My favorite comedian…
Well there are so many good ones, it’s hard to pick just one. But if I did it would be Sam Kinneson.
Female comedian would be Gilda Radner.I miss you both.
But there are so many others…And what about comedy shows? Remember John Byner’s Bizarre? Benny Hill?
I took my mom for her birthday to see Paula Poundstone. We cracked up. What a funny lady.
I enjoy watching Sinbad. He can make you laugh without being crude. A definite gift.
Norm MacDonald, George Carlin (before he got so damned bitchy & mean), Steve Martin, Steven Wright, Richard Jeni (hilarious Trek bit), Dom Irerra (that whole “Joe Bag-o-Doughnuts” bit kills me every time), Jake Johannsen (soap-on-a-rope Christian bit), Sam Kinison (never afraid to offend anyone, but in a good way).
Mine will probably always be Robin Williams. That said, I saw a PBS special on Johnathan Winters the other night that confirmed his creative genius. On the Jack Parr show, with just a simple stick he went through ten or twenty vignettes that were priceless.
Dennis Miller’s acerbic wit is quite good, and we shall not fail to mention John Cleese.
I grew up on comedy, so I have quite a few favorite comedians.
I’d have to say my all time favorite is George Carlin, especially his later work when he got all bitchy and mean. Only comedian I’ve seen perform live, too.
Chris Rock is also, as they put it, blisteringly funny.
I’m also a big fan of Dennis Leary, Jon Stewart, Dave Chappele, Steven Wright and Norm MacDonald.
These are just the ones I can think of right now.
Hey, I’m going to see George Carlin on Oct.1st! It will be my first time to see him live, and I’m looking forward to it. I agree with you also about Cris Rock.
Penn & Teller live are pretty funny too if you ever get the chance to see them.
Enjoy seeing George Carlin live. I saw this last May in Denver. Great show. Only comedian I’ve seen live. He is my favorite. I like his stuff when he’s bitchy and mean more than his older stuff like in the 60’s and 70’s. Don’t mean to spoil it for you if you don’t know, but he’ll probably do some of his new stuff which is damn funny. Anyways enjoy, it’s a blast.
Lenny Bruce. “And if you think it’s wrong to say Blah-blah then your just a bunch of dirty blah-blahs and I hope you never get your blah-blah’ed.”
Also George Carlin, Bill Hicks and Tamao Nakamura.
–sublight.
Ditto for Robin Williams, and I love his serious movies also.
Eddie Izzard, Emo Phillips, and Tony Slattery…
Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Chevy Chase, a lot of the old Saturday Night Live gang are my favs. Favorite female would have to be Rhett Butler, and yes I like Jeff Foxworthy.
Eddie “If you’ve never seen an elephant ski, then you’ve never been on acid” Izzard.
Chris Farley, John Candy, Ryan Stiles, John Belushi.
Hey Saturn, do you like the original Who’s Line Is It Anyway?
I like George Carlin a lot. But probably my favorite (because I hear him a lot more often) is Phil Hendrie, a radio host on KFI in Los Angeles. (640 AM), you can read more about him at:
He does a radio theater show with a running schtick that you just have to hear to understand. And he’s on every weekday, too! That’s a lot more material than I’ve seen Carlin put out.
-Ashley
aenea, you have great taste. 
George Carlin is my favourite comedian. Unfortunately, I have never seen him live. I was glad when he brought out his box-set “The Little David Years.” I only had about half of what was in the set, so it was definitely worth it. So good!
Chris Rock: another great comedian. I would really like to see him live as well.
And Penn & Teller? Hilarious show. I went through Las Vegas on the way to L.A., and checked out there show. It was so good, that when I came back through Las Vegas, I checked it out again. Also, I’m a magician, and I got to talk to Teller about magic for half-an-hour afterwards. Great guy; very courteous and polite to his fans. I would have loved to have talked to Penn too, but…he was very intimidating.
Some other comedians I enjoy: Richard Pryor, and Eddie Murphy. Murphy’s tape “Delirious” is one of the funniest stand-up performances. If you get a chance to check it out, “Carlin at the Carnegie” is another great stand-up tape.
Jeff Foxworthy.
You may be a redneck if:
You have ever taken a beer to a job interview.
You have an automatic transmission in your bathtub.
You mother-in-law’s panty lines show up on aerial reconnaisance photos.
The house warming party for your relatives involves taking the wheels off.
You are currently watching a television that is sitting on top another television that does not work.
At the airport, your relatives’ luggage consists of styrofoam coolers held together by duct tape.
Jackie Vernon. His “Vacation Slide show” routine is a classic.
Dennis Wolfberg. Best known as “Gushie” in Quantum Leap. His stand up routines were all classic. Alas, he died young.
Chris Rush. His album, “First Rush,” was the funniest I ever hear. Had a knack for setting up the joke and then hitting you with five punchlines in a row, each funnier than the next.
George Carlin – not only good, but with staying power (remember the “hippy dippy weatherman” routine?)
Robert Klein
I used to love George Carlin, but lately he sounds to me like a bitter old man who’s pissed off that the world isn’t aging right along with him. Obviously, IMNSHO.
It pisses me off to no end that Bill Hicks died before I found out about him.
Believe it or not, Damon Wayan’s stand-up cracked me up. So did Dana Carvey and Bob Saget (!!!) who is HYSTERICAL when he’s not pimping himself to Fox Family.
Robin Williams used to be hysterical. Now he just sounds as though he is slightly hysterical. “My career! My career!”
Moms Mabley was raunchily funny long before stand-up was a part of standard pop culture. “Honey, you so ugly you hurt my feelings.”
An awful lot of comedians seem lame on TV, but if you can catch them in less rigidly defined areas (f’rinstance, the Frianr’s Club Roasts) they come out of their pre-programmed shells a little bit. Even (gagme) Jeffrey Ross…who said to Florence Henderson’s face that he wanted to fuck her. I mean, Florence Henderson? WAHOO!!! “Yo, Mrs. Brady, come get some of THIS!”
And I will duck the flying tomatoes when I profess my undying love for Drew Carey. Or, at least, his comedy.
Yes, I love the original…One of the few places I’ve been able to spot Tony Slattery, with the exception of the film “Peter’s Friends” and a few other spots. Unfortunately, the Americanized version isn’t very good. Ryan is wonderful too…suppose I should add him
My favorite has to be George Carlin.
Honorable mentions to:
Dennis Miller
Dennis Leary
Eddie Murphy
Elayne Boosner (whatever happened to her?)
Paula Poundstone
Chris Rock
Oh and a lifetime acheivement to:
Bill Cosby