# Comedians that aren't funny anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2000, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442 "2000-11-16T13:12:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/1 "2000-11-16T13:12:55Z")
Mjollnir asked if [Is Richard Lewis funny?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=893396#post893396) Basic answer was no. What other comedians/funny people that you once thought were funny aren’t anymore (or at least their trademarks)? My List:[ul] [li]Andrew “Dice” Clay - when I finally saw him in concert, everyone knew his lines. He only finished half his jokes, the audience did the rest.[/li][li]Louis Anderson - poor fat guy with bad childhood.[/li][li]Tim Allen - the grunting got old after the first season of his sitcom. Fortunately for him, his show evolved. I don’t think he grunted the whole last season.[/li][li]Father Guido Sarducci - OK, he hasn’t been done for about a decade. But when SNL had him on every other show in the early '80’s, he grew old fast.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![horowitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@horowitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horowitz)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/2 "2000-11-16T13:24:28Z")
Gallagher Elayne Boosler Robin Williams Joe Piscopo Bill Mahr ---
**Author:** ![Gregor\_Samsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/3 "2000-11-16T13:28:21Z")
Bill Cosby’s gotta be right up there. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/4 "2000-11-16T14:00:03Z")
Martin Short _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/5 "2000-11-16T15:43:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gravity \* > \*\*Martin Short _shudder_ \*\* Some DJ’s here in DC were talking about their worst interviews, after listening to their producer’s botched interview with Faith Hill. One of them mention Martin Short. According to him, if Short’s not doing one of his characters, he’s dull as toast. \*Oh, a general addtion to my list (a little off target): any SNL character that has had a movie based on them. Exceptions: Coneheads - at least they waited over a decade; Wayne’s World (just the first one); and The Blues Brothers. But all the others: Pat, Stuart Smalley, the Roxbury guys. _shudder_ indeed!\* ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/6 "2000-11-16T15:55:51Z")
I’d have to agree with everyone else: Gallagher and Robin Williams are the two I can’t stand. I think Robin Williams is going to be on Whose Line is it Anyway? on ABC. At least it looked like him on the commercial, they don’t give you the name. If it is him, I’m afraid I won’t be able to watch that show anymore, even though Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochery should be enough to offset him. I also don’t think Adam Sandler is funny anymore. His only good movies were Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. His act is kind of old now. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/7 "2000-11-16T15:58:06Z")
Oh yeah… and Dennis Miller, even though I NEVER thought he was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/8 "2000-11-16T16:38:08Z")
Robin Williams is not funny anymore. I can agree with everyone else on here. Who’s that guy that keeps popping up… Carrot Top? What’s his problem? Oh, I know his problem, someone forgot to drop him on his head when he was a kid. I’d like to give a hand to Bob Hope. He retired after his last TV special, given in his honor. You could tell his age was affecting him. He was still funny, but… it just wasn’t there. Unlike the late unlamented Jerry Lewis, already done in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/9 "2000-11-16T16:50:51Z")
George Carlin used to be funny, but now he just seems to be really, really cranky. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_G7subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85e7bf/32.png) [@Rich\_G7subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_G7subs)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/10 "2000-11-17T00:37:32Z")
George Carlin,George Carlin and AGAIN George Carlin.When did HE get so old,bitter and POLITICAL? Richard Lewis,IMHO, was NEVER funny. Robin Williams WAS funny…maybe I just got tired of his approach. Gallagher…don’t get it…never did. Eddie Murphy was great , Man did he drop off the face of the planet! Billy Crystal…??? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/11 "2000-11-17T02:02:53Z")
Whoopi Goldberg. No, wait, she was never funny to begin with… ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/12 "2000-11-17T02:10:11Z")
How about Yakov Smirnoff? There’s one guy who got crushed by the fall of communism. “In Russia, I do comedy, but must wait 5 hours in line for laugh. Hello?..Anyone?.. f\*\*\*ing Gorbachev…” –sublight. ---
**Author:** ![Eo\_Echo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ebca7d/32.png) [@Eo\_Echo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eo_Echo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/13 "2000-11-17T05:29:39Z")
Chevy Chase. The guy hasn’t had a really good movie since _Fletch Lives_ and was highly overrated on SNL. ---
**Author:** ![Orshee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Orshee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orshee)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/14 "2000-11-17T14:46:12Z")
I never thought Rosie O’Donnell was funny. Martin Short used to be hilarious on Letterman but he doesn’t seem to be funny any other time. Anyone who does commercials for a discount long-distance company immediately goes on my “not funny anymore” list. That includes Dennis Miller and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (David Arquette was NEVER funny and keeps getting worse). ---
**Author:** ![Estrella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Estrella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estrella)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/15 "2000-11-17T16:03:57Z")
Jay Leno irritates me to no end. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/16 "2000-11-17T19:07:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rich G7subs \* > **George Carlin,George Carlin and AGAIN George Carlin.When did HE get so old,bitter and POLITICAL?** Where have **you** been? Carlin has been one of _the most_ poslitical comics ever since I started listening to him in 1973. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/17 "2000-11-18T01:39:15Z")
Some UK comics… Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson were funny for awhile in the 80’s, but they got stale in a hurry. Remember _Right Said Fred_ (the movie, not the band)? That was Mayall–not even at his worst, he got worse than that. Mayall and Edmonson’s show _Bottom_ was the absolute zero of comedy. Jo Brand–you hate men. Got any more jokes? Didn’t think so. Ainsley Herriott–yes, for a very brief moment he was funny, before he went more OTT than Lily Savage. Richard E. Grant–you made _one_ funny movie. A long time ago. Stop trying to make a career out of it. Fortunately many comics around here bow out when they start to lose it, but there are a lot more I could mention besides those above. ---
**Author:** ![HerMajestyLorna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7cd45c/32.png) [@HerMajestyLorna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HerMajestyLorna)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/18 "2000-11-18T02:42:50Z")
I love george carlin. i think hes hilarious. thats just me, though 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/19 "2000-11-18T04:01:19Z")
I think the two that are really living past their prime are George (God, please forgive me) Carlin and Dennis Miller. Carlin was **really** , _really_, _ **REALLY** _ funny, but now he sounds like he’s got prostate trouble and the kids are cuttin’ across his front lawn. However, he did a speech for the National Press Club on language that was outstanding, if not funny. I used to LOVE Dennis Miller when he was doing SNL and his show on HBO. Then, I paid over $120 for two tickets to see him, Kevin Nealon, Victoria Jackson and Dana Carvey on New Year’s Eve last year. Nealon and Jackson did the same act I’ve seen on Comedy Central a bazillion times for free. Carvey was OK, but Miller went on about half-tanked and wasn’t very funny. Now I can’t take him seriously as a comedian at all. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442/20 "2000-11-18T16:03:48Z")
Dennis Leary used to be hillarious, but he mellowed. Jay Leno was a scream on Late Night with David Letterman, and he mellowed. Dan Ackroyd is a real hit-or-miss genius. He’s been a creative force behind two of the great films of our times. He’s also been in good films. But there sure are a lot of turkeys in his collected works. **AWB** wrote: > [@](#): > > Some DJ’s here in DC were talking about their worst interviews, after listening to their producer’s botched interview with Faith Hill. One of them mention Martin Short. According to him, if Short’s not doing one of his characters, he’s dull as toast. I saw him on Dennis Miller’s show, and he was funny. But I suppose he was, in a sense, in character the whole time. **msrobyn** wrote: > [@](#): > > However, he did a speech for the National Press Club on language that was outstanding, if not funny. Except that he repeated the apocryphal `Indios’ story. In fact, he is usually cited as a source by people who believe the legend. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-that-arent-funny-anymore/41442.md?page=2)