# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/21 "2022-07-15T03:38:25Z")
Robin Williams on the invention of golf. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/22 "2022-07-15T07:46:10Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Several others of his might qualify too, such as Death and Cake. Izzard’s “do you have a flag?” routine put me literally on the floor the first time I saw it. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/23 "2022-07-15T08:02:06Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > 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. That’s a good one, but I’d say his “Horse in the Hospital” routine is his magnum opus. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JhkZMxgPxXU/maxresdefault.jpg "There's a Horse In The Hospital | John Mulaney | Netflix Is A Joke") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhkZMxgPxXU) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/24 "2022-07-15T09:11:02Z")
Jasper Carrot - I’ve Got This Mole [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1tntoPH-QFU/maxresdefault.jpg "JASPER CARROTT - The Mole (Animated)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tntoPH-QFU) four Yorkshire-men [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VKHFZBUTA4k/hqdefault.jpg "The Four Yorkshiremen Sketch") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKHFZBUTA4k) Four candles [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CNTM9iM1eVw/hqdefault.jpg "The Two Ronnies Four Candles HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNTM9iM1eVw) Cheese shop [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Hz1JWzyvv8A/hqdefault.jpg "Monty Python- Cheese Shop") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz1JWzyvv8A) ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/25 "2022-07-15T10:49:25Z")
This. Tripler Losing Robin Williams was a national tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/26 "2022-07-15T11:32:08Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > 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. +1 on this- I came in to post it but ya beat me to it. > [@Smapti](#): > > That’s a good one, but I’d say his “Horse in the Hospital” routine is his magnum opus. This one’s good too-- but I was surprised Mulaney never made any mention about how a disturbingly large minority of people though it was absolutely great to have a horse loose in a hospital. ---
**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, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/27 "2022-07-15T12:06:02Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eH2coWVi9Vg/hqdefault.jpg "The Comedian's A Bear") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH2coWVi9Vg) ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/28 "2022-07-15T13:04:28Z")
[Jackie Vernon’s “slide show” about his vacation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IdAa0CyYuQ) (skip to about 6:10) This isn’t the best version of it I’ve seen, but Vernon was a fairly average comedian who eventually came up with a gem of an idea. He has a clicker and shows the audience a nonexistent “slideshow” with his commentary. I love simple ideas that are fleshed out into great comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/29 "2022-07-15T13:25:22Z")
Is it acceptable for me to ask if you guys actually still find these just as amusing upon rewatching years later? I only ask, because since I was a kid I loved ALL manner of comedy - from old Marx Bros/Laurel&Hardy/Abbott&Costello/Honeymooners, to standup from Alan King thru Richard Pryor and on to today. Through High School I never missed SNL or Monty Python - and could readily list 50 bits that I considered CASSIC! And I loved sitcoms such as Did Van Dyke, The Odd Couple, Sanford, MTM… I’m that annoying guy who trots out stupid dad jokes on any occasion - from back before they were called dad jokes. But pretty much without exception, any time I rewatch one of the routines I consider HYSTERICAL, I’m impressed by the amount of unfunny stuff around the limited punchlines I remember. This has been my consistent experience - most recently when I linked a couple of MPFS skits to a thread here on drawing straws for cannibalism. Yeah, funny stuff. But I had already seen them several ties, and watching them again, they were nothing other than the mildly amusing stirring of memories. Worst is when you tell someone of something you consider hysterical. Then you pull it up, and the seconds pass as your audience fails to crack a smile… ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/30 "2022-07-15T13:46:00Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I can’t think of a single routine of George Carlin’s that deserves to be listed, This is the one I always think of first when I think of Carlin. Or maybe the Joe Pesci bit. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CE8ooMBIyC8/hqdefault.jpg "George Carlin - 10 Commandments") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE8ooMBIyC8) Louis CK: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XLGzFQg_1xc/maxresdefault.jpg "Louis CK Of Course But Maybe - Oh My God") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLGzFQg_1xc) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/31 "2022-07-15T14:34:34Z")
Someone upthread assumed that Bill Cosby was off-limits. Well, I won’t, and I’ll nominate his “Noah” and his “Damn It and Jesus Christ” bits. I’ll also throw in Monty Python’s “Argument Clinic” and “Book Shop” sketches. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/32 "2022-07-15T14:47:48Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Someone upthread assumed that Bill Cosby was off-limits. Well, I won’t, and I’ll nominate his “Noah” and his “Damn It and Jesus Christ” bits. For those who are no longer able to enjoy Bill Cosby’s work, I understand. But if you can separate his stand-up comedy from what we later learned about him, Cosby in his prime was a virtuoso, with some of the greatest routines ever. I’m tempted to nominate “The Chicken Heart” (“There’s smoke and fire and Jello!”) or “Chocolate Cake For Breakfast”; but his masterpiece may be “To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VJSwEB9jc5k/maxresdefault.jpg "To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJSwEB9jc5k&t=374) ---
**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, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/33 "2022-07-15T16:39:33Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xmnLRVWgnXU/hqdefault.jpg "Woody Allen - The Moose") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmnLRVWgnXU) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/34 "2022-07-15T17:46:06Z")
_MPFC_ the [argument clinic](https://youtu.be/xpAvcGcEc0k). I’ve been watching old Carson’s on the oldies channel lately. Mainly FFing to the comedians. Surprising number of them are debut performances. Lots of good ones, a few bad ones. (Roseanne really bombed.) But the best by far: [Drew Carey](https://youtu.be/k6Bt-q_pRh8). He just killed. Commented later that one day he was a struggling nobody and the next day he was “in show business”. Oddly, he missed out on his first appearance and had to wait years for his 2nd shot. ---
**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, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/35 "2022-07-15T18:11:06Z")
Speaking of simple ideas, here’s a simple idea taken to greatness. Gary Gulman On How The States Got Their Abbreviations [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dLECCmKnrys/maxresdefault.jpg "Gary Gulman On How The States Got Their Abbreviations | CONAN on TBS") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLECCmKnrys) ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/36 "2022-07-15T18:20:06Z")
The ever so dry Bob Newhart had some funny phone call conversations he incorporated into his routine. The one with Madison Ave execs to Abraham Lincoln was classic [Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcjz7VAljYs) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2022, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/37 "2022-07-16T01:08:18Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I start things off by nominating **Ron White (Tater Salad).** That was my first though on reading the thread title. So I’ll add this one (5 mins): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wZXoErL2124/maxresdefault.jpg "Dave Chappelle on the Jussie Smollett Incident | Netflix Is A Joke") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZXoErL2124) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/38 "2022-07-16T01:28:53Z")
Bill Burr’s story about springing a gorilla loose from captivity is a masterclass in combining verbal and physical humor. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gnzj1Y3gihQ/hqdefault.jpg "Bill Burr, talking gorilla") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnzj1Y3gihQ) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2022, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/39 "2022-07-16T01:36:00Z")
How about a couple of mostly true stories? This one is Jim Jefferies telling the story of the time he took his 30-year-old virgin friend with muscular dystrophy to a brothel. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XsLwzXxeBe8/maxresdefault.jpg "Jim Jefferies Taking an MD Sufferer to See a Prostitute 1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsLwzXxeBe8) This is Bert Kreischer telling the story of the time he visited Russia in college and joined the Russian mafia. Kind of. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/paG1-lPtIXA/maxresdefault.jpg "The Machine - Bert Kreischer: THE MACHINE") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paG1-lPtIXA) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2022, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975/40 "2022-07-16T01:43:09Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I’ve been watching old Carson’s on the oldies channel lately. Mainly FFing to the comedians. Surprising number of them are debut performances. Lots of good ones, a few bad ones. (Roseanne really bombed.) But the best by far: [Drew Carey](https://youtu.be/k6Bt-q_pRh8). He just killed. I saw that live. Remembered, to this day, Carson saying “you’re funny as hell!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-comedy-routine/967975.md?page=3)