Being an older SD follower, I’d have to put my vote in for Red Skelton and Jonathan Winters. In addition, I have to give my (I think you young people call it )“props”, to pretty much all the folks on “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”.
Oh, yeah…I think Judy Tenuta is a helluva funny gal. But then, I like accordion music.
Damn straight! You beat me to it. Dana Gould is hillarious. He has the only comedy album which I can listen to again and again, and laugh each time. He is hillarious. Go to http://www.danagould.com and download some stuff, he is just brilliant.
And another vote for Jerry Seinfeld. I think most people have become over saturated by him and consequently take him for granted. His last HBO show was fantastic, and a wonderful reminder of his sense of timing and wit
But are they the best of all time? Probably not.
People like Bob Newhart, George Burns and Bill Cosby are sort of fathers of what we now refer to stand up, while other comedians, like Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce, did wonders to progress the art form, adding more satirical and political content.
However, THE best stand up of all time best is probably Richard Pryor. This vote is echoed by many a comic.
Pryor’s delivery and timing, hasn’t been topped since his peak, over 20 years ago. Comics like Murphy and Rock will be the first to admit they are in much debt to the original, ground breaking stuff he pioneered.
OOPS.
Scratch that last link. Go here: http://www.happycouch.org/ for Dana Gould’s stuff. You won’t regret it.
Personally, I love all the clips, but I recommend “'Tarded” or “The Ferris Wheel” for starts.
My Fav is Don Rickles. http://www.thehockeypuck.com/
Runner Up: Rodney Dangerfield. http://www.rodney.com/
I tell you I don’t get no respect. Why, the surgeon general, he offered me a cigarette.
It really depends on what criterion you’re judging by. For material, George Carlin and Jerry Seinfeld are among the best. For during their prime, it could be anyone (although arguably if your original material isn’t funny fifty years later, it wasn’t that great in the first place). For delivery… I’ll nominate a relative nobody: Jeremy Hotz. He sound like he’s always on the verge of cracking up, and it’s infectious. Even though his material isn’t extraordinary, he’ll have you gasping for air withing minutes.
I know. A lot of us in comedy circles cried when Dennis died a few years ago (cancer, for those that weren’t aware). I’d only had the chance to meet him once, but he was one of the sweetest guys I’d ever met. We talked shop for a while, but kept drifting to life in general. I miss him. Sam Kinison was taken too soon, as well. Now, in Carlin’s defense, I’m a huge fan, and the man’s damn near my comedic idol. He’s not a cranky old man, really. Yeah, he’s gruff. But there’s more to it. Carlin’s always been considered radical (think about the forming of the FCC and his classic “Seven Words” bit). He’s not at all content with the lifestyle that Americans have chosen, and he’s more than willing to point out the flaws in their logic. And there are no sacred cows. I can see how he comes across as cranky, but, to me, he’s just a step ahead of the general populace in terms of self-awareness.
I believe you are referring to Adam Ferraro. He is truly hilarious and is definitely in my top 5. Mitch Hedberg is a hippie-ish guy who talks as if he is perpetually stoned and only says about 5 words every 10 seconds.
I also think The Amazing Jonathan and Sinbad are excellent at stand up! I don’t prefer watching Carlin do stand up as I prefer reading his books.
Number one Sinbad, number two Dana Carvey. No one else can make me get the hiccups from laughing too hard.
In that case, I don’t think I know who Mitch Hedberg is. Adam Ferraro does sound familiar. That guy was HILARIOUS! I was trying to retell his jokes for weeks afterwards. It just isn’t near funny enough unless you see it, but I think that holds true with most stand-up. It’s all about the timing and delivery (which has been mentioned in this thread several times.)
Another comedian I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned yet is Carlos Mencia. “Judge Carlos” is what he calls himself sometimes. He rocks. I laughed so hard I nearly cried.
How about Rich Little? I’ve always really liked him. He’s the best imitator I’ve ever heard. I’ve always liked impressions because I do alot of impressions too.
for me, today it’s Chris Rock: "What ever happened to crazy?
Actually, Dana Gould’s website is at http://www.happycouch.org.
Nice to know someone else here has heard him!
Eddie Izzard…mmmm…funny AND sexy.
“Poosy, get the rabbits in the speedboat…ears in the wind”
best line ever, his impression of Sean Connery (as Bond) as Noah.
either that or the “hod-ud-ud-dud-ah” carpet cleaner.
and Billy Connelly, especially ad-libbing. any brits catch him on parkinson with Sting? very funny.
Mitch Hedberg is pretty damned hilarious.
Eddie Izzard rules my world, but so much of what makes Eddie incredible is his performance and delivery, I don’t know that he can be called the best. Plus he hasn’t been great long enough. (I have every recording he ever made, so I feel I can say this with confidence. And I agree that * Dressed to Kill * holds up amazingly well.)
I think for variety, intelligence, consistency, longevity, and just a purely marvelous comic mind built for standup, the crown must stay with ** George Carlin. **
More than any other comic * ever *, he has made it work as a pure standup, year after year, generation after generation. The guy has been cracking people up for forty years! And he’s got something for everyone…pure goofball shit for folks that like that kinda thing, (not me) and razor sharp commentary on the human condition (yeah!), plus the wordplay can’t be beat.
Yeah… I think Carlin really deserves the crown.
Close runners up:
Jerry Seinfeld
Richard Pryor
and my own favorite, Jake Johansson, who brings tears to my eyes every time.
Oh, and Paula Poundstone is the mistress of improving off the audience. No one even comes close.
stoid
Former professional standup comic
This thread is pretty dated. So what?
Having listened to a chunk of comedy radio, the funniest comedian of all time is George Carlin.
All around my fav standup comic is George Carlin, hands down. However from the days when comedy had to be sort of “clean” I’m including red Skelton, George burns, Jack Benny & Rodney Dangerfield.
First, thank you to everyone. Now I have a list of names - I’ll have to try and download their routines for listening.
On some game show - Dick Van Dyke once did a nonverbal routine about getting an Army physical. One of the funniest acts…
Here’s something that might spark some memories.
Not going to bother reading the entire thread because the correct answer is still Richard Pryor.
I’ve liked many of the names in this thread, but the threecomedians who made me laugh the most were Dennis Wolfberg, Chris Rush, and The Amazing Johnathan.
Well, Bill Cosby is no longer funny. (Nor is the Simpsons episode with President Trump.)