King of Comedy? Hicks, Carlin or Pryor?

[Khephra]

[sendero]

1. I think Pryor is great...

... but Hicks took comedy to a whole new level. May he rest in peace.

[LunaSea]

12. Difficult to catergorize these guys

And why is Lily Tomlin not listed?
(dammit)

I love them all.
For me,
Carlin is a philosopher
Pryor is a storyteller
Hicks was a preacher
And Lenny was a dambuster that made it possible for those who followed.

For those not familiar with Bill Hicks-go get your third eye squeeged right now!
http://www.sacredcow.com

[Khephra]

2. I added Carlin...he really should be there too.

[unblock]

3. carlin -- the man almost wrote poetry.

and he has to be one of the most cerebral comedians out there. love the respect he has for the english language.

[KissMyAsscroft]

4. Hate to choose...

Hicks is a personal favorite, but I love Pryor and Carlin.

Hard to pick a favorite.

Hicks to me was more than just a comedian. He trancended comedy.

[Kahuna]

5. Who is Hicks? At least everybody has heard of Pryor and Carlin.

:shrug:

[Beaker]

19. who WAS Hicks is how that question should be asked-

he was well on his way to becoming The Man in stand-up when he was struck down with cancer.

[DoctorBombay]

6. Lenny Bruce

Lenny Bruce was the trailblazer. He made it safe for the other three men on the list to do what they did.

That said, Bruce, Carlin, Pryor, and Hicks would comprise the Mount Rushmore of comedy.

[Kahuna]

7. Well, if we're going back that far, It would be Redd Foxx and ...

Wildman Steve...

[lucidmadman]

8. Here's the order: Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce,....

...Carlin or Pryor/Pryor or Carlin, I wish Hicks had been around longer...
I also wonder if Woody Allen had stayed with stand up would he have been in the pantheon...

[MrSlayer]

9. Sam Kinison was awesome too.

Definitely in the big leagues.

[furrylitldevil]

17. Sam was irritating

I've tried and tried to laugh at that guy, but I just don't find prolonged screams and whines funny.

[Must_B_Free]

10. Carlin is the greatest living legend

he managed to never stop doing what he did best.

[Kat45]

11. Who is this Bill Hicks guy?

I see people mentioning him quite frequently here on DU, but I have never heard of him. From reading posts, I get the impression he was a comedian in recent years who died young--is that correct? But who is he, what kind of comedy did he do, where?

[LunaSea]

13. http://www.sacredcow.com

Get Bill

http://www.sacredcow.com

[DS1]

14. He hated Republicans, specifically GHWB and Rush Limbaugh

[BlackVelvetElvis]

15. Bill was intellegent. He knew what was going on in the world.

He has several recordings available on CD. My personal favorite is "Rant in E minor"
I got turned on to him in Chicago in 92. I saw him live and had never heard of him before then. He was incredible and very energetic on stage. His "dark poetry" was my favorite part of his show and I wish more of it was available because it was so creative.
If he were alive now he would be roasting Bush on a spit. I'm sure his act would include Bush and the devil. He did a great impersonation of the devil.
I miss him so much.

[jpgray]

16. Tough to compare Carlin and Pryor

One has a larger body of work, the other enjoys a special reverence not given to many comedians.

[minkyboodle]

18. Pryor

For me growing up he defined the pinnacle of stand up.
Scott

[Beaker]

20. Gilbert Gottfried was the FUNNIEST act I've ever seen...

sometime in the late 80's at George's in chicago(no longer there).
I've seen a LOT of stand-up, and I would put Gilbert at the top of his game at the top of the list.

[Room101]

21. I love Hicks, Pryor is great, CARLIN is the BEST!

No body has been more consistent and funny for longer than anyone else. I have been listening to allot of HICKS this week.

[Room101]

22. Video stream of HICKS....

Broadband
http://www.sacredcowproductions.com/broadband/chk.php?f=www.sacredcow.com/broadband/access/bill_hicks/thisworld_bg.ram

Dial-up
http://www.sacredcow.com/media/links/store_items/saneman/thisworld_sm.ram

[Raenelle]

23. Pryor--to the bone honesty, and milk coming out of the nose funny

Carlin's brilliant, I loved Bill Hicks, but Pryor could give you chills with his honesty, then have you literally rolling on the floor laughing. I never saw anyone as good as Pryor.

[Sufi Marmot]

24. Carlin loses points because...

...he has this shtick about how people shouldn't bother to vote. They replayed one of his HBO specials from the mid-90's a few weeks ago, and I thought most of it was hysterical and spot on, but I didn't like the anti-voting cynicism. I don't know whether he's changed his tune since then or not... :shrug:

-SM

[Dark]

25. Bill Maher.

Carlin's ideas are too radical for me.

Pryor is okay, but Bill's better.

Who is Hicks?