Little Tich must at least be mentioned if we’re talking comedic geniuses of all time.
In the “all time” category, Ernie Kovacs must be included. We was probably the first person to realize the comedic possiblities of television as a medium unto itself, rather than as a venue to stage a vaudeville-type sketch show. He was an absolute genius!
Ahem…
cjepson says “check post #3”. 
Billy Crystal when he was younger.
Soupy Sales is my comic choice from long ago.
The Three Stooges from way,way long ago and the best slapstick comics ever.
I’ll third (is it fourth now?) Mark Twain, and throw in Shakespeare, Wodehouse, and Dickens. And going back a bit, Aristophones for Lysistrata.
For this era? If I take “era” to mean in my lifetime - any member of Monty Python.
From this era:
Richard Jeni
Bill Hicks
Jake Johanson
Dan Aykroyd
All Time:
Sid Caesar
Ernie Kovacs
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Just a quick correction here. Russell Peters is a Canadian, parents from India. He is a great comedian, and I’m glad he was mentioned.
I’ll throw a couple more names…
Bill Burr. The few times I’ve seen him have been great.
Also, I didn’t see him mentioned, but I have to give him his spot in this threadL
Sam Kinneson. A shame he’s quickly been forgotten. I guess that’s inevitable when so many other comedians are out there, but for the brief (relatively) time he was in the spotlight, he made me laugh out loud.
Now:
Denis Leary
Simon Pegg
All Time:
George Carlin
Mark Twain
Robin Williams
And his friend [del]Jack Roy[/del] Rodney Dangerfield.
My all-timers have all been mentioned a few times over so I’ll just add a couple of my current favorites that haven’t been given as much love yet:
**Paul F. Thompkins **- Saw him here in Chicago about a year ago. Easily the funniest stand up act I’ve ever seen - and I’ve seen Cosby, Carlin, and Hedberg. He’s incredibly smart and quick witted.
**David Sedaris **- Try reading his stuff on a train or bus without everyone looking at you because you’re giggling like a lunatic. (and ditto to the people who mentioned his sister, Amy.)
Pauly Shore.
Adam Sandler.
Colin Quinn.
Per above, **handsomeharry **is the greatest comedic genius of all time.
But, seriously:
All Time: Tie-Mark Twain/WC Fields/Laurel and Hardy
Present: Stephen Wright.
I feel pretty dumb for forgetting Dave Chappelle. His impressions alone should earn him a spot.
As for forgetting Twain, I must’ve been drunk or something. Back in HS, reading Huckleberry Finn, I had a great American Lit teacher who noticed I was a little bored with the book, and being convinced of Twain’s genius, she loaned me a copy of Letters from the Earth. (You know school libraries are too afraid to stock fun stuff like that.) After reading the first few chapters, I was hooked on Mark Twain the cynic. I appreciate the novels more nowadays, but its the short stories and essays that put him in my top 5 authors.
Stephen Wright is great. Mitch Hedberg (very similar style) was my favorite, RIP.
Currently:
No one.
All Time:
Jerry Lewis
Are you sure you shouldn’t be “L’Homme du Ministere”? :dubious:
It just feels so wrong to call him a genius because his writing gets schticky and some of it isn’t funny, but no sportswriter has made me laugh harder than Bill Simmons, aka The Sports Guy.
There’s that bullshit kid ripping them both off on Comedy Central… oh the twist is he carries a guitar! What’s his name? Unpronouncable generic New York kid.
Also… I’ll say Flight of the Conchords have ruined musical comedy acts for awhile by being too good. Geniuses? Time will tell.
All Time
Plautus
Shakespeare
Contemporary West
Richard Pryor
George Carlin (early)
Eddie Murphy (early)
Chris Rock
Mel Brooks (early)
Robin Williams
Iconic Groups/Ensembles
Python
Blackadder
Jay Ward Productions
Hm, the only girls mentioned are Lucille Ball and Amy Sedaris, neither of whom I think are that funny.
All time:
Jane Austen
Current:
Paula Poundstone
Julia Sweeney
Chris Morris is the daddy on this side of the pond. He’s not been too active recently, but Brass Eye has yet to be beaten as satire over here, and that was ages ago. His current project, four lions, is currently playing at the sundance film festival and grasps the nettle of muslim extremism - a subject that a lot of comics wouldn’t have the sack for. Reviews I’ve read haven’t been that good, though, so we’ll have to wait and see.