There have been a number of threads on best current or all-time comedians. A few old ones on albums. Some about movies.
But going crème de la crème, what are the funniest single comedy routines? The best work by the best people?
I start things off by nominating Ron White (Tater Salad).
I’ll nominate the timeless Who’s on First by Abbott and Costello.
The Five Levels of Drinking by Larry Miller.
I can’t think of a single routine of George Carlin’s that deserves to be listed, but I do think his entire two segments/routines on Airport language and security have made me laugh almost more than anything else.
“We’ll be on the ground shortly…”
“Well, that’s a bit vague!”
Brian Regan, “Stupid in School”. I could basically just agree with the entire act that comes from; to this day I can’t think about it without laughing.
Check out Eddie Izzard doing his Death Star canteen piece, it never gets old.
Several others of his might qualify too, such as Death and Cake.
One of the classics…
One Leg Too Few - Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
My all-time favorite stand-up bit is John Mulaney Plays “What’s New Pussycat?” 21 Times on a Diner Jukebox . Makes me giggle just thinking about it.
Dennis Wolfberg had several of them.
When my niece was just learning to walk, I was sitting with my sister and we were watching her walk a few steps and then fall back on her butt, then stand up and do it again. After one plop, my sister turned to me and deadpanned: “She’s no fun, she fell right over”. We both nearly fell off the couch laughing.
So of course, I have to nominate:
Marx Brothers, the Mirror.
I presume Bill Cosby is off-limits these days.
George Carlin, Fussy Eater
Cheech and Chong, Santa Clause and His Old Lady
Jeff Dunham, Achmed the Dead Terrorist
Robin Williams first album, “Reality, What A Concept”. Saw him perform bits of it in 1982 and he blew me away. The man was on fire the entire show.
I agree. I first “heard” it when I visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown as a kid. It just awed me. The brilliance of the wordplay turned out to be matched by the awesome timing when I finally found an old radio tape and film performances. It’s perfection. Maybe Monty Python’s Cheese Shop is the only rival I’ve seen. Too bad Firesign never filmed Nick Danger.
I’ll toss out a wild card that nobody else will be able to doubt because nobody else probably ever heard it. I saw A. Whitney Brown of SNL fame in a small room - think of the cabin scene in A Night At the Opera. He didn’t tell jokes, but delivered stories in his famed offhand manner. They were hilarious. I’ve been to shows that were funnier as a whole - Dennis Miller’s White Album tour and Lewis Black’s Black Album tour were killers - but for the amount of laughter per cubic feet in a venue, Brown leads the pack.
Bob and Ray, Komodo Dragon
Good call. I LOVE John Pinette. I was very sad when he passed; he brought a lot of laughter to my life.