# Best Comedy Routine **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [July 14, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975 "2022-07-14T23:07:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/1 "2022-07-14T23:07:02Z")
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).** ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/2 "2022-07-15T00:04:33Z")
I’ll nominate the timeless _Who’s on First_ by Abbott and Costello. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/3 "2022-07-15T00:07:18Z")
The Five Levels of Drinking by Larry Miller. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FJdzoY-Wsc8/hqdefault.jpg "Larry Miller "Five Levels Of Drinking" (another great version)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJdzoY-Wsc8) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/4 "2022-07-15T00:14:13Z")
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!” ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/5 "2022-07-15T00:15:57Z")
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. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xkrMsPiqG6M/hqdefault.jpg "Brian Regan Stupid in School") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkrMsPiqG6M) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/6 "2022-07-15T00:22:49Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/neUaSTSKFZc/hqdefault.jpg "Official Ron White - I Got Thrown Out of a Bar") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neUaSTSKFZc) ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/7 "2022-07-15T00:29:37Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/8 "2022-07-15T00:32:51Z")
One of the classics… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Lh2E0z42RGA/hqdefault.jpg "Abbott And Costello- You're not here!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh2E0z42RGA) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/9 "2022-07-15T00:32:56Z")
One Leg Too Few - Peter Cook and Dudley Moore [https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=peter+cook+dudley+moore+tarzan&docid=608008679060154865&mid=A6EB1A1C2EBBA00C438BA6EB1A1C2EBBA00C438B&view=detail&FORM=VIRE](https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=peter+cook+dudley+moore+tarzan&docid=608008679060154865&mid=A6EB1A1C2EBBA00C438BA6EB1A1C2EBBA00C438B&view=detail&FORM=VIRE) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/10 "2022-07-15T00:37:39Z")
My all-time favorite stand-up bit is [John Mulaney Plays “What’s New Pussycat?” 21 Times on a Diner Jukebox](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw7Gryt-rcc) . Makes me giggle just thinking about it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Mw7Gryt-rcc/maxresdefault.jpg "John Mulaney Plays “What’s New Pussycat?” 21 Times on a Diner Jukebox") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw7Gryt-rcc) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/11 "2022-07-15T00:44:05Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fyI6KjpNrh0/maxresdefault.jpg "Bob and Ray "Slow Talkers" (1970)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyI6KjpNrh0) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/12 "2022-07-15T01:33:24Z")
Dennis Wolfberg had several of them. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vY3Be9MxTSw/hqdefault.jpg "Dennis Wolfberg - The Bris") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY3Be9MxTSw) ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/13 "2022-07-15T01:47:52Z")
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: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RwG5c9IsgbA/hqdefault.jpg "Nick Danger Third Eye (complete) ~ Firesign Theatre") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwG5c9IsgbA) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/14 "2022-07-15T01:55:39Z")
Marx Brothers, the Mirror. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/O_fmUYyWSyE/maxresdefault.jpg "Marx Brothers mirror scene - Duck soup") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_fmUYyWSyE) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/15 "2022-07-15T02:23:25Z")
I presume Bill Cosby is off-limits these days. George Carlin, [Fussy Eater](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQCJfouV4so) Cheech and Chong, [Santa Clause and His Old Lady](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSH9ryRzHQ4) Jeff Dunham, [Achmed the Dead Terrorist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBvfiCdk-jc) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/16 "2022-07-15T02:55:47Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/17 "2022-07-15T03:10:32Z")
Abbott & Costello [13 x 7 = 28](https://youtu.be/lzxVyO6cpos) Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias [Road Trip](https://youtu.be/mtk5Ej-xLsM) John Pinnette [Water Park](https://youtu.be/EtzFgtd1C5c) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/18 "2022-07-15T03:13:16Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/19 "2022-07-15T03:17:45Z")
Bob and Ray, Komodo Dragon [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZEyvwhjcFk/hqdefault.jpg "Bob and Ray The Komodo Dragon") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZEyvwhjcFk) ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/20 "2022-07-15T03:35:24Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > John Pinnette [Water Park](https://youtu.be/EtzFgtd1C5c) Good call. I LOVE John Pinette. I was very sad when he passed; he brought a lot of laughter to my life. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975.md?page=2)