Robin Williams on the invention of golf.
Izzard’s “do you have a flag?” routine put me literally on the floor the first time I saw it.
That’s a good one, but I’d say his “Horse in the Hospital” routine is his magnum opus.
Jasper Carrot - I’ve Got This Mole
four Yorkshire-men
Four candles
Cheese shop
This.
Tripler
Losing Robin Williams was a national tragedy.
+1 on this- I came in to post it but ya beat me to it.
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.
Jackie Vernon’s “slide show” about his vacation
(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.
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…
This is the one I always think of first when I think of Carlin. Or maybe the Joe Pesci bit.
Louis CK:
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.
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.”
MPFC the argument clinic.
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. 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.
Speaking of simple ideas, here’s a simple idea taken to greatness.
Gary Gulman On How The States Got Their Abbreviations
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
That was my first though on reading the thread title. So I’ll add this one (5 mins):
Bill Burr’s story about springing a gorilla loose from captivity is a masterclass in combining verbal and physical humor.
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.
This is Bert Kreischer telling the story of the time he visited Russia in college and joined the Russian mafia. Kind of.
I saw that live. Remembered, to this day, Carson saying “you’re funny as hell!”