You can’t beat silent era comics like Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd for pure physical comedy genius.
Decades, later, I think the comedy team of Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Howie Morris and Carl Reiner is, to this day, the pinnacle of sketch comedy—and it was heavily laden with physical comedy. The Carol Burnett Troop was great, but still not in the same league as Your Show of Shows, IMHO.
I don’t think it’s possible to watch clips like the following and not laugh, no matter what type of comedy you prefer. Let me know if I’m wrong:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNbT9Lf9xZohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3ivzcLEzUs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G76HrPTWj4II think it’s strange how many of the American 50’s TV comedies were surprisingly clever and sophisticated (Dobie Gillis is a good example of a 50’s sitcom with a high degree of sarcasm), then (with a few notable exceptions) took a nose dive in the 60’s through 80’s. However, I do think we’re now living in another golden era of TV comedy (mostly cable, but plenty of network)—but, maybe it’s just me.