Favorite / Influential Comedians

[jmcvann]

I saw Jerry Lewis do standup (more like a revue, I guess...comedy, some singing, some dancing) in the late '70s. My parents took the whole family. I was in high school at the time. As Jerry was well into his telethon persona, I think my folks thought the show would be genteel. It was not. He was filthy. He was also very, very funny.

 

[dogjones]

Bill Bailey all the way, if only for his interpretation of the fact that light is affected by gravity:

"Ah! What he's saying there is, it's easier to drop things in the dark"

 

[Damien Evans]

Bill Bailey all the way, if only for his interpretation of the fact that light is affected by gravity:

"Ah! What he's saying there is, it's easier to drop things in the dark"

Bill Bailey is a legend.

 

[Pinkymcfatfat]

I've been re-watching all of 'The Chappelle Show' recently, and actually got to see Dave in person early in his career....he's not afraid to say what he thinks, and I believe that's what makes him so funny.

I have to love Lewis Black. My husband is a dead ringer for him.

 

[luchog]

Jim Gaffigan and Jake Johannson are sweet and funny.
I can't endure the mean-spirited comics like Lisa Lampanelli.

I liked Johannson early on; but he shifted his style and wasn't nearly as funny.

 

[HawaiiBigSis]

Nichols and May. Back before comedy had any sort of confessional quality, they were amazing.

Yeah, them, and many already mentioned.

Shelly Berman was a riot; I'd listen to his routines over and over again, and always heard something new.

 

[beeksc1]

My personal favorite stand-ups would have to include early Robin Williams; not only for his style and humour, but his sheer energy.

Yes, I am sure other people cited Robin Williams; but, he is quickly becoming one of my top five comedians.

I really only care for Carrey’s stand-up material and his work with ‘In Living Color’ and ‘SNL.’ …
The old school Jim Carrey, I like.

Jim Carrey on ILC/SNL (esp. as 'Fire Marshall Bill').

Was Jim Carrey ever a cast member of SNL?

 

[Xephyr]

George Carlin, Billy Connelly, Ron White, and Robin Williams

 

[fitzgibbon]

MacLean & MacLean

 

[JcR]

Absolutely love Dave Allen, Carlin, John Cleese in Fawlty Towers.
"Basil!" ..."Basil!" ...Yes Sybil.

 

[commandlinegamer]

Not my favorite but have to mention Lee Evans just for his crazy freneticness. Bit concerned about him though; it can't be healthy to sweat that much: he must go through two suits and a dozen towels each performance.

 

[Almo]

An excellent summation of Gervais' comic 'genius'. Fame, Politics and Animals are lazy, hackneyed dross.

But I loved the bit in Animals where he goes through Genesis.

 

[Sunray Breaker]

I'm somewhat obsessed with stand up comedy, here's small list of my favorites (i've included one quote for each):

1. Bill Hicks

I loved when Bush came out and said, "We are losing the war against drugs." You know what that implies? There's a war being fought, and the people on drugs are winning it.

2. Doug Stanhope

With all the horrible, horrible **** that your priest is pumping into your kid's head, his 'penis' should be the least of your worries, honestly. That's just a little mouthwash and a few years of therapy'll get rid of that. That Jesus 'crap' will torture you for a lifetime.

3. George Carlin

And now, they're thinking about banning toy guns - and they're gonna keep the f*ckin real ones!

4. Steven Wright

In school they told me "Practice makes perfect." And then they told me "Nobody's perfect," so then I stopped practicing.

5. Mitch Hedburg

Whenever I go to shave, I assume there's someone else on the planet shaving, so I say, "I'm gonna go shave, too."

6. Richard Pryor

Ya know what you never hear? "Hand me that Piano!"

7. Chris Rock

We got so much food in America we're allergic to food. Allergic to food! Hungry people ain't allergic to ◊◊◊◊. You think anyone in Rwanda's got a f**king lactose intolerance?!

8. Red Foxx

We were poor. If I wasn't a boy, I wouldn't have had nothing to play with.

9. Bernie Mac

I will 'f' a kid up. When a kid gets one-years-old, I believe you go the right to hit him in either the throat or the stomach. If you grown enough to talk back, you grown enough to get f'd up!

10. Chris Tucker

Man, I'm so broke, if a brutha Robbed me, he'd justbe practicin', From an OLD episode of Def Comedy Jam

11. Dane Cook (I know, its blasphomy to like him, but I don't care...)

I've heard on the news that they are thinking of putting microchips inside babies so that if they ever get kidnapped that you can track them on Google. But what if technology fails? Well here is my solution: next to the microchip, put a detonator. Listen, if I can't have my baby, nobody can!!!

12. Sarah Silverman
This is not the first time that Europe has been passive while a Jew-hating tyrant with a weird looking mustache killed the people by giving them gas. [Pause] Obviously I'm talking about Chef Boyardee... - In reference to the 2003 Iraq invasion.

13. Paula Poundstone

They're not going to teach science at all. What they do is take the science students down to the lake, tie them in burlap sacks and throw them in. If God thinks they're good science students, they float.

14. Jimmy Carr

Some people say I speak with an english accent, This is not an accent, this how it sounds when its pronounced properly.

15. Lewis Black

You don't want another Enron? Here's the law: If you have a company, and it can't explain, in one sentence... what it does... it's illegal!

 

[Piscivore]

Definitely Eddie Izzard. He just makes me laugh. My kids all have him memorized.

My daughter does to... she's even taken to adopting the accent.

 

[pgwenthold]

5. Mitch Hedburg

Hedburg had some great stuff. Others I like include

People say, "This is a picture taken of me when I was younger." Of course it is. Every picture you have was taken when you were younger than you are now.

And I won't go through the whole story, but my favorite Mitch Hedburg line of all time:

I learned an important lesson: Ducks eat free at Subway.