re: Best stand-up comedian of all time

Loved Hedberg. I think Kensington it is hard to pinpoint a greatest. Comics seems to have a strep rise and sharp fall. EM Raw may be my favorite of all time.

I used to have a DVD of Arnez J, before he cleaned up his language and went all holy. Would watch it 3 times a week and it never got old, constant laughs for 90 minutes.

He sucks now, but that's the best stand up I've ever seen. Mencia was hilarious live before he got his show and beat all his jokes into the ground.

Chapelle is most consistent.

It's Richard Pryor and George Carlin 1a and 1b, and a significant cluster of folks in that second tier.

On a good day, Jerry Seinfeld was one of the best of the rest. Ditto for Chris Rock. Probably a dozen guys could argue for that "second" tier inclusion, including Cosby in his heyday, Red Foxx, Bob Newhart, Dave Chappelle and Bill Hicks.

Rodney Dangerfield

quote:

---

lol two pages and no mention of Chris Rock

---

It was like the 3rd or 4th post and another post just a few above yours

I seriously think Louis CK is there or close. He's pretty brilliant and I love his timing and brutal material. ("Definitely, But Maybe" bit is an all time favorite)

Pryor and Carlin have legit bids. Eddie Murphy had a short stint, but not enough material to be numero uno. Chappelle is certainly going to be popular choice among younger crowds.

ETA:

Adding Seinfeld and Burr to the mix for volume of work.

It depends on the generation you are from to be honest. Chappelle is just mildly amusing for me, but if you throw out a name like Bob Hope most of the younger audience will stare at you with a blank expression on their face. Johnny Carson was a very under rated stand up comedian because he had to go out and deliver a fresh monologue every night with a huge chunk of the country watching.

One thing I have noticed is that a lot of comedians getting specials now just don't seem to have the polish and timing of comedians from previous generations. Possibly because there are fewer comedy clubs out there and that more of them are getting work in TV shows and movies rather then grinding out a living working clubs.

As an example, and I'm not holding either of them up as being among the greatest of the greats, watch Amy Schumer's stand up and then go back watch Rita Rudner in her prime. Schumer rushes her jokes or has material that isn't funny more often then not. Rudner knew just how long to milk a joke and whether or not a given joke was working. Not only that Rudner could shift gears depending on who she was performing in front of, Amy Schumer tells the same sort of jokes no matter who her audience is.

Dave Chappelle is probably my favorite of all time. Bill Burr is my current favorite just because I enjoy his take on most current events. I have also been listening to Kyle Kinane and Tommy Johnagin recently and they are great.

quote:

---

i dont think comedy is something you can be the best at tho. they all have their own styles,

---

I agree with this. Similar to genres in music even.