100 Greatest Standups by Comedy Central

[Bearcat729]

I just got done watching this on Comedy Central and I have to say I really disagree with some of their choices. I'm sorry but I do not find Ellen DeGeneres funny and Hicks and Kinnison are a little too low for me. I do agree with Carlin and Pryor though.


1. Richard Pryor
2. George Carlin
3. Lenny Bruce
4. Woody Allen
5. Chris Rock
6. Steve Martin
7. Rodney Dangerfield
8. Bill Cosby
9. Roseanne Barr
10. Eddie Murphy
11. Johnny Carson
12. Jerry Seinfeld
13. Robin Williams
14. Bob Newhart
15. David Letterman
16. Ellen DeGeneres
17. Don Rickles
18. Jonathan Winters
19. Bill Hicks
20. Sam Kinison
21. Dennis Miller
22. Robert Klein
23. Steven Wright
24. Redd Foxx
25. Bob Hope
26. Ray Romano
27. Jay Leno
28. Jack Benny
29. Milton Berle
30. Garry Shandling
31. George Burns
32. Albert Brooks
33. Andy Kaufman
34. Buddy Hackett
35. Phyllis Diller
36. Jim Carrey
37. Martin Lawrence
38. Bill Maher
39. Billy Crystal
40. Mort Sahl
41. Jon Stewart
42. Flip Wilson
43. Dave Chappelle
44. Joan Rivers
45. Richard Lewis
46. Adam Sandler
47. Henny Youngman
48. Tim Allen
49. Freddie Prinze
50. Denis Leary
51. Lewis Black
52. Damon Wayans
53. David Brenner
54. DL Hughley
55. Alan King
56. Colin Quinn
57. Richard Jeni
58. Larry Miller
59. Gilbert Gottfried
60. Jeff Foxworthy
61. Bobcat Goldthwait
62. Eddie Griffin
63. Jackie Mason
64. Richard Belzer
65. Cedrick the Enter.
66. Shelley Berman
67. Kevin Pollak
68. Dave Attell
69. Pat Cooper
70. Wanda Sykes
71. Red Buttons
72. Bernie Mac
73. Billy Connolly
74. Paul Rodriguez
75. Eddie Izzard
76. Robert Schimmel
77. Paul Reiser
78. Sinbad
79. Dom Irrera
80. Bobby Slayton
81. Dick Gregory
82. Howie Mandel
83. Norm MacDonald
84. Drew Carey
85. David Cross
86. Jay Mohr
87. Brett Butler
88. Paula Poundstone
89. Kevin James
90. Dana Carvey
91. Jim Breuer
92. Louie Anderson
93. George Wallace
94. David Alan Grier
95. Andrew 'Dice' Clay
96. Joey Bishop
97. Sandra Bernhard
98. Louis CK
99. Janeane Garofalo
100. Gallagher

[korme]

DC 43?????

Ugh

[Vince]

Wow. Kevin Pollak at 67...nice

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Mom's ain't even up there?

Foxx at 24?

[DeToxRox]

Dave Chapelle isn't that funny. His material is always on the same damn subject, racisim. It gets old. His show is so hit or miss I can't believe it. You only hear people mention like one line per show, thats it. I don't find that very excellent.

The simple fact they have him above Lewis Black is unreal.

But thats just my opinion.

[DeToxRox]

Ha, Vince, Kevin Pollack is the man. His impressions are amazing and yet so underrated. He's such a bad ass actor, but also versatile. I love the guy. Definetly one of my favorite actors of all time.

[Vince]

DeTox - I know. I know the guy My dad grew up down the street from him, and is good friends with him to this day. I love that he gets some recognition. His impression of William Shatner is amazing.

[Ksyrup]

Another vote here for Kevin Pollack. Anyone who can do as good a Columbo impression as he can - down to the wandering eye - is a comic genius.

[cthomer5000]

As much as I like Chapelle - he's never been a knockout stand-up guy. His show has really shown that he's perfect for sketch comedy.

[DeToxRox]

Thats amazing Vince. He plays the perfect prick. I loved him in Usual Suspects. When I found out that line he says to Benecio Del Torro about "What the hell did he just say?" wasn't scripted, but him actually asking what he said was awesome. And his role in Waynes World 2, pssh, comic genius.

[Easy Mac]

i'm going to see him (chapelle) in 5 days, so I'll let you know if he's any good.

[Ksyrup]

I never thought it would be this difficult to come up with a top 100 list of comics - I mean, there's been thousands of comics, right? But some of the choices on this list...good God! Louis Anderson and Sandra Bernhardt?! Ray Romano and Jay Leno wouldn't be on my list of the top 1000, but I know they have to be there. But hey, at least there wasn't room for Rita Rudner and Joy Behar.

Also glad to see some love for Dave Atell, Dom Irrera, and Bobby Slayton.

BTW, what in the hell ever happened to Billy Connelly, anyway?

[kcchief19]

Well, any list that puts Letterman above Leno gets an A in my book.

You could put a lot of people at No. 1. Pryor is as good as any in my book. I have always found Lenny Bruce ridiculously overrated, but I'm in the minority. I'm also in the minority on Woody Allen, but as a stand-up comedian, he doesn't belong in the top 50. Eddie Murphy had a real hot streak, but I'd put him much lower on the list. Same with Roseanne -- she was a one-trick pony as a stand-up and belongs down there with other one-trick ponies like Tim Allen.

I know they put her there to get a woman in the top 10. I'd have favored Ellen DeGeneres or even Paula Poundstone, who is tremendosly underrated. I don't think there is anyone who was ever funnier at talking to the audience than her. She's very quick on her feet.

I think the Old Guard got a little shafted, although there are some real odd choices on this list -- Phyllis Diller comes to mind. I also think that Joan Rivers is as funny as a drowned bucket of kittens, but she was good at her craft.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Jay Mohr got robbed.

And what's the deal with Brett Butler? I mean, he was a great center fielder for the Indians and Dodgers, but...

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

And what's the deal with Brett Butler? I mean, he was a great center fielder for the Indians and Dodgers, but...

Yeah, he made the list, but not Len Barker? At least he had a perfect game, instead of a bunch of infield/bunt hits. What a loser.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

Thats amazing Vince. He plays the perfect prick. I loved him in Usual Suspects. When I found out that line he says to Benecio Del Torro about "What the hell did he just say?" wasn't scripted, but him actually asking what he said was awesome. And his role in Waynes World 2, pssh, comic genius.

Funny you mention his improv talents. I've heard many times that he is really great at ad-libbing if he gets lost in a scene. The only problem is that most I hear about it is from word of mouth, so not sure how reliable it is. Word has it, though, that there's an entire scene in 'House Arrest' where he just completely broke from the script and the director loved it, and kept it in.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Jay Mohr got robbed.

And what's the deal with Brett Butler? I mean, he was a great center fielder for the Indians and Dodgers, but...

Dude, not cool. He was by far m,y favorite baseball player

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by Vince

Funny you mention his improv talents. I've heard many times that he is really great at ad-libbing if he gets lost in a scene. The only problem is that most I hear about it is from word of mouth, so not sure how reliable it is. Word has it, though, that there's an entire scene in 'House Arrest' where he just completely broke from the script and the director loved it, and kept it in.

Having seen House Arrest, I can't say thats a bad thing given the script.

[Vince]

Yeah...not one of the greatest flicks of all time.

Kevin has also managed to make out with some pretty amazing women. Jamie Lee Curtis...Tyra Banks. Yeah, was just a little jealous of that one.

[tucker342]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

Dave Chapelle isn't that funny. His material is always on the same damn subject, racisim. It gets old. His show is so hit or miss I can't believe it. You only hear people mention like one line per show, thats it. I don't find that very excellent.

The simple fact they have him above Lewis Black is unreal.

But thats just my opinion.

Lewis Black would probably have been in my top 20. He's one of the only comics that actually makes me burst out laughing with his comedy.

[MrBug708]

Where is Dat at?

[oykib]

This might be the worst of these lists that I've seen yet.

Nah... That'd still be the VH1 list. But this is pretty close. Roseanne in the top ten. Colin Quinn on the list. Dave Chapelle at 43. Woody Allen in the 4 spot. Rodney Dangerfield above Bill Cosby...

unghhh...

[Greyroofoo]

My favorite stand up will always be Gallagher

[Pumpy Tudors]

Kevin Pollak and Tyra Banks? Ye gods.

[Vince]

Chameleon.

[Sharpieman]

This list doesn't even have Eddie Murphy. DL Hughley wouldn't have a job without Eddie Murphy.

[ISiddiqui]

This list doesn't even have Eddie Murphy.

Um... check #10 .

--

Gotta like the love shown to Dave Attell, and putting Letterman over Leno will win some points. Would have liked to see Seinfeld be in the top 10, but all in all, not a bad list.

[Sharpieman]

Oh my bad, the list still sucks though.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by oykib

This might be the worst of these lists that I've seen yet.

Nah... That'd still be the VH1 list. But this is pretty close. Roseanne in the top ten. Colin Quinn on the list. Dave Chapelle at 43. Woody Allen in the 4 spot. Rodney Dangerfield above Bill Cosby...

unghhh...

I think that says it for me. I don't have a problem with a lot of folks on the list, but where they fall is beyond me. I'd take Paula Poundstone, joke for joke in a standup battle with Roseanne, yet they are at opposite extremes of the list. Eddie Murphy may have been the hottest stand up comedian ever(for about 3 years in the 80s), but he stepped away from it for a movie career. I don't think he shined brightly for long enough to be considered for that high of a position on the list. Dave Chapelle is maybe the only guy on the list that I think shouldn't be on there. Milton Berle is too low. Woody Allen's standup career doesn't merit a spot in the top 50, let alone the top 5.

Just some thoughts on what other folks have said.

• I'd also put Pollack higher.
• Leno vs Letterman. As a talkshow host...Letterman wins running away. I'd take Leno on stage alone every time though.
• Redd Foxx was one of the funniest SoBs I have ever seen. He was a great comedian. He was very off color, and cursed enough to make a sailor blush.
• Kinison is too high for me. To my taste, he was more raunchy than funny. That is coming from a guy that thinks Andrew Dice Clay should be higher on the list.
• Colin Quinn I just can't figure this out. Chappele and him must be here because they have shows on Comedy Central. When does Sandra Bernhardt's air?

[stkelly52]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

Thats amazing Vince. He plays the perfect prick. I loved him in Usual Suspects. When I found out that line he says to Benecio Del Torro about "What the hell did he just say?" wasn't scripted, but him actually asking what he said was awesome. And his role in Waynes World 2, pssh, comic genius.

But how he did in movies (or on television) is completly irrelevent. This list is only evaluating people as stand ups, not as comics.

[ISiddiqui]

Colin Quinn I just can't figure this out.

Apparently MANY stand-up commedians love Colin Quinn. He is spoken of very highly by people such as Jerry Seinfeld.

[sabotai]

I never saw or heard Red Foxx stand up before, but the joke they played during his spot on the show had me in laughing out loud.

"This woman asked me 'Can you fuck me and hurt me?'. I said yeah! So I fucked her and hit her in the head with a brick."

So damn funny. And Flip Wilson. I saw the whole version of the "ugly baby" joke on the Johnny Carson "The Tonight Show" videos. I love that joke.

I think this thread shows why the majority of people will never agree with any top X list. It's all subjective.

[Julio Riddols]

i love denis leary! norm mcdonald and Ryan styles !!!!!!!!! sarcasm , wit n style .

[mckerney]

Dice Clay should be higher and Mitch Hedburg should be on the list.

[IMetTrentGreen]

grrr, my opinion differs from this list! therefore, it is wrong and they are stupid for making it wrong! bring me my cheese and wine, slaves!

[QuikSand]

Every list of the Top 100 of anything simply arouses nearly everyone who reads it to say that it sucks. I guess it's jut human nature...

[Scarecrow]

My personal opintion:

Rated Too High:
7. Rodney Dangerfield
25. Bob Hope

Rated Too Low:
8. Bill Cosby
10. Edie Murphy
53. David Brenner - no Brenner, no Jerry Seinfeld

Other questions:
Did Bob Newhart actually do stand-up?
Did the old-school straight men (Burns, Benny) get rated so low because they were considered TV personalities?
Where's Carrot Top? (j/k)

[oykib]

Well... I think that Allen is rated so highly because of the fact that his work in movies closely resembles standup. But if that's the case, then Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, and Jerry Seinfeld should be rated more highly.

This list suffers from two things that most of these lists do:
1. Political Correctness - I can't think of a comedienne that I'd rate top ten-- maybe not even top twenty. But I guess they felt that they had to put a woman in the top ten. So they were left with either Roseanne or Ellen Degeneres. Also, the top ten almost goes white guy--> minority-- for whatever that's worth.

2. There's a halo effect for guys on the list whose careers are over but who are of an age to have had influence on current comics. I think there's too much of that personal relationship shit in general. Maybe Colin Quinn is a great guy and great to work with. He might be the funniest guy of the bunch to have a beer with. But he's not one of the 100 greatest comic performers of all time.
Here's my admittedly small sampe size question, "Don't you think Colin Quin is one of the funniest

As for subjectivity. There is a sort of objective subjectivity that allows a reasonable discussion. Just because somethings subjective doesn't mean it's capricious. If I say Hong Kong is hot in the summer, it's a subjective opinion. But any reasonable person would accept the premise.

Bill Cosby and Rodney Dangerfield are contemporaries. For any criteria that this might be based on-- with the exception of movie roles, Cosby's biggest weakness, where Dangerfield still only barely comes out ahead-- Cosby had the greater impact. His career was longer, his peak was higher and sustained, he's an American Icon. One can easily make the argument that Cosby is only second to Lucille Ball in that respect in the multimedia era.

[Maple Leafs]

Actually, I thought this was a pretty good list. Unlike a lot of Top 100's, it's not weighted too heavily towards recent work. Mitch Hedberg's great, but he's not one of the top 100 of all time (yet). I was worried I'd see guys like Seinfeld rated too high, but they seemed to get the balance right.

A few comments:

- Agreed on Degeneres being too high. She deserves to be on the list. I've said it before, if you strip out the politics (and she has) she's one of the best. But top 20? That's too generous.

- Bill Cosby is only #8? I'd move him up to at least #5 and slide everyone starting with Rock down one notch. I get the sense Chris Rock would probably be embarassed to be ahead of Cosby.

- I'm actually surprised that Rudner isn't there. I think she's very good, and she's been good for a long time.

- I'm a little surprised not to see Whoopi Goldberg there. Not that she necessarily deserves it, but they seemed to over-rank her two Comic Relief partners (Williams and Crystal).

- They couldn't find room for Emo Phillips? Shame!

- That goes double for Dennis Wolfberg.

- Robert Klein should be higher. The guy is a legend.

- Scarecrow, Newhart did do standup, and he was great. His one-man dialogs are classic.

- I'm a little confused as to whether they're ranking based on standup only or entire careers. As someone else pointed out, having Letterman ahead of Leno purely on standup makes no sense. I'm a Letterman fan, but Leno is one of the hardest working standup comedians of all time, and still does tours and club dates. I don't think Letterman has done standup in years. The only explanation I can think of is that they're counting late-night talk shows as a form of standup, which would also explain Carson's high rating.

[RendeR]

Robin Williams is the single funniest human being that has ever graced human existance.


#1 Robin WIlliams
#2 George Carlin
#3 Bill Cosby



beyond that, its entirely individualized to taste. Though I must say the old timers like Hope and burns etc should be rated higher, they're comedy was just as edgy for their day and age as the new guys are for today.

I'm sorry so many people find Dave Chappelle funny. The man's pathetic. he should go back to doing stupid sound stunts on police academy.

And since I'm not sure if you guys are trying to be funny (pun intended) or you're just confused, but brett butler is a woman =)

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by RendeR

I'm sorry so many people find Dave Chappelle funny. The man's pathetic. he should go back to doing stupid sound stunts on police academy.

They all look alike to you, eh Costanza?

[Blade6119]

Originally Posted by RendeR

I'm sorry so many people find Dave Chappelle funny. The man's pathetic. he should go back to doing stupid sound stunts on police academy.

i found his "killing them softly" stand-up pretty good, with the child show jokes making me laugh out loud...the rest o the show was pretty good as well, but i havent seen his other stand-ups so i cant comment. I think his show is good, with the recent Wayne Brady skit hilarious, but i still think you have to judge over their whole career and not just stand up. Thats why the king of queens guy is on there at all. remember though, this is a comedy central production, so chapelle and other guys with shows on comedy central are obviously favored...

[panerd]

Maybe it is just my sense of humor, but I have been to see #23 Steven Wright and laughed continusly from start to finish. (or it could have been the drugs and alcohol)

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by panerd

Maybe it is just my sense of humor, but I have been to see #23 Steven Wright and laughed continusly from start to finish. (or it could have been the drugs and alcohol)

It's not just you. Steven Wright is brilliant, and you could make a good case for moving him up much higher.

[Ksyrup]

It's hard for me to be objective about female comedians, since I think they all suck, but Rita Rudner absolutely blows.

As much as I loved Dennis Wolfberg (and Robin Harris), I'm not shocked they didn't make it (same with Emo Philips). Although, it seems like Bill Hicks got a bit of a bump from his premature death (maybe it's because Tool loves the guy), while their deaths didn't help to even get Wolfberg or Harris listed.

[jeff061]

I don't know, Hicks is bar none my favorite comic.

Though my list of comics i've listened to isn't huge, Carlin, Kinison being others i've enjoyed.

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by RendeR

Robin Williams is the single funniest human being that has ever graced human existance.


#1 Robin WIlliams
#2 George Carlin
#3 Bill Cosby



beyond that, its entirely individualized to taste. Though I must say the old timers like Hope and burns etc should be rated higher, they're comedy was just as edgy for their day and age as the new guys are for today.

I'm sorry so many people find Dave Chappelle funny. The man's pathetic. he should go back to doing stupid sound stunts on police academy.

And since I'm not sure if you guys are trying to be funny (pun intended) or you're just confused, but brett butler is a woman =)

Although I was disturbed that RendeR apparently can't tell a couple black comedians apart, I think the statement that Robin Williams is the funniest human being for all time was still more horrifying.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by John Galt

Although I was disturbed that RendeR apparently can't tell a couple black comedians apart, I think the statement that Robin Williams is the funniest human being for all time was still more horrifying.

What do you mean? Chappelle can make fire engine noises so close enough.

[cody8200]

Ive seen seinfeld cosby, carlin, and chapelle live...and it wasnt even close. Dave Chapelle was the funniest guys I have ever seen. I love Jerry but he just wasnt as good live as I thought he'd be. So the order went like this. !)DC, Cosby, Seinfeld, Carlin (I guess he's too old for me or something).

[Warhammer]

Personally, I think it is a crime that Cosby was not number 1 on the list. He is still performing, uses clean humor, and is still able to appeal to a wide audience!

I would have liked to see Newhart a little higher, but I won't quibble with that. That said, my top five would have been:

1) Cosby
2) Carlin
3) Robin Williams
4) Eddie Murray
5) Steve Martin