# Who is the very best and very worst comedian of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2020, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612 "2020-01-18T08:30:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/101 "2020-01-20T21:05:12Z")
Tough, thought provoking thread here… I love several stand up comics, most of which were mentioned, like Carlin, John Pinette, Billy Connoly, Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby. My all time favorite has to be Mitch Hedberg (check my sig 😉 ) He was the most original and unique comic I ever heard. Also - no love for the hilarious Ricky Gervais? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/102 "2020-01-20T21:22:01Z")
> [@SykoSkotty](#): > > T…no love for the hilarious Ricky Gervais? I’ll give him some love. I couldn’t stand The Office (for example), but I saw him doing standup and he is brilliant. Has anyone mentioned Peter Cook? Flawed genius doesn’t do him justice. Massively flawed genius doesn’t either. But still a rare talent. I remember seeing John Cleese talk about him thus: Cleese could sit down at his desk and put in an eight hour day and (in his opinion) produce three minutes of material just as good as Peter Cook’s output. The difference between them? In order to produce three minutes of material, Peter Cook required three minutes. j ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/103 "2020-01-20T22:55:19Z")
Some people who say Leno was not good are still ticked off about Conan losing the tonight show. They may go to their grave mad about that. Of course Conan was paid $33 mil when he was axed from Tonight show so I don’t feel too bad for him. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/104 "2020-01-21T01:05:03Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I’ll give him some love. I couldn’t stand The Office (for example), but I saw him doing standup and he is brilliant.j Yeah, I’m exactly the opposite with him. Love him in his acting roles; don’t like his standup. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/105 "2020-01-21T03:31:47Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > (ducks behind flameproof shield) I don’t think David Sedaris is funny, in print or onstage. David Sedaris is not, technically, a comedian. His earlier books were amusing, but as time went on, I thought ‘he’s just making it up as he goes’; his later books are odd but melancholy, and I think he is really exhausting all his memoirs. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/106 "2020-01-21T03:36:02Z")
Saw David Sedaris from the 3rd row last month. Some of his stuff was funny but not all of it. This was in Raleigh where he lived as a kid. When he took questions someone asked the dumb question: “Do you stay in a hotel here or stay with friends?” He said he stays in a hotel but he had relatives at the show. His brother runs a local flooring company: [https://sedarishardwoodfloors.com/](https://sedarishardwoodfloors.com/) ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/107 "2020-01-21T09:34:34Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Some people who say Leno was not good are still ticked off about Conan losing the tonight show. They may go to their grave mad about that. Of course Conan was paid $33 mil when he was axed from Tonight show so I don’t feel too bad for him. I thought Jay Leno was a hoot doing stand-up in the mid 80s. His TV show, to me, was worth a few half-hearted chuckles here and there. Of course, network TV placed constraints on decorum/language, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/108 "2020-01-21T12:32:32Z")
Good call on Ricky Gervais, I enjoy both the TV and standup. \*Great \*call on Peter Cook, a rare, rare talent indeed. Someone not mentioned and someone who is not a standup and not even a true comic performer but Armando Iannucci is a comedy god. A central point around which much of the best comedy writers and performers of the last 30 years have pivoted. You know his work and his influences even if you don’t know the name. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/109 "2020-01-21T14:43:16Z")
Talk of Whose Line Is It Anyway brings to mind Ryan Stilles. He does smary comedy better than anyone, including me. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/110 "2020-01-21T14:56:03Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > I thought Jay Leno was a hoot doing stand-up in the mid 80s. His TV show, to me, was worth a few half-hearted chuckles here and there. > > Of course, network TV placed constraints on decorum/language, but still… As I remember, Leno didn’t need those constraints. He was known to be a clean comic. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/111 "2020-01-21T15:44:13Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > So, I just watched about an hour and a half YouTube clips of John Mulaney. He’s good! I don’t know why I’ve never heard of him before. Did you run across [The Salt and Pepper Diner](https://www.vulture.com/2019/11/john-mulaney-salt-and-pepper-diner-joke.html)? It’s my single favorite bit of standup ever. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/112 "2020-01-21T15:59:32Z")
Leno was basically a clean comic prior to the Tonight show. But I’m sure he was more careful about what he did on TV since he did not want to lose that job. And in fact NBC considered firing Leno during his first year and they even offered Letterman the job. Letterman’s agent wanted the NBC offer on paper and NBC did not want to put it in writing for fear of it being leaked so that ended the NBC offer to Letterman who then went to CBS. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/113 "2020-01-21T16:34:35Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Did you run across [The Salt and Pepper Diner](https://www.vulture.com/2019/11/john-mulaney-salt-and-pepper-diner-joke.html)? It’s my single favorite bit of standup ever. I just listened to it now. Hilarious! Thanks. ETA: The accompanying article is good too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/114 "2020-01-21T18:27:30Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Richard Lewis, OTOH, can be erased from history like an enemy of Stalin’s for all I care. This joke right here puts you among the best listed. Thanks for making me piss my pants. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/115 "2020-01-21T18:50:01Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Leno was basically a clean comic prior to the Tonight show. But I’m sure he was more careful about what he did on TV since he did not want to lose that job. And in fact NBC considered firing Leno during his first year and they even offered Letterman the job. Letterman’s agent wanted the NBC offer on paper and NBC did not want to put it in writing for fear of it being leaked so that ended the NBC offer to Letterman who then went to CBS. For anyone who wants to read about the behind the scenes going-ons when Johnny Carson retired and NBC was looking for a replacement I would highly recommend the book _The Late Shift_ by Bill Carter. It goes into detail about Carson’s retirement, the start of Leno’s and Letterman’s careers, Joan River’s failed attempt at a late night talk show and even Arsenio Hall’s show. [https://www.amazon.com/Late-Shift-Letterman-Network-Battle/dp/1504058852/ref=olp\_product\_details?\_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1579632562&sr=1-1](https://www.amazon.com/Late-Shift-Letterman-Network-Battle/dp/1504058852/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1579632562&sr=1-1) He also wrote a later book about the whole debacle about Conan O’Brian’as attempt to take over The Tonight Show. [https://www.amazon.com/War-Late-Night-Early-Television/dp/0452297494/ref=pd\_bxgy\_2/144-5682602-6393965?\_encoding=UTF8&pd\_rd\_i=0452297494&pd\_rd\_r=5c22665e-9c8c-47c2-a4cb-78a1ff23b996&pd\_rd\_w=0gmhG&pd\_rd\_wg=Ofq9K&pf\_rd\_p=09627863-9889-4290-b90a-5e9f86682449&pf\_rd\_r=RA5Y6G48KZYGAJMT63TP&psc=1&refRID=RA5Y6G48KZYGAJMT63TP](https://www.amazon.com/War-Late-Night-Early-Television/dp/0452297494/ref=pd_bxgy_2/144-5682602-6393965?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0452297494&pd_rd_r=5c22665e-9c8c-47c2-a4cb-78a1ff23b996&pd_rd_w=0gmhG&pd_rd_wg=Ofq9K&pf_rd_p=09627863-9889-4290-b90a-5e9f86682449&pf_rd_r=RA5Y6G48KZYGAJMT63TP&psc=1&refRID=RA5Y6G48KZYGAJMT63TP) ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/116 "2020-01-21T19:42:51Z")
Not sure I could pick a “best”, because I like different styles of comedy. I’m always impressed by a comic who’s quick enough to improv, and riff on what the audience gives them. Jimmy Carr is brilliant at this; he actually invites hecklers, to give him a target for his fire. He’s also able to pull off shock comedy, which is hard to do without it sounding like a shtick. On the other hand, some observational comics rise to the level of cultural critics, and can talk about significant ideas and important concepts in a way that still garners laughs. Dara O Briain is hilarious, but is almost a public intellectual. (Thanks to hours of watching _Mock The Week_, _Eight Out Of Ten Cats Do Countdown_, _Never Mind The Buzzcocks_, _et al._ on YouTube, I’m more familiar with British comedians than Americans). I saw Mike Birbiglia live on his last tour, doing “My New Couch”. I wouldn’t call it comedy, though; his routine was funny, yes, but also painful and sad and profound and moving. It was storytelling as performance art. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I loved Mark Russell’s PBS specials in the 80s and 90s. He’s still living but retired many years ago; I’d love to see what he would do with modern material, I guess. > > (ducks behind flameproof shield) I don’t think David Sedaris is funny, in print or onstage. You’re not the only one. But saying that you don’t like David Sedaris is like admitting you don’t like jazz, or _This American Life_, or the Boston Red Sox - the NPRigensia looks down on you, and PBS returns your pledge check. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/117 "2020-01-21T19:46:32Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > For anyone who wants to read about the behind the scenes going-ons when Johnny Carson retired and NBC was looking for a replacement I would highly recommend the book _The Late Shift_ by Bill Carter. It goes into detail about Carson’s retirement, the start of Leno’s and Letterman’s careers, Joan River’s failed attempt at a late night talk show and even Arsenio Hall’s show. The Late Shift was made into a [made-for-HBO movie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Late_Shift_(film)), which was pretty entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/118 "2020-01-21T22:22:44Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > My vote, Best is George Carlin, worst is Emo Phillips, or any of the “delivery” comics (where the delivery, more than the material, is what is supposed to be funny. See Sam Kinnison). With an honorable mention to Andy Kaufman. Making people uncomfortable isn’t comedy, it’s just painful. Don’t go dissing my “best choice” Emo. I thought his opening act for Weird Al last year was better than the concert… I first caught him on the Late Show with David Letterman. His [religion on the bridge](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/sep/29/comedy.religion) joke is great! His interactions with David Letterman were pretty funny. - David: So where did the name Emo come from? - Emo: Ever been to Finland? - David: Are you Finnish? - Emo: No, I have lots more jokes. (before the term emo got co-opted) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/119 "2020-01-21T22:47:11Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > His [religion on the bridge](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/sep/29/comedy.religion) joke is great! Off the bridge, heretic! ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612/120 "2020-01-22T03:47:51Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > So, I just watched about an hour and a half YouTube clips of John Mulaney. He’s good! I don’t know why I’ve never heard of him before. Yes!! My work here is done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-very-best-and-very-worst-comedian-of-all-time/846612.md?page=7)