# Brian Williams is 100% funnier than 99% of professional comics. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753 "2011-12-01T21:46:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/1 "2011-12-01T21:46:11Z")
What will it take to get him to bail on the news gig and host a talk show where he can be screamingly, brilliantly funny the whole time? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/2 "2011-12-01T21:59:10Z")
A much bigger paycheck than he’s getting now, and a comparable amount of ‘respect’. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/3 "2011-12-01T22:21:33Z")
I think he’s in exactly the right position now: he’s a news anchor who can be surprisingly funny when called on and says things you never expect to hear a newscaster say. I don’t see him as a talkshow guy, and I think he’s said being a nightly news anchor was always his dream. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/4 "2011-12-01T22:22:28Z")
I saw Brian Williams on a show the other day. . .maybe it was Pierce Morgan? The way in which he spoke about the news— with such fervent passion-- makes me think he’d never abandon that for anything else. He said that the news is an all-encompassing passion for him and has been his entire life. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/5 "2011-12-01T22:23:32Z")
Yeah, he’s funny for a news anchor. As a stand-up, the pros would run circles around him. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/6 "2011-12-01T22:29:38Z")
It’d be funny if he himself had orchestrated those fire alarms while he was doing the news. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/7 "2011-12-01T22:40:37Z")
I’m just happy to see him on The Daily Show from time to time. His banter with Jon Stewart is just perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/8 "2011-12-01T23:24:11Z")
Yeah, a big reason his funny works is because it plays against his “straight” persona. Without the regular persona in place to bounce off of, the funny wouldn’t be as funny. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/9 "2011-12-01T23:42:56Z")
While being interviewed on a talk show, he is funnier than any standup I have ever seen. Unless you count uncomfortable setups for short pieces of old routines as funny. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/10 "2011-12-02T02:50:17Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Yeah, a big reason his funny works is because it plays against his “straight” persona. Without the regular persona in place to bounce off of, the funny wouldn’t be as funny. Be that as it may, he did great hosting SNL. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/11 "2011-12-02T03:27:53Z")
Is this related to the fire alarms that kept going off the other night on NBC news? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/12 "2011-12-02T03:31:59Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > while being interviewed on a talk show, he is funnier than any standup i have ever seen. Unless you count uncomfortable setups for short pieces of old routines as funny. exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/13 "2011-12-02T03:32:41Z")
Could you provide an example, **Stoid**? I’ve never heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/14 "2011-12-02T04:25:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Is this related to the fire alarms that kept going off the other night on NBC news? I’d say it was from him hosting Saturday Night Live a few years back, though he probably was brought to mind as a result of those alarms. He was a fabulous host, and I kept marveling at how natural and at ease he was. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/15 "2011-12-02T04:29:58Z")
[He does a pretty convincing Regis.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iKZF5Vu4lM) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/16 "2011-12-02T05:17:02Z")
He’s the Peyton Manning of newcasters. He’s got solid comedy skills but he’s already got a better job. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/17 "2011-12-02T06:02:50Z")
Keith Olbermann and Martin Bashir are much funnier. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/18 "2011-12-02T06:21:21Z")
He’s witty, intelligent, and confident. I hadn’t seen him tell the Regis story, but that was pretty hilarious. Here’s a digital [short](http://www.hulu.com/watch/19177/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-brian-diaries) he did for SNL about his daily routine. It gets a smirk here and there, but I agree he’s at his best on someone’s late night show. ---
**Author:** ![Brandus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Brandus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/19 "2011-12-02T14:50:14Z")
he appeared rather stilted and awkward on 30 rock. ---
**Author:** ![JuliaSqueezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/82dd89/32.png) [@JuliaSqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JuliaSqueezer)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753/20 "2011-12-02T15:58:00Z")
Probably nobody saw this, but whenever he was on _The Bonnie Hunt Show_ he was hysterically funny. He and Bonnie had sharp, quick exchanges that were so obviously unrehearsed. Good, sarcastic banter. His wife was usually sitting in the audience and played along. She’s pretty funny, too. I was sorry to see that show end, as it was one of the few good things on during the day. Apparently, it wasn’t shocking or edgy enough to grab ratings and the demographic skewed too “old” (as if the 20-somethings the ad agencies aim for would be watching daytime TV.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-is-100-funnier-than-99-of-professional-comics/604753.md?page=2)