# Who is the current elder statesman of standup? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980 "2017-04-07T14:56:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/21 "2017-04-08T02:33:45Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > Robert Klein is almost a full generation younger than Don Rickles. Maybe because Rickles seemed old when I was a kid, he struck me as ancient. Robert Klein doesn’t. Without looking up birthdates, it seems to me that people of the same generation and similar stature to Rickles include people like Jerry Lewis, Tim Conway, and maybe Bob Newhart. Is Bob still active? I believe Tim Conway is; at least, he was in _The Aristocrats_, which at my age still seems recent. Jerry Lewis definitely is still active, but I don’t know if he’s respected by his peers the way other famous comedians are, and I understand he’s basically devolved to just shouting at his audience and insulting them, but without any of the charm or wit of Don Rickles. Still, his fans love him, and he was undeniably influential on the generation that came after him, even if they don’t like him because he’s a jerk. > > Full disclosure: I almost included Rodney Dangerfield as the closest thing to a living Don Rickles, but I checked, and he died a dozen years ago. I’d have probably put Joan Rivers in there too if she were still with us, largely on the strength of her turn on _Louie_ a few years ago, where she was cast in exactly the role of an elder statesperson of stand-up comedy. Being a jerk seems more the rule than the exception in comedy. Sometimes it’s spun as moody, or dark, or difficult but lots and lots of very famous comedians have been jerks. However much of a jerk he became, Jerry Lewis absolutely killed back in the Martin and Lewis days. Watch some of their TV work on shows like the Colgate Comedy Hour or listen to their radio appearances. These things are available at the Internet Archives, among other sites. Those shows will give you a better handle on their act than any of their movies ever will. In many ways, they were ahead of their time, particularly with their in act commentary on their act . FTR, I consider Dean the more talented of the two, but though he was funny in his own right, he isn’the considered a comedian. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/22 "2017-04-08T02:46:15Z")
Another vote for Klein. Standup is his thing and he’s been out there supporting the young comics on the way up. Letterman should be mentioned also. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/23 "2017-04-08T02:49:40Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Richard Lewis. Was this a trick question? Yes. Just kidding. It has to be if that was the answer. Richard Lewis has never been, and will never be worthy to hold Don Rickles’ moldy jockstrap. Mel Brooks for the win. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/24 "2017-04-08T03:54:02Z")
I’d agree with Klein. He’s still known as a stand-up comedian. People like Steve Martin, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, and Bob Newhart haven’t done a stand-up routine in decades. And Bill Cosby disqualified himself. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/25 "2017-04-08T04:29:57Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Mel Brooks’ talk show appearances are pretty close to [a standup routine sitting down](https://youtu.be/IduplxTfx7A), so I’d still give the title to him. Brooks’ life has been standup, often while sitting down, and not always on a stage. So it’s Mel for the win. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/26 "2017-04-08T05:36:33Z")
I think the torch has been passed to the Baby Boomers at this point. Rickles was at the tail end of the WWII generation and I was actually kind of surprised to hear he was alive and working as long as he was. Jerry Lewis is still with us, but I don’t think he has done stand-up since the Kennedy administration. The guys who were active in the 50s (Mort Sahl, Dick Gregory, Bob Newhart) haven’t been active or funny in a while. Richard Belzer may be the correct answer. I was thinking maybe some old Black comics from the Chitlin Circuit era might still be out and about, but the ones I looked up from memory–anyone who made those “party record” albums like Pigmeat Markham and Rudy Ray Moore–are all long dead. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/27 "2017-04-08T07:00:34Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Neither Lewis nor Conway are standups, so they don’t count for this thread. (And neither do Brooks or Reiner.) > > I had thought that Newhart had stopped touring, but nope, he’s out there now. And he’s 87. So he’s the top banana. Ithought Lewis did do standup. (I kind of assumed Conway did, too, but that was really just an assumption.) According to [this article](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jerry-lewis-is-still-alive) from a few years ago, he was doing a one man show that sounds kind of like (horrible) standup, but i guess it’s not quite the same. > [@Scumpup](#): > > Being a jerk seems more the rule than the exception in comedy. Sometimes it’s spun as moody, or dark, or difficult but lots and lots of very famous comedians have been jerks. However much of a jerk he became, Jerry Lewis absolutely killed back in the Martin and Lewis days. Watch some of their TV work on shows like the Colgate Comedy Hour or listen to their radio appearances. These things are available at the Internet Archives, among other sites. Those shows will give you a better handle on their act than any of their movies ever will. In many ways, they were ahead of their time, particularly with their in act commentary on their act . FTR, I consider Dean the more talented of the two, but though he was funny in his own right, he isn’the considered a comedian. As you can see from that article, he’s even more of a jerk than most, but that’s kind of beside the point. What I meant was that I had a vague impression that he wasn’t well liked by his peers, which disqualifies him, I think, from the “elder statesman” role. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/28 "2017-04-08T10:51:51Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Mel Brooks’ talk show appearances are pretty close to [a standup routine sitting down](https://youtu.be/IduplxTfx7A), so I’d still give the title to him. Definitely the elder statesman of standup philosophers. he killed at the palace. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2017, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/29 "2017-04-08T11:22:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > People like Steve Martin, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, and Bob Newhart haven’t done a stand-up routine in decades. Steve Martin did schtick as the opening act for Jerry Seinfeld just last year. (Martin’s opening line: _“Jerry couldn’t make it tonight; have a safe ride home!”_) He then noted, _“I’m here tonight because of that old showbiz saying: ‘Never Lose A Bet To Jerry’.”_ He then apologized for the price of the tickets – explaining that, sure, it looks like you’re shelling out money for two guys and a microphone; but, in reality, there are, like, some sound people, and lighting people; and drivers, and wardrobe … and catering … and someone to walk Jerry’s Fitbit around; and a celebrity lookalike, in case Steve doesn’t feel like going on. [beat] _“Steve says ‘Hi,’ by the way.”_ (_"I used the restroom, and there was a sign that read ‘Employees Must Wash Hands’. And I could not find one employee_ [beat] _to wash my hands."_) ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/30 "2017-04-08T12:25:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Richard Lewis has never been, and will never be worthy to hold Don Rickles’ moldy jockstrap. I’m not saying it would be impossible, but it would be a real challenge to find a stand-up comic who didn’t have immense respect for Richard Lewis, a comic would wouldn’t hang on every word as Richard Lewis told road stories at the bar after the show, a comic who wouldn’t prize Richard Lewis’ feedback on his/her set, a comic who wouldn’t place great value on career advice from Richard Lewis. ---
**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 8, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/31 "2017-04-08T15:50:10Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’d agree with Klein. He’s still known as a stand-up comedian. > > People like Steve Martin, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, and Bob Newhart haven’t done a stand-up routine in decades. And Bill Cosby disqualified himself. Newhart is definitely still touring. Check the date. > [@](#): > > Newhart has lost nothing > La Mirada Theater > > - La Mirada , CA > - 02/18/2017 > Posted 02/19/2017 > by FrankDexter This Fan’s Reviews > Saw Bob Newhart last night at the La Mirada Theater. I first saw him 45 years ago in Chicago when both of us were much younger. I have seen hundreds of comedians over the years, even dabbling in it myself over 30 years ago. For a little over an hour, without notes or even a glass of water (would have recommended that to him if I could) Bob spins joke after joke. His act over time has evolved into kind of a career retrospective, including a clever “home movie” that he narrates which includes a nod to his various TV shows. He did the Driving Instructor last night as his routine from his albums, which belongs in the Comedy Routine Hall of Fame, if there was one. THAT wasn’t even his finish. The show was a very satisfying night. How many 87 year old comedians do an encore? Bob does. > Favorite moment: “Mrs. Webb! Mrs. Webb!! See, this is a one way street. You’re in the left lane, you were signaling left, I just assumed you were going to turn left.” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/32 "2017-04-08T16:33:34Z")
Mel Brooks. I saw him in person recently, and at 90 he’s amazingly entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/33 "2017-04-09T03:50:42Z")
Are women comedians eligible? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/34 "2017-04-09T04:07:59Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I’m not saying it would be impossible, but it would be a real challenge to find a stand-up comic who didn’t have immense respect for Richard Lewis, a comic would wouldn’t hang on every word as Richard Lewis told road stories at the bar after the show, a comic who wouldn’t prize Richard Lewis’ feedback on his/her set, a comic who wouldn’t place great value on career advice from Richard Lewis. Well, maybe Carlos Mencia… ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/35 "2017-04-09T06:16:39Z")
While Mel Brooks was my pick too…I want to make sure one unmentioned isn’t lost to the clouds of history and scorn: Rich Little. _only_ 78 but he was prolific back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980/36 "2017-04-09T09:50:24Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Rich Little. _only_ 78 but he was prolific back in the day. A friend of mine actually did some dates with him in Las Vegas a couple months ago. She said he was great- as a performer and in that he really took an interest in the other comics. He’d watch everyone else’s set and have compliments and comments on his favorite bits. He also, when asked, had career advice and he was just very supportive all around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-current-elder-statesman-of-standup/783980.md?page=1)