# Stand-up comics - Who makes you laugh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [April 18, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867 "2023-04-18T21:04:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/21 "2023-04-18T23:07:29Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Jim Jefferies. He’s the one I was looking for and couldn’t find. I’ve loved every bit I’ve seen him do. I also really like Michelle Wolf. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/22 "2023-04-18T23:10:25Z")
Most of them I’ve laughed at on a number of occasions. But in terms of full-blooded, gut-busting laughter, I voted for only five: Carlin, Pryor, Murphy, Dangerfield, and Youngman. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/23 "2023-04-18T23:17:36Z")
Anthony Jeselnik is my favorite comic right now. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/24 "2023-04-18T23:24:55Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Bill Cosby. Yes, he was a monster in real life but on stage was brilliant. Yeah, my introduction to stand-up comedy as a 6th grader in 1987 (I think) was Bill Cosby _Himself_, Eddie Murphy _Raw_, and Robin Williams _An Evening at the Met_. Those three set the bar for comedy for me, though it was Cosby’s set I remember the best (followed by Robin Williams, then Murphy.) ---
**Author:** ![MonkeysBrother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@MonkeysBrother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeysBrother)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/25 "2023-04-18T23:28:49Z")
And another vote for Eddie Izzard… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/26 "2023-04-18T23:41:31Z")
We got to see Jeselnik last week. Amazing show. Sharply-written, perfectly constructed jokes that commented on current society without betraying his personal commitments. One thing comics need is absolute utter confidence in their mastery over the audience. Jeselnik had that more than anyone I’ve seen since Gilbert Gottfried. I think you have to see a comic live, and in a small venue rather than an auditorium, It’s physical as much as mental. Like an athletic feat, it’s super impressive when you see it from of you. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/27 "2023-04-18T23:45:37Z")
Eddie Izzard and James Acaster. Honourable mention to Rhys Darby. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/28 "2023-04-19T00:08:27Z")
Dangerfield and Foxx. You big dummy. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/29 "2023-04-19T00:35:06Z")
I’m surprised there’s not more love for Bo. But the SD does skew older, I suppose. _Inside_ is a work of genius. +1 to Maria Bamford and Tig, but if I have to pick one, it’s Mulaney. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/30 "2023-04-19T00:45:12Z")
Leaving out Bill Cosby was an oversight, sorry about that. Lookit poor Phyllis Diller, the only one (at this time) without a single vote. I find the minimal Gilbert Gottfried love disappointing. Of the dozens of "you forgot…"s, I’ve only heard of a couple of them. Maybe a mega-poll is in the future. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/31 "2023-04-19T01:13:22Z")
We went to the Montreal Just for Laughs festival in, I think, 2013. Tried to see a bunch of on-the-rise new comics. John Mulaney did a wonderful set, brainy yet accessible and crowd-pleasing. Bo Burnham did a stupendous set that depended on pre-recorded dialogue with himself so that every line had to be precisely timed. But the winner was Trevor Noah with his Born a Crime set introducing himself to the world. All three should be on anyone’s list. If people ever get a chance, go to Montreal. That festival is point zero for brilliant comedy. > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I find the minimal Gilbert Gottfried love disappointing. P.S. I saw him twice. When talking about a comic killing the audience he was the dictionary definition of the term. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/32 "2023-04-19T02:21:11Z")
I went to the Robin Williams _Weapons of Self Destruction_ taping at Constitution Hall. A friend was the local producer for the show and gave me and a bunch of our other friends free tickets to fill out the crowd. Wasn’t his best set ever but he was still funny and it turned out to be his last comedy special. Afterwards we went backstage and saw him just long enough to say hello and shake his hand. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/33 "2023-04-19T03:08:11Z")
Nikki Glaser ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/34 "2023-04-19T03:16:54Z")
Yakov Smirnoff. I read his _ **America on Six Rubles a Day** _ while studying in Moscow and almost fell out of my chair laughing. ---
**Author:** ![Nayna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ebca7d/32.png) [@Nayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nayna)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/35 "2023-04-19T03:26:07Z")
Nate Bargatze is great. I first saw him on a Netflix special, and I’ve seen him live twice since. Something about his comedy just gets me. I like his older stuff the best. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/36 "2023-04-19T03:33:18Z")
No love for the stand-up comics without legs? eg Randy Feltface ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/37 "2023-04-19T03:38:06Z")
Sorry, never heard of … him? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/38 "2023-04-19T03:55:31Z")
So many to list in “Other” that I can’t even believe aren’t on the list. And these are just the ones that I like. There are quite a few that I don’t like, who nonetheless have earned a spot on that list as well. In no particular order: James Acaster Dara O’Briain Eddie Izzard Greg Davies Rod Gilbert Daniel Sloss Billy Connolly Taylor Thomlinson Bert Kreischer Amy Schumer Jeff Foxworthy Larry the Cable Guy Gabriel Iglesias Leanne Morgan Jeanne Robertson Ali Wong Jo Koy Iliza Schlesinger Katherine Ryan Fortune Feimster Trevor Noah Ron White Neal Brennan Tom Papa John Leguizamo Leslie Jones ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/39 "2023-04-19T04:01:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > George Carlin is the greatest of all time, though. Miss him. Doug Stanhope, also not mentioned on this list, is the closest thing we’ve got to Carlin these days. Saw him live last month and he opened his set by asking the crowd; “So, now that we’ve all had time to look back and reflect, which did you like better - covid or 9/11?” ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867/40 "2023-04-19T04:15:28Z")
Ooh, ooh, and Marc Maron! I really like stand-up comedy. I’m another one who grew up listening to Bill Cosby, and it just plain pisses me off that he turned out to be such a slimeball. Same for Louis CK (only less, since he wasn’t as funny). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-up-comics-who-makes-you-laugh/982867.md?page=3)