Stand Up comedy was the way to make your name in the biz for the longest time and it was especially king in the 80’s. The big thing was to get on the Tonight Show. If Johnny called you to the couch you had officially made it. After Johnny retired, stand up started to die. Nowadays, stand up is a lost art. When I thought of this question, my first answer was Dane Cook, but I think a case for Demetri Martin could be made. Who do you think it was?
It’s still going, just not as high profile I think. Chris Rock, Eddy Izzard, and Dave Chappelle would be a few examples.
I think that there used to be a pathway into Hollywood from stand-up. But eventually the number of comedians became full enough during the eighties and they kept a chokehold on it (Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, etc.) Those guys kept churning out what was supposed to be the good comedies even as their ability to successfully do drifted gently downward. A secondary business of comedy started up which was the mass produced, cheap and stupidest/grossest is best run of comedies. The Wayans Brothers, Farelly Brothers, and such got a new chokehold on these.
The next run to grab stuff came in TV land, with Chappelle and Steve Colbert and such getting their own shows. Demetri Martin, similarly, is getting his own show. This looks to be where stand-uppers go now.
The problem is that Steve Martin and them are still trying to turn out the good, non-stupid comedies. They need to quit and let a new crowd come in. At the moment, it seems to be Jim Carrey or bust.
Stephen Colbert. And I don’t think he ever did stand-up. (Jon Stewart did)
You’re right. Mr. Colbert never did stand-up. He wanted to be an actor (a dramatic actor), but eventually began to perform with Second City. His background is in acting/improv.
Lewis Black, then?
Leno still has comics on but they are few and far between. 90% of the people he has for the 3rd guest are singers or bands.
Must be a USA thing.
From the Southern Hemisphere:
Eric Bana
The Flight of the Conchords
and lots who have Aussie TV or movie careers:
Ahn Do
Bob Downe
Jimoein
Merrick and Rosso
Will Anderson
Adam Hills
Rove McManus
Peter Berner
Paul McDermott
Roy and HG
Glenn Robbins
Shaun Micallef
Chris Lilley
No it is the same here. There have been tons of successful TV stars that started in stand up. It just isn’t as frequent lately. For a while almost every standup who had a decent 15 minute routine would get a TV show.
Bill Maher
Lisa Lampanelli
Dane Cook
<ugh>
Louis CK
BJ Novak (Ryan Howard on The Office (US), also wrote a few episodes). His standup is hilarious, too.
The only truly, gut-clenchingly funny comedian working today, fyask me.
No way is stand up a lost art. I’d say the old paradigm of working your way up through the shitty comedy club circuit onto late night shows and then television or the movies might be gone, but there’s a lot of good comedy still being performed.
Like it or not, the most recent “big” Stand-Up star I would have to say is Dane Cook. He was just a standup guy that got very popular for some reason- and now wouldn’t be unusual to see in a starring role as an actor. And may have been the only Stand-Up guy who emerged in the last few years who could sell out a large theater consistently.
There are certainly others who have become known stand-ups over the past 5 or so years- but haven’t achieved the “star” quality that Dane Cook has.
(My personal recent favorites Zack Galifanakis, Jim Gaffigan)
Would Stephen Lynch count?
If America had as many comedy panel shows as the UK does, there’d be a sharp increase.
The Irish economy is based primarily on the production of stand up comics and whingy singer-songwriters.
Even though he melted down right at the cusp of becoming huge, Dave Chapelle certainly counts.
As far as the latest ones go, Dmitri Martin seems to be climbing the ladder pretty fast.