Feel free to move this CJ if you think it belongs somewhere else.
Richard F'n Pryor, hands down the funniest man ever. Socially aware without being heavy-handed, and the best stand-up routine, which still holds up today.
Sam Kinison, very close runner-up. Not quite as socially biting as Pryor, but utterly fearless on stage.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
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"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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Not that keen on Pryor from what I've seen of him. My vote would probably go to Billy Connelly.
Ridiculously sharp wit and a sense of humour that is genuinely warm and acerbic in equal measure. Also, he makes it up as he goes along and still ends up with arguably the funniest stand-up in history. Connelly is the only comedian in the world, ever, to actually make me roll on the floor gasping for breath from the sheer hilarity.
Although (for some unknown reason) I'm not his biggest fan, I can definately say that Connelly is one of the funniest stand-up comedians ever. And no one has made me laugh as long, as hard and as consistently as Robin Williams in his stand-up days... I real genius.
i agree with Pryor --- great mind --- however I do not agree with Kinnison. One trick pony as far as I was concerned. I found him loud (and not in a good way) and boring...
Bill Cosby the one of the masters of setting up a joke. He had a way of "telling" a story that drew you in.
Another guy who is probably not well known outside Canada is a guy named Mike MacDonald. Very very funny man.
~...with a floating smile and a light blue sponge...~
Carlin stopped being funny to me about 15 years ago. His early stuff is brilliant. Ditto with Steve Martin.
Shandling and Stewart wouldn't make my top 100.
Bob Newhart is funny as Hell, but (to me, at least) not on the same level as Kinison or Pryor.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
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"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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Cail wrote:Carlin stopped being funny to me about 15 years ago. His early stuff is brilliant. Ditto with Steve Martin.
Shandling and Stewart wouldn't make my top 100.
Bob Newhart is funny as Hell, but (to me, at least) not on the same level as Kinison or Pryor.
I doubted you'd like Stewart...what's wrong with Shandling? The guy is pretty damn funny! You no likee the self-effacing humor?
Newhart is on a different level I'd agree... certainly has a drier, perhaps more cerebral style. He is certainly a classic in the true sense of the word.
Jerry Lewis, when he was doing the Martin & Lewis show, kills me every time I see an episode. Steve Martin did a silent 'magician' skit on Johnny Carson way back that is the funniest thing I ever saw him do. Johnny dressing up like Willie Nelson to do "To All The Girls I Loved Before" with Julio Inglesias; ahh, that was rich. Eddie murphy on SNL.....the Buckwheat sing-along album commercial was my favorite.
Dandelion don't tell no lies
Dandelion will make you wise
Tell me if she laughs or cries
Blow away dandelion
I'm afraid there's no denying
I'm just a dandelion
a fate I don't deserve.
dANelly Waddlehoff wrote:Jerry Lewis, when he was doing the Martin & Lewis show, kills me every time I see an episode. Steve Martin did a silent 'magician' skit on Johnny Carson way back that is the funniest thing I ever saw him do. Johnny dressing up like Willie Nelson to do "To All The Girls I Loved Before" with Julio Inglesias; ahh, that was rich. Eddie murphy on SNL.....the Buckwheat sing-along album commercial was my favorite.
Eddie Murphy in "Raw" where he was doing a take on the Honeymooners...I laughed like crazy.... I was a freshman in HS I think!
Stewart's funny, but he's not a stand-up comedian. Shandling and Richard Lewis (and that type of humor) do absolutely nothing for me.
Eddie was hysterical in "Delerious" and "Raw", but faded quickly after that.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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You want socially relevant? I didn't discover this guy until about a year away from his death...but his stuff completely blew me away...
Bill Hicks - His fight between the alcoholic and the pothead is brilliant, among many other things!
prolly the same place I did...never heard of him until I watched a tv show about censorship? him and Lenny Bruce had their asses banned from here to Walla Walla....
Hicks was very contravertial--also extremely smart and posed some beautiful and interesting philosophical ideals. His crusade against the war on drugs and the church got him banned many places. Maynard of Tool thought he was so important that he (Hicks) appears on the cover of Aenima.
Last edited by danlo on Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
It's funny, I thought I was the only one in the world who thought Billy Connelly was hysterical.
Some of his routines literally made my sides and cheeks hurt from laughing so hard.
I loved Bill Cosby when I was a kid (admittedly I only have his first few albums [yes albums!] so I don't know if he got better or worse) but when I finally had kids of my own I appreciated him even more.
Eddie Izzard seems pretty good too but I've only heard a little of his stuff.
I'm also surprised by how much I laugh at Chris Rock.
But "Best Ever"........................can't do it.
Too much to review!
High Lord Tolkien wrote:It's funny, I thought I was the only one in the world who thought Billy Connelly was hysterical.
Some of his routines literally made my sides and cheeks hurt from laughing so hard.
I loved Bill Cosby when I was a kid (admittedly I only have his first few albums [yes albums!] so I don't know if he got better or worse) but when I finally had kids of my own I appreciated him even more.
Eddie Izzard seems pretty good too but I've only heard a little of his stuff.
I'm also surprised by how much I laugh at Chris Rock.
But "Best Ever"........................can't do it.
Too much to review!
Connelly is quite funny as well. Izzard I never got. Rock is verrry funny.
I had a couple of Cosby records as a kids too, HLT. Remember "The Chicken Heart" ?
Oh yeah, old Cosby was great. The Chicken Heart That Ate Up New York City.
"It'll never get through smoke and fire and pudding!"
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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