When I interviewed comedian Lewis Black a few years ago I asked him if television had ruined stand-up comedy, which seems to thrive on live performances. He believed that television was actually a good thing and created a larger audience. Well, I can't argue with that, and neither should you, darn it. So, TV viewers, give us your favorite stand-up comedians of all time. Here's five o' mine:
Mitch Hedberg. Brilliant, inexplicable, often stoned. Unfortunately he was taken away from us way too soon.
Emo Philips. "I think of my body as a temple. Or at least a relatively well-managed Presbyterian youth center."
Bob Odenkirk (with or without David Cross). I really like David Cross, who worked alongside Bob on stage and on the HBO series Mr. Show. However, Cross' comedy is a bit too condescending at times. Odenkirk, however, is all about being silly. His melodramatic recanting of spending one hour in jail is brilliant: "I stepped outside and was nearly blinded by the light of the moon."
Eddie Izzard. I can't do it justice here, but this cross-dressing Englishman does a hilarious riff about how the word "awesome" has lost its original meaning. It ends with this line: "Awesome? You mean like a hot dog?" Trust me, in context it's hysterical.
Eugene Mirman. I have yet to see this man live, which is a shame. I have caught him on Conan and Letterman before, and while the audience never really seems to "get" his humor, he always cracks me the hell up. His Web site is also fabulously surreal.
And yeah, there's about a thousand others, but I limited myself to five. Now go nuts.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-10-2005 @ 12:42PM
jen said...
Looks like you are doing current comics so I'll skip the old school names like Martin Mull, George Carlin and such that I was raised on.
My current top five:
Stephen Lynch, Eddie Izzard, Lewis Black, Dave Attell, and last but certinly NOT least, Patton Oswalt.
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 12:46PM
Mike said...
Current: Atell, Nick DiPaolo, Chris Rock, Ron White, Lisa Lampanelli.
Dead/retired: Bill Hicks, Martin Mull, Richard Pryor, Rodney Dangerfield, Henny Youngman.
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 1:10PM
Chris said...
Chris Rock
Eddie Izzard
Dave Attel
Dane Cook
Greg Giraldo
I want to add Colin Quin but his stand up sucks. He's hysterical in conversational settings though (Bring Back Tough Crowd!)
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 2:08PM
Eric Reid said...
Dane Freaking Cook people. You need to see this guy, hilarious.
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 2:28PM
john said...
Dane Cook's okay. He has great delivery but his material's only average.
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 3:30PM
TheMovieGoer.com said...
Artie Lange
Dave Attell
Norm MacDonald
Jeffrey Ross
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 3:35PM
Dennis Bernardo said...
Dane Cook is the funniest comic doing stand-up right now. Sometimes delivery is all you need to stand out, and Dane Cook can turn an old, tired joke into something totally fresh through delivery alone.
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 3:41PM
Bloggator said...
One man could destroy everyone already mentioned...Don Rickles.
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 3:42PM
chris said...
glad someone else got Bill Hicks up there. gawdawm that chain smokin' crazy man was funny. George Carlin, though, is the mayor of Comicville.
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 3:42PM
George said...
Wow, no one has mentioned Cross yet?
Mitch Hedberg
David Cross
Dave Attell
Dane Cook
Pablo Francisco
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 3:59PM
Josh said...
Mitch Hedberg
Dane Cook
Dave Attell
Jeremy Hotz
Lewis Black
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 5:19PM
Carol said...
*Eugene is amazing! You should see him live. The last time I saw him, he used a Build-a-Bear that said "Shut up, douche bag" and "I sh*t ice cream" in his act.
*Aziz Ansari, you can get in on this guy now, before everyone else finds out... azizisbored.com
*Demetri Martin
*Mitch Hedberg
*Mike Birbiglia, his secret public journal is the best email newsletter/podcast going
*Rob Huebel
*Slovin & Allen (individually and together)
*Brendon Small
*Liam McEneaney
*Chelsea Peretti
*H. Jon Benjamin & Jon Glaser
*Todd Barry
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 6:26PM
Anna said...
Does David Sedaris count? I see him listed some in places as a stand-up comedian and in others as a storyteller.
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 7:01PM
Corinne Myers said...
Eddie Izzard--of course.
Lewis Black
Emo Phillips
Elvira Curt (that gay Canadian chick)
And yes, come to think of it: Don Rickles.
Reply
10-10-2005 @ 7:02PM
dingo said...
Sam Kinison
Reply
10-11-2005 @ 12:44PM
TheMovieGoer.com said...
Dane Cook
Bill Maher
Robin Williams
Jay Leno...before the late-night show hosting
Reply
10-11-2005 @ 1:10PM
Jason Anderson said...
Lewis Black
The Amazing Jonathan
Uhhh.... I'm drawing a blank.
Reply
10-11-2005 @ 4:49PM
Marv Conner said...
1. Marv Conner
2. Bill Hicks
3. Bill Cosby
4. David Cross
5. Lewis Black
Reply
10-12-2005 @ 2:52PM
Paul said...
Heres my list
1) Mitch Hedberg
2) Ellen
3) Emo Phillips
4) Marty Daniels
5) Ron White
Reply
10-15-2005 @ 4:46AM
Mike Schleifstein said...
steven wright
george charlin
old tim allen
steven wright
'dice'
Reply