I think he’s brilliant, and he’s definitely one of my favorites, but I haven’t seen nearly enough stand-up comics to declare one the Best Ever.
Well, Phyllis Diller just retired 2 years ago at 88 and Rodney Dangerfield is dead -so I guess that is a no, but you could have asked sooner. Wait, what about Bill Cosby?
Tom Lehrer, the Smothers Brothers, David Frye, Godfrey Cambridge, Dick Gregory were all great. Cleverest ever is Mort Sahl (Bill Maher is a close second and a guy who seems to have disappeared Will Durst was very funny.
Funniest ever = Ellen Degeneres
Funniest I ever saw on Johnny Carson = Roseanne Barr
Good ones. I’ll second Eddie Murphy, if he’d done standup a few years longer he’d be on everyone’s list. Sam Kinison was just outstanding, but maybe a little over the top for the average person.
I think, currently, Ron White has great timing/delivery and will soon be in the top tier of comics if he isn’t already.
Someone asked Bob Newhart once who the best standup comedian of all time was. He didn’t hesitate a second before saying Richard Pryor.
I’d agree with that. To this list being compiled I’d add Don Rickles.
Most comedians say Richard Pryor. I’ll bow to the professionals.
I just saw him last month, he’s a great storyteller. Who would make a better standup comedian than a guy who used to be a hard-touring musician?
I like a lot of the people listed here. My personal top three, in no order, are Carlin, Hicks and Pryor.
I have to ask, Exapno- what “descent into drugs and bitterness” did Bill Hicks have? From where I’m sitting, drugs and bitterness were the act.
Excellent post, thank you. I’m going to email this one to my siblings and fiancé and make sure we check all of these out.
I wanted to comment that, while many people blast Robin Williams for his rapid-fire ADD-like style, no one was doing that when he was, nor was anyone consistently that great at it. I remember I was watching one of the Comic Relief shows back in the day ('87 or so), and something that either Billy Crystal or Whoopi Goldberg said set him off, and he went into 30 min of unscripted comedy gold that had me laughing so hard my throat hurt.
Some people like the sarcasm, or biting humour, but give me a guy that makes me almost pee myself any day.
Speaking of a comedian that other comedians like, Emo Phillips is on top of the list. His humor is smart and often unexpected: Emo Philips
Here’s his bio: http://pacificcomedy.com/display_artist.php?id=32
When I was a kid & standup comedy was all over the TV, Jonathan Winters was my favorite. I loved all the guys teaching white bread Texans to appreciate borscht belt humor, but Winters took everybody One Step Beyond.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bob Newhart ruled.
But–just looking at that time period–what about Nichols & May?
For the best ever, I would go with Carlin or Pryor. Newhart and Cosby would be way up there too. I’ve never heard Woody Allen’s standup, but I can imagine it would be good.
For the current generation, I’ll give another vote for Brian Regan. I also like Kathleen Madigan, but it may because I saw her live in Chicago 15 or 16 years ago, before she was well known, and thought she was hysterical. So I may just like her so much because I feel like I discovered her.
Oh man, I haven’t seen Emo Philips for years. He was a familiar face on British TV back in the heyday of alternative comedy. I always wondered what he was like when he wasn’t doing his act - if it was an act. So I found this YouTube clip of him chatting backstage at a comedy festival and the answer is, not that different. He’s pretty funny here though, getting increasingly confused by a tortuous bullfighting analogy :D.
He looks a lot older, but still pretty good, and a damn sight healthier than when he was that skinny scarecrow back in the 80s.
I have never really had a chance to see performances from any of the Greats. (The only ones mentioned here whom I’ve actually seen performing are Bill Hicks, Steve Wright and Mitch Hedberg, all great IMO.)
So this may just be my lack of familiarity with the genre speaking. But I like Dave Chappelle’s standup.
-FrL-
As far as I know, Newhart does nothing but his old bits to audiences who know every line. I have a tape of him in which he has to stop the show to ask people to quit mouthing the words because it throws his timing off. He’s an oldies act. That’s how I define irrelevant. He may be fun, like some oldies act are, but that’s a different question.
Hicks got badly frustrated by his lack of breakthrough success and by the guys he felt were ripping off his act. Then he got the cancer that eventually killed him and the bitterness really showed. IMO.
I saw Mitch Hedburg live once. He was almost completely incoherent due to drugs or alcohol or both. It was embarrassing and jokeless. Sorry.
To add a rare woman’s name, I saw Carol Leifer in the old days before Seinfeld. She did a fine set, mocking a lot of macho attitudes. “I have no children… that I know of.” That line had us on the floor.
Rita Rudner also did some brilliant work.
I forgot to mention Robert Klein before, whose albums are special favorites of mine. But I didn’t see him live when he was at his peak, and he’s pulling a Newhart now, doing his old routines to please the crowd. When you make fun of the “new music” using “Give It Away Now” as the bad example, it takes the shine of the old memories.
Right, but it’s the bitterest stuff that’s the best-known and most acclaimed. I was questioning the word “descent,” definitely not the bitterness. I’d like to hear his earlier material, though.
Mitch Hedberg, Ellen Degeneres and David Cross
Another vote for Brian Regan. I also like Pablo Francisco, Russell Peters & John Pinette.
I can’t have just 1 person at the top, but my current list would include:
Mitch Hedberg - I wish there was more video of this guy - terrible loss
John Pinette - last Comedy Central special slayed me
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Jeremy Hotz
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Jeff Dunham
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Brian Regan - the pop-tart instruction bit is a riot
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Tim Wilson - saw him in a little club in Myrtle Beach a couple months ago - very funny
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Daniel Tosh
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There are a lot more, but I’ve got to get back to work.
I came into this thread to bring his name into the mix. You put that guy into a room, give him an audience, and it’s 2 hour of pure comedy gold, half of it off the cuff, with amazing energy.
I’d put him in the top 3 along with Carlin and Cosby.
Maybe by you. Not by everyone.