Bob Newhart is not only great at what he does, but he invented a new type of comedy: playing both the straight man and the comic at the same time.
Mine is definitely Robin Williams. Have you seen his interviews? The interviewer can barely get the questions out, he rants on and on. Like Zenster said, he is incredibly intelligent which adds to his ability to make us laugh. One of my favorite moments involving him was when he did a guest spot on “Whose line is it anyway?”. He is the epitomy of improvisation in my opinion.
Steven Wright.
I love Eddie Izzard so so much.
-Lil
Bill Hicks, Bill Hicks, a million times Bill Hicks
Voting with DesertGeezer…early Alan King.
About that same period the Jack Parr Show introduced a Southern accent with Brother Dave Garner.
Jack Benny could be funnier being silent than most other comedians are with their best lines. It’s old stuff but it’s genius.
Victor Borge
My Comedy Olympics awards would go to:
Groucho Marx
All of the guys from Monty Python
Spike Milligan
Peter Sellers
Bill Bailey
Eddie Izzard
Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French
Alan Partridge (aka Steve Coogan)
Alexi Sayle
Greg Proops
Ryan Stiles
Colin Mochrie
Isn’t it amazing that Groucho is oft-mentioned here and his work was so long ago. Timeless stuff, indeed.
He gets my vote hands down.
Eddie Izzard is my personal favorite.
Then there’s Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart, Lewis Black, Brian Regan, Robin Williams, Steven Wright, Margaret Cho, oh, and Wanda Sykes–who I just saw for the first time a few months ago.
My criteria for All-Time Favorites is that they have the ability to make me laugh til I cry. I have just about hurt myself laughing at all of these guys.
Well, Fiver, my dictionary uses Comedian as a first definition of Comic, so I guess the difference(s) may be only personal ones.
I tend to think Comic more in terms of stand-up. With Comedian I feel I can include actors who do comedy roles, writers of comedy, people with their on sitcoms (com for comedy), or, in other words, in the broader sense of being funny on purpose.
YMMV
Since I watched the most stand-up between about 1988-1995 my favorites come from then. It now kinda seems like a golden age for stand-ups what with both the Comedy Channel and the Ha Network playing stand-up, stand-up, stand-up.
Jerry Seinfeld would be my favorite. Ellen DeGeneres would be a close second. Well maybe she would come out on top, I don’t know. It’s been so long since I’ve seen a show of hers. I just remember laughing a whole heck of a lot.
I really love the Amazing Jonathon. His humor and mine match up perfectly. Jonathon Katz is also right up there for me. I love his delivery.
Wait a freaking minute? No mention of LENNY BRUCE?
For living comedians, I’d go with Robin Williams. Not only is he incredibly funny, he can also be “just an actor” when he has to. How many comedians have played serious roles?
Does anybody remember a show called “Make Me Laugh”? IIRC Bobby Van was host and lots of people (like Gallagher, for instance) got big boosts to their careers on the show.
Then there’s “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In” and “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” from roughly the same period.
Several shows in more recent times (Live At The Improv, Caroline’s Comedy something, and any number of others NOT on Comedy Central or HBO or Showtime) are good places to find new comics. I find that Letterman’s new comic shots are fun, but way too few in number.
To add to the flavor of this thread, what shows are providing you with the best comedy these days? In this case, let’s avoid the sitcoms and focus on shows that spotlight stand-up.
Am I the only Richard Jeni fan here?
Billy connolly
nothing else to say…
Alan King
When I was a child, I used to fall off the couch laughing at Victor Borge on the Ed Sullivan Show. Nowadays, Rita Rudner knocks me sideways on the couch, and Chris Rock knocks me off.
Another vote for George Carlin, especially his early works. The Seven Words You Can’t Say On Television routine still makes me laugh every time I listen to it. But his new stuff does tend to get a bit grumpy-old-man sounding.
If I want grumpy man comedy, I’ll go for Lewis Black.