# Whose is The Funniest Stand Up Comedian of All Time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [August 21, 2001, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404 "2001-08-21T19:25:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2022, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/81 "2022-06-24T23:41:22Z")
THIS is why we need threads resuscitated occasionally! I’ve now got so many great comedians to find. I agree with those who had to make lists; there are dozens of amazing comedians out there. From different eras… I was raised on Bob & Ray and Jack Benny, then memorized everything Bill Cosby did. Later, I loved the more conceptual comics (although not sure I’d pay to sit through hours of Mitch Hedberg or Steven Wright… or Emo Phillips). And I learned a lot about black/white culture from Pryor and Murphy’s movies… (yes, kids, before the internet you had to go to a movie theater to hear their routines). > [@Fenris](#): > > Bob Newhart was fantastic. His phone-conversation routine is wonderful. Well, _that_ narrows it down… (Before his TV shows that was almost all he did. He’d come out on a stage with two stools. One for him, one for a classic dial phone) (oops, just re-read the thread and I was ninja’d over two decades years ago!) ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2022, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/82 "2022-06-25T00:16:38Z")
I agree Groucho shouldn’t be included here, funny though he is in the films. Of those mentioned above Eddie Izzard abd Steven Wright do it for me. Others: Woody Allen Spike Milligan Bill Bailey Sean Lock ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2022, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/83 "2022-06-25T00:40:31Z")
I can only go on personal opinion, but tese are the comedians whose stand-up acts make me consistently laugh: James Acaster Ricky Gervais Lee Mack Al Murray Sean Lock Mickey Flanagan Flight of the Conchords Johnny Vegas ---
**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:** [June 25, 2022, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/84 "2022-06-25T04:33:49Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > I agree Groucho shouldn’t be included here, funny though he is in the films. What’s the matter with Groucho? You Bet Your Life was essentially stand-up, and ad-libbed the whole way through to boot. Perhaps the others just don’t look as good in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2022, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/85 "2022-06-25T06:46:10Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > What’s the matter with Groucho? You Bet Your Life was essentially stand-up, But-but-but … he was sitting down! ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2022, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/86 "2022-06-25T09:55:49Z")
I think stand-up should be in front of a live audience, were you are addressing the audience directly. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2022, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/87 "2022-06-25T10:00:35Z")
I’m gonna side with the posters 21 years ago who named Mitch Hedberg. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/88 "2022-06-26T01:46:08Z")
> [@horhay\_achoa](#): > > There is this other guy I saw on Comedy Central once who was REALLY funny. Mitch something was his name. Any one know of any Mitch comics? I’m guessing you mean the late Mitch Hedberg. He did these observational humor stream-of-consciousness one-liners. The closest thing to him was Steven Wright but Hedberg was not deadpan and not in another universe. Edit: I did not realize I was responding to a post that’s old enough to drink. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/89 "2022-06-26T18:37:05Z")
George Carlin Before the Tonight show Jay Leno was very good in person although I know many don’t like him because of the conan thing ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/90 "2022-06-26T18:46:04Z")
Norm MacDonald has to be up there somewhere. The guy would go on talk shows and tell the funniest shaggy dog stories, ad-libbing much of it, that were hilarious. For all time, I have to give a nod to Cosby, though. The man was both clean and hilarious and sold millions of albums over the years. I owned a lot of them. Yeah, he screwed himself over eventually, but his humorous stories about his childhood were very funny and the man could come out onto a stage and do an hour cold without preparation. Most comedians were in awe of his talent. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/91 "2022-06-26T19:03:19Z")
Andy Kaufman Jonathan Winters Both were unique. Kaufman was a meticulous artist. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/92 "2022-06-26T19:18:00Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > This thread is pretty dated. So what? So, it belongs in the Cafe (which didn’t exist at the time). Shuffling this zombie from IMHO to CS. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/93 "2022-06-26T19:39:57Z")
I see he’s already been lauded several times over in this thread, but I have a deep appreciation for the comic genius of Bob Newhart. His ability to wringing big laughs out of only one half of a conversation where _he’s playing the straight man_ is incredible. Imagine listening to the “Who’s on first?” routine but only hearing Bud Abbott’s lines. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/94 "2022-06-26T20:52:20Z")
Agreed. George Carlin is easily the best and for the longest. * * * I have to say **RealityChuck** , I don’t even know those comics. * * * ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2022, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/95 "2022-06-27T10:46:25Z")
No particular order, but some of my favorites. Dave Allen Paul Hogan Billy Connolly Eddie Murphy Jim Jeffreys Jimmy Carr Robin Williams ---
**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:** [June 27, 2022, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/96 "2022-06-27T13:49:31Z")
Gilbert Gottfried ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2022, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/97 "2022-06-27T14:13:56Z")
For a combination of humor and actually making an intelligent point with it, I would go with Chris Rock. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/98 "2022-06-27T14:22:15Z")
Chris Rock Jim Gaffigan Ricky Gervais Bill Burr Lewis Black John Mulaney ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/99 "2022-06-27T16:33:28Z")
Robin Williams-He was on a benefit with Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg. Those two tried to keep up but ended up just standing back and watching him. Bill Hicks Sam Kinison Andy Kaufman Rodney Dangerfield Jonathan Winters Steven Wright Bill Cosby [And Larry Miller for his “Five levels of drinking” skit.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eceSHKqwUPY) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404/100 "2022-06-27T16:50:34Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > His ability to wringing big laughs out of only one half of a conversation where _he’s playing the straight man_ is incredible. Imagine listening to the “Who’s on first?” routine but only hearing Bud Abbott’s lines. Shelley Berman was also great at this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-is-the-funniest-stand-up-comedian-of-all-time/77404.md?page=6)