Favorite Stand-Up Comedian

[charlie and algernon]

[Initech]

1. So hard to pick between Carlin and Hicks.

Although every single comedian on that list is pretty awesome.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear charlie and algernon!

It's a tie for me: Eddie Izzard and Robin Williams!

So, I voted "other."

[charlie and algernon]

3. haha, that works!

they both kinda have that scattered brain, stream of consciousness to their routine.

[PassingFair]

4. Izzard is the only one I'd PAY to see....

he tickles me.

[Lorax7844]

27. I got to hang out with him last year when he played the Orpheum in Memphis

The stand up was awesome. He was nice but I was expecting his stage persona to be how he is in real life and that is not the case. He is very, very, very serious in person. He is very into politics and would love to run for office in England one day.

I love, love, love Eddie but Carlin was my first comedic hero and who I voted for in this poll.

[PassingFair]

30. Just don't tell me he's running as a conservative!!!!!

I can tell from his serious acting roles
that his stand-up is a persona...but you
CANNOT write stuff like he does without
having the funny DEEP within.

Carlin was great, but I'm not a recovering
Catholic, so a lot of his stuff seems a bit
self-loathing to me.

[Lorax7844]

70. No, not conservative at all

just very serious and not playful like his stage persona would have you believe

[newcriminal]

5. Margaret Cho

[KamaAina]

9. Yes. I noticed the list was all guys.

:shrug:

[bigwillq]

18. Cho is one of my faves, too!

:hi: :bounce:

[Rambis]

6. Izzard is a side splitter

great stuff!

[TheMightyFavog]

7. Gotta go with the Dark Poet.

For his bit on Rush Limbaugh alone

WARNING!!!! Not for the faint of heart or faint of stomach... The faint of butt should also take notice, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7Q7BkAbCk

[ghostsofgiants]

8. David Cross is a glaring omission.

[Initech]

34. Yeah Tobias Fünke is definitely missing from the list.

[Forkboy]

10. Definitely Izzard.

Strangely, my 2nd fave is Brian Regan, whose humor is totally different from Izzard's.

[LostInAnomie]

11. Dave Attell

[Bertha Venation]

12. Paula Poundstone.

[MineralMan]

15. One of my all-time faves, too.

Pop Tarts! wink, wink, nod, nod. I'll say no more.

[Common Sense Party]

35. She is great on "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me" on NPR. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

13. I'm going Old School.

It's almost a tie between Rodney Dangerfield, and Don Rickles, two comedians I had the pleasure of seeing in person on different occasions.

Don Rickles made me cry I was laughing so hard, but...Rodney was freakin' awesome.

I wish everyone would have had the chance to experience Rodney doing a live set.

[jobycom]

46. Nice school. nt

[MineralMan]

14. No women on the list? No vote.

For pete's sake.

[LostInAnomie]

16. Wouldn't there have to be a funny woman stand up comedian first?

:hide: :yoiks:

[newcriminal]

22. You don't find any of these women funny?

Rita Rudner
Judy Tenuta
Phyllis Diller
Rosanne Barr
Rosie O'Donnell
Ellen DeGeneres
Whoopi Goldberg
Sarah Silverman
Kathy Griffen
Margaret Cho
Judy Gold
Jenny Jones

[LostInAnomie]

24. Other than Sarah Silverman...

... nope.

[newcriminal]

25. I can see we are going to get along well.

Sarah Silverman was the only one on the list that I don't find funny.

[Common Sense Party]

33. DeGeneres' standup was hilarious.

I also like Rita Rudner and Paula Poundstone. I can't stand most of the others on that particular list.

[dugaresa]

58. good ole Judy with her accordian

I saw an episode of some daffy kids program on Disney and was shocked to see Tenuta in some sort of teacher role. I couldn't handle it. I fondly recall her dressed as Cleopatra playing the accordian.

[charlie and algernon]

20. added a poll for female comedians

bad oversight on my part

[RebelOne]

17. Rita Rudner is absolutely hilarious. n/t

[graywarrior]

19. Eddie Izzard and Ricky Gervais for me.

[charlie and algernon]

21. Vote here for the Women

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x8955275

will take top 5 from each for true best of poll.

[Auggie]

23. Rodney Dangerfield

[KansDem]

57. I agree...

Back in the 1970s I wasn't too impressed with him, but I watched him do a routine on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson and he had me in stitches! Then after his routine we went over to sit down with Johnny for the "interview" and he just kept going, working joke after joke into the dialog with Carson. Every since that night I've been a fan...

I read his biography, It Ain't Easy Being Me, and found it fascinating. Also, he had jokes on every page worked into his narrative.

Some of my favorites:

I went to the doc and I asked, "Doc, what's wrong with me?" He says, "You're fat!" I said, "If you don't mind I'd like a second opinion!" He says, "Okay, you're ugly too!"

For my wife's birthday I gave her a toy poodle. She damn near killed it trying to put the batteries in!

Growing up, my dad hated me. He used to give me my allowance in traveler's checks!

My wife's cooking is so bad, the flies in the neighborhood chipped in to repair the tear in the screen door!

and my favorite...

Last week I went to see my doctor. He said he wanted a complete physical and needed a urine sample, a stool sample, and a seaman sample. So I left him my underwear and went home!

:rofl:

[Auggie]

73. Those are great. A few more...

My wife is a lousy cook. At my house we say our prayers after we eat.

Last week I met the Surgeon General. He gave me a cigarette.

[Roon]

26. I used to enjoy stand up comedy...until the 80's came along

and killed it. Now all stand up sucks.

[MrSlayer]

28. Carlin ruled and so did Pryor but Chris Rock is right there.

Probably the best today.

[PassingFair]

31. If Dave Chappelle had been a choice, I probably would have voted for him.

I think Chappelle is a genius.

[charlie and algernon]

36. if the poll had more options, Rock, Chapelle, & Black would've been next

[MrSlayer]

41. Chappelle is also very good.

I don't think he's in Rock's league as a standup but his sketch comedy is top notch.

[Broken_Hero]

29. Other-

Lewis Black, I almost voted for George Carlin because he has been a main staple for me for a while. Since Carlins death I've been getting a lot of his stand up on dvd, and while its funny, its not as funny as I remember it being...

Lewis Black, although he hasn't been in the mainstream for too long, follows in the same vein as Carlin, but he cracks me up so much more.

[Common Sense Party]

32. Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby.

Nowadays, I like Stephen Wright (who doesn't perform as much as I'd like), Jim Gaffigan, and Dmitri Martin.

[Kat45]

37. George Carlin, RIP.

[joeybee12]

38. Of this group, Carlin, but if you include women, Joan Rivers...

There's Jimmy Hoffa!

She was rude before it became commonplace.

[Deja Q]

39. Cosby fan here!

:party:

[EndersDame]

40. George W. Bush was so fucking funny hes #1 on my list

Everything he said was comedy gold

[BlooInBloo]

42. I've never laughed so hard as the 2 times I saw Hedberg. RIP.

[Pushed To The Left]

43. Other: Chris Rock! n/t

[SoxFan]

44. Carlin and Williams

The appeal of Bill Hicks escapes me. I never found him funny, just an addled pain in the ass.

[applegrove]

45. I'm sure Bill Maher would make me laugh though I've never seen his show live.

[DevinKline]

47. No love for Lewis Black? n/t

[jobycom]

48. Richard Pryor needs more love in this list.

To me, he, Carlin, and Bruce were the big three. Love Izzard. Hicks was more angry than funny--way overrated as a comedian. Eddie Murphy had a great delivery for a while, but it was mostly personality. Robin Williams is the best of the post-Pryor/Carlin/Bruce era.

Joan Rivers, Wanda Sykes, Ellen Degeneresa, Elaine Boozler, and maybe a few others are as good as some on that list.

Just my opinions.

[PRETZEL]

55. I pretty much agree with this,

there is so much that Pryor, Carlin and Bruce (life cut way too short) did that made comedy of today even remotely possible.

I'm not as familiar with Lenny Bruce as I am with Carlin, Pryor, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Jonathan Winters, Red Skelton, Redd Foxx, Carol Burnett, Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers etc.

Comedy of the late 60's through the mid 80's was the time I enjoyed most.

[astral]

49. I just discovered Izzie Izzard

although I don't know who my favorite is. He's so different, even if he doesn't make me laugh out loud he's quite addictive.

[Mythsaje]

50. You've got the first two listed in the right order.

Carlin and then Izzard.

[NJmaverick]

51. The late great- Sam Kinison

[LeftOfSelf-Centered]

52. Billy Connolly

He always makes me laugh.

[southpaw]

53. Voted for Hedberg

But on a different day I would go with Carlin.

[skypilot]

54. Louis CK

*

[gbate]

56. I love Jim Gaffigan.

[ceile]

59. Ron White

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO5EFYY6P14&feature=related

[Inchworm]

60. I love that guy!

:thumbsup:

:rofl:

[gmoney]

61. Patton Oswalt's CD is hilarious

Despite being on King of Queens, he's pretty hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM_xDjhkOU4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfan5MacmsI

[Curtland1015]

62. +1! Patton... that's who I came here to vote for.

David Cross is a close second.

[HamdenRice]

63. Pryor by far

I think you have to be of a certain age to have seen him in his prime. DU is pretty unprepresentative in this poll. In the outside world, Pryor almost always tops the list, and comedians themselves have voted Pryor number one.

His comedy was much more profound than anyone elses -- except possibly Carlin.

[jobycom]

68. Yeah. Pryor was what comedy was all about.

He was funny, but he used the humor to say something. So did Carlin and Bruce, and a lot of others to some degree. But Pryor was a true artist. He crafted his work to be funny, and was supremely skilled at it, but he was equal parts social commentary, and he was brilliant at both.

Carlin was also great at both, but his commentary wasn't as strong, and when it became stronger, he lost some of his comedy.

Bruce was much like Pryor--not just brilliantly skilled at the craft of comedy, but his comedy said something, and he himself, by the way he carried himself and the things he chose to confront, was significant. I haven't seen enough of him, but he was a bridge between the old clean humor of the Post WWII era, and the modern social commentary of Pryor. Some of his battles helped Pryor win some of his.

[Brother Buzz]

64. Jonathan Winters

[Phoonzang]

65. Dave Attell. nt

[MotorCityMan]

66. I'm comfortable with picking Carlin...

but I love the comedian Alec Mapa. I saw a clip of his stand-up performance on the LOGO network, and thought I was going to choke I was laughing so hard.

His segment impersonating Bette Davis doing current movies ("Steel Magnolias", "Silence of the Lambs", "Lord of the Rings") was hilarious.

[Arugula Latte]

67. What, no Carrot Top?!

:o

[shanti]

69. george lopez

really makes me lmao!

[tigereye]

71. hmm, I think Izzard, but there are so many great folks on the list

I actually like Izzard a bit better than Carlin.

[TheKentuckian]

72. Pryor and Carlin are the ultimate giants to me but I think Katt Williams is the funniest

motherfucker alive and its not close. Robin Williams has always been stellar but has never been the top dog at any given time.

Anybody remember the Goldberg HBO special from the 80's? That was hilarious.