious or Raw for proof. I’m a huge Steven Wright fan too.
Bill Murray is my favorite comic actor–his delivery is always spot-on perfect. But I’m not sure if he ever did stand-up.
Richard Pryor!!
Seinfeld or Carlin.
Although I was watching Comedy central the other day and this Lewis Black came on… coming in at a very close third.
Then maybe Ellen Degenres and Janene Garraflo.
eddie izzard
I don’t know about longevity, but Chris Rock’s two specials “Bring The Pain” and “Bigger And Blacker” are the funniest stand-up shows I’ve seen…
No votes for Bill Hicks?
All-time favorite:
Bill Cosby
I have laughed longer and harder at his stuff than any other comic I know.
A classic.
Bill Cosby, Bill Hicks and Woody Allen are the only guys on the list who, as far as I know, never used writers for their stand-up.
If that matters.
Bill Hicks, Woody Allen…I got tired of George Carlin fast, though. Grumpy ol’ bastard.
Eddie Izzard and Brian Regan.
Also a fan of Norm McDonald when he does stand-up.
Robin Williams. He is able to combine incredibly intellectual material with superb facial expressions, excellent vocal characterizations and fabulous comedic timing. His improvisational abilities are unsurpassed and the range of content can be breathtaking. I’ve seen him live on two different occassions and he delivers the goods in fine fashion. I recently saw a cable special of his from New York (someone have a title for this show?) and it was some of the funniest work I have ever seen. His ability to connect up widely disparate material is second to no one. The man is one of the true living comedy geniuses.
That was actually called Robin Williams: Live In New York (or possibly Live From New York). My friends are obsessed with it, and I don’t think it is available on DVD or they would have it.
Isn’t it really Robin Williams - Live on Broadway?
I know it’s out on DVD. Besides the Amazon link, I own it.
But I don’t rate it very highly. Not close to the same league as his first couple of albums.
I don’t think anyone’s ever made me laugh harder than Jake Johansen.
But there are other comedians I’d put in a league with him. Steven Wright, Woody Allen and Bob Newhart, to name three.
What’s the difference between a comic and a comedian?
Unless I skimmed too fast, nobody mentioned Billy Crystal. One of the greats, surely. Going back some years, Alan King had me laughing a lot. Lenny Bruce wasn’t as funny as he was thought provoking. The funniest of all time? I dunno. Woody Allen in standup days was hard to beat.
Aside from the aforementioned Murphy, Izzard, Wright, and Williams, I really like this Arj Barker guy. I’ve seen his hour long performance on Comedy Central and an appearance on Conan, and he was hilarious in each.