Funniest standup comedian

[Smokey]

Any stand up comedy post would not be complete without mentioning trail blazers and pioneers such as Jack Benny, Johny Carson or Bob Hope. They will remain Giants of comedy.

Also nod to Lenny Bruce as pioneer in which he integrated politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity in his acts before anybody else did.

Now that credit is out of way, which one of following stand up comics in the poll would you consider the funniest. This is a tough decision as I'm torn between Rodeny Dangerfield, Seinfeld and Richard Pryor. Cedric the Entertainer is also very funny.

Not in any particular order:

Richard Pryor: He never did a movie that deserve his talent, but very funny on stage.


Rodney Dangerfield: He is called the "machine gun" of stand up comedy, as one funny joke comes right after another.


Steve Harvey: One of the hardest working comic in the business, and one of the funniest.


Jerry Seinfeld: Some times the stand up monologe at start of his sitcom is funnier than the show itself.


Eddiie Murphy: Very talented actor, and very funny stand up comic.


Redd Foxx: If you seen his stand up shows, you kinow why he got 2 "XX" in his last name.


Bill Cosby: A clean stand up comdey routine without vulger laungage might be hard to pull off, but he did it hilariously.


Cedric The Entertainer: He like to to do his comedy as part of pact with other comedians (King Of Comedy DVD), and he is always the funniest of the bunch.


George Carlin: He likes to do dark humor from subjects ranging from politics to religion.


Don Rickles: As one of old timer stand up comics, he still funny as hell.

[JoeE SP9]

I saw Richard Pryor live prior to the fire. He made me laugh so much I got a stitch in my side.

[JohnMichael]

We are forgetting the women of standup. Roseanne Barr, Lilly Tomlin, Paula Poundstone, Margaret Cho?

[Smokey]

We are forgetting the women of standup. Roseanne Barr, Lilly Tomlin, Paula Poundstone, Margaret Cho?

Not forgotten. Just didn't make the top 10 list. Margaret Cho is probably funniest of the bunch.

After thinking, I am voting for Jerry Seinfeld as funniest stand up comic. Everybody can relate to his common sense approach to hilarious situations.

[RoyY51]

I'm going with Robin Williams. When I saw him at The Irvine Improv, he had just won a "new comedian" contest in San Francisco and had yet to audition for "Mork and Mindy". Part of the prize for winning the S.F. contest was a headlining gig at the Improv. The warm-up group of comedians was a Who's Who of the popular comedians of the time, and had me thinking that this young upstart might be a little out of his league.

Not to worry.

This coke-infused, rapid-fire Force of Nature stunned the crowd with both his eloquence and his improvisational skills. He spent more time darting through the audience (pausing at tables just long enough to deliver killer riffs on their contents) than he did on stage. At one point, I LITERALLY laughed so hard that I slid out of my chair, onto the floor! The standing ovations (there were three, with encores) seemed to go on forever!

Since that time, I have been a die-hard fan and ardent follower. His movies, his HBO Specials and his sold-out live performances have made him one of the most popular comedians in the world.

I beseech The Academy to include him in this poll.

[Smokey]

I beseech The Academy to include him in this poll.

Well, you just did

I find Robin Williams comedy (same with Steve Martin) slightly from the left field. Combined with physical comedy, to me it could be hit or miss.

[bfalls]

Bill Cosby has always been a favorite. I've listened to his albums since the 60s. This was before his tv show and Jello commercials. Very talented and can relate to an audience without expletives, which seems rare now days.

[Worf101]

Save for Will Rogers (more of a saterist I suppose) and perhaps Lenny Bruce, NO comedian and I do mean none... has had the far reaching affect of Richard Pryor! While Cosby and every other comic in the world made their money making everyone feel "safe" Pryor, kicked in your front door, ate your dinner, drank your booze and then slept with your mother and you thanked him for it afterwards. No... he was a force of nature... Versuvius in Kansas... we shall NEVER see his like again...

Worf

[3LB]

For me, its a toss-up twix Carlin and Prior. Both were consistently funny throughout their careers, both brilliant satirists, insightful observationists, both competent actors (Prior more so). Their acts were provocative, evocative and educational. Carlin proved to be just as biting and relevant right up to the end and one has to believe that Prior would have had the same run had he lived longer.

When I bought Blazing Saddles on DVD years ago, I was floored to learn that Prior co-wrote a lot of that movie's dialog with Mel Brooks. Brooks originally wanted Prior to play the Sheriff role, but the studio wanted to pimp their new TV show, Temperatures Rising starring Clevon Little.

True story: my mother and father knew of my older brother and I's love for Richard Prior but were completely out of the loop as to his brand of humor; oh they knew he was kinda blue, but they had no idea... so one summer my mother and father decided to take in a movie at a drive-in... Which Way Is Up? starring Richard Prior. Of course, they sat through the entire movie to ensure their scorn and disapproval was completely thorough.

I'd have to give the nod to Prior because I don't think Carlin woulda ever got an acting gig if Richard Prior hadn't excelled at it. We wouldn't have had the plethora of comedian based TV shows if not for Prior. I don't think Cosby had as much influence on comedian come actor/sitcom star as Prior did (Cosby's movies sucked even at his height).

[dean_martin]

In high school (back in the 80s), Eddie Murphy was the favorite among my friends and me. We taped and shared his standup albums. We were also into Richard Pryor and to a lesser extent George Carlin, but Murphy was the new kid on the block.

In my early college days, Rodney Dangerfield's HBO standup shows were extremely popular and Bill Cosby had a "safer" but hilarious standup routine released on video. Richard Pryor was top dog, though.

Into the 90s, Chris Rock became a favorite as did Dave Chappelle a little later.

Today, I find I identify with LouisCK's comedy. Zach Galifianakis can be hilarious at times.

But who's the funniest? I'd have to say Richard Pryor.