Your Stand Up Comedian Mt Rushmore | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Your Stand Up Comedian Mt Rushmore

Chappelle is the best working today and prob my fave of all time.
Carlin
Hedberg
Dangerfield probably

I really enjoy Murphy, Burr, Hicks, Gaffigan, Pryor, Louis C.K, Wright, Robin Williams. Anthony Jeselnik is one who I absolutely love but definitely not everyone's style. I also never understood the Seinfeld love. Some good bits but not an all-timer for me.

Edited to add: Chris Rock. Don't know how I forgot him. He rounds out the top 5 for me.
 
Attending stand up comedy used to be my thing. I've seen so many of these acts. I also really appreciated the random no names at random clubs in the Village in NYC or places like City Steam. My favorites have to be Chappelle/Rock/Carlin.

One name I haven't seen mentioned much that I really liked was Chris Tucker. Ralphie May too.

I met Tracey Morgan at Caroline's. Smoked in the parking lot with Mike Epps after he absolutely tore the place down at the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee. Saw Seinfeld at Symphony Hall in Springfield. So many shows at the casinos. Dave Attell at some down low spot in NYC where he was making jokes about tsunami victims right after that tsunami and some fans tried to go after him. Saw Jamie Kennedy at the Funny Bone at Buckland Hills. Memories...damn the good ol days.
 
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superjohn said:
Seinfeld never did it for me at all. Richard Pryor is a weird one, I recognize he's the biggest stand up ever and he's pretty much every great standups favorite/hero, I've seen some really great stuff from him and some stuff I found uncomfortably bad. I like Bob Newhart but not sure I've ever actually seen his stand up.

Katt is pretty hilarious.
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Katt Williams used to be hilarious and then at some point he became a complete weirdo. I went to see Seinfeld when he went back on the road a few years ago and I don't think I even cracked a smile once. Huge fan of the show, and I've enjoyed his standup in the past, but this didn't do it for me.

I'm a big fan of Chappelle and Bill Burr. I was a big Louis CK fan and now I'm not. It doesn't have anything to do with the perv stuff - I'm not trying to be friends with these people so I don't really care what they do in their down time - but it seemed like his reaction to the pervy stuff coming out was to become a complete hack which was a bummer to see.

Another guy that I love who hasn't been mentioned is Gary Gulman. I have a lot of respect for the guys who work clean and rely on wit, and he's hellaciously funny.
 
Jonathon Winters and Don Rickles. Winters was different in his affect and no one was quicker than Rickles in off the cuff put downs.
 
I saw Dave Cross live a couple years ago. He was a machine. Over an hour of non stop material. Very fast pace. He never seemed to milk the same bit for very long. He seemed to have a mountain of material. I was very impressed.
 
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NDakotaHusky said:
I saw Dave Cross live a couple years ago. He was a machine. Over an hour of non stop material. Very fast pace. He never seemed to milk the same bit for very long. He seemed to have a mountain of material. I was very impressed.
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Can't stand him - so far to the right that it makes his comedy a political message. Most comedians are leaning right, but he's so over the top that it gets in the way of the material.
 
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BigErnMcCracken said:
Katt Williams used to be hilarious and then at some point he became a complete weirdo. I went to see Seinfeld when he went back on the road a few years ago and I don't think I even cracked a smile once. Huge fan of the show, and I've enjoyed his standup in the past, but this didn't do it for me.

I'm a big fan of Chappelle and Bill Burr. I was a big Louis CK fan and now I'm not. It doesn't have anything to do with the perv stuff - I'm not trying to be friends with these people so I don't really care what they do in their down time - but it seemed like his reaction to the pervy stuff coming out was to become a complete hack which was a bummer to see.

Another guy that I love who hasn't been mentioned is Gary Gulman. I have a lot of respect for the guys who work clean and rely on wit, and he's hellaciously funny.
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The last Louis CK show I saw live was just pretty bad. I've never seen such a hilarious person lose it like that. It started off good with him making funny jokes about what happened and then it turned into him being angry, bitter, and not very funny.
 
jleves said:
Can't stand him - so far to the right that it makes his comedy a political message. Most comedians are leaning right, but he's so over the top that it gets in the way of the material.
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David Cross is so far to the right and most comedians are leaning right?!?? This has to be a comedy bit right?
 
superjohn said:
I've seen some great stand ups in person. Steven Wright, Chappelle, Louis CK, Hannibal Burress, Nick Swordson, Kevin Nealon, Bill Burr...and Chappelle was on a totally different level.

I've seen Louis CK in person several times, he was brilliant but his last show after the Me too stuff and his material was much worse, which was surprising.
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He is a victim of the times. Comedians live on that edge and he owned that metoo real estate until metoo happened and he got sucked away in the tide.
 
This is harder than I thought.

I still watch videos of Rodney Dangerfield tearing it up on Carson.
Jay Leno was my favorite guest on Late Night with David Letterman - he was a seriously great standup comic.
I love the way Bob Newhart would tell a story and get you to stop and listen - and laugh.
Norm is great, George Carlin makes me think and Chappelle makes me laugh out loud.

But, ultimately, this list is based on who made me laugh as a kid.

My Mt. Rushmore is:
Steve Martin - when I was 8 I could recite "Let's Get Small" almost verbatim.
Andy Kaufman - as Tony Clifton
Joan Rivers - pay attention or you'll miss the joke
Bill Cosby - I once fed my kids chocolate cake for breakfast and kept singing this to them

And I would play this on loop for people while they were waiting in line for tickets.
 
Rodney Dangerfield because I idolized and impersonated him professionally for a time.
Don Rickles always made me laugh till I peed.
Anthony Jeselnik for the one joke he did on the roast of Donald Trump about Snoop which I think youtube has removed.
Jeff Ross.
 
TGW93 said:
This is harder than I thought.

I still watch videos of Rodney Dangerfield tearing it up on Carson.
Jay Leno was my favorite guest on Late Night with David Letterman - he was a seriously great standup comic.
I love the way Bob Newhart would tell a story and get you to stop and listen - and laugh.
Norm is great, George Carlin makes me think and Chappelle makes me laugh out loud.

But, ultimately, this list is based on who made me laugh as a kid.

My Mt. Rushmore is:
Steve Martin - when I was 8 I could recite "Let's Get Small" almost verbatim.
Andy Kaufman - as Tony Clifton
Joan Rivers - pay attention or you'll miss the joke
Bill Cosby - I once fed my kids chocolate cake for breakfast and kept singing this to them

And I would play this on loop for people while they were waiting in line for tickets.
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Steve Martin: "Grandpaaaaaa...bought a rubber!"
 
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WallStreetHusky said:
I saw Dangerfield at Yale a good 30 years ago, and his public persona versus his stand up act were polar opposites. His set was beyond profane and dirty, but absolutely hysterical. He would just start riffing on things and you weren't even done laughing at a joke and he already was throwing out 3 more jokes in a row. I have seen Chris Rock, Seinfeld and Eddie Izzard, but Rodney is still the king.
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You lucky SoB
 
Demo Square said:
For female comic's: Joan Rivers was my favorite.

But the 'Queen of Mean" Lisa Lampanelli was fearless & smart. To Hulk Hogan at a roast: "Listen, it's the sound of a 19 year-old's ba--s hitting your ex-wife's chin."

Other great female stand-ups: Gracie Allen, Elaine Boozler, Phyllis Diller.
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Elaine May?
 
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Murphy, Dice, Dangerfield, Chappelle

HM: Andy Kaufman, Don Rickles, Bill Burr, Louis CK, Norm McDonald
 
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Demo Square said:
Hey Guys,

To stir the opinion pot further here: WHICH POPULAR COMIC'S DON'T YOU REALLY LIKE?

Though I know their comedy well, three comic's that never rang my bell for the longrun are: Jerry Seinfeild, Richard Pryor & Bob Newhart.

Go ahead, take a swing!

Father Demo
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I find Kevin Hart to be annoying and un-funny. Never got why he became so big.
 
Back in the 80's I always thought the tonight show was funnier when Joan Rivers hosted. She is most definitely a legend.

I'm a huge fan of Bill Hicks and his very short career.

Robin Williams, Chappelle, and George Carlin have lapped the pack IMO.

at the moment Norm Macdonald is my favorite. I love his bit on teachers being the "real heroes"
 
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With stand up you have the comedians who do all sorts of one liners and you have comedians who weave a joke or two in to a story.
Doing an hour of stand up where you are mostly doing one liners is tough. Real tough. Gots to give props for those who write their material and craft their material.
Overall though, I'm more open to those telling stories and painting a picture with humor. Also not a fan of those who really need the physical aspect of comedy to get the laughs.

Keeping it to people I've seen in person or was alive to watch their specials and separating their comedy routines from their success or failure at TV or movies, here it goes.

Carlin
Chapelle
Steven Wright
Dangerfield

I really want to put Eddie Murphy on there because his first two albums were the first two R rated albums I ever heard and I want to believe they are epically funny but I'm certain if I listened to them again, I'd be disappointed.
 
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RichZ said:
Bob Newhart.
Mitch Hedberg.
Carlin.
Steven Wright.
Buddy Hackett.
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Finally a Buddy Hackett mention.

Lots of funny folks here, though quite a few aren't Mt Rushmore material so much as personal favorites. I appreciate the heads up on those new to me.

Carlin, Pryor, Dangerfield, Williams - not necessarily because I think it's the right answer, but because it would be chickensp!t for me to avoid offering one.

I'll just add a shout out that "The Aristocrats" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime (and Tubi, or even through your public libraries on Hoopla), and doesn't offer a single clean comedian while it shows many dozens of comedians working the same joke.
 
Don Rickles
George Carlin
Dave Chappelle
Jerry Seinfeld

Hard to leave off Chris Rock, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy or Steve Martin but you can only pick four.
 
I think standup comedy generally sucks and is way too forced. Maybe I’m just skewed by today’s standard of comedy.
Just not for me but I can appreciate the genius of some of these people.

Having said that, Rickles and Burr are incredible. I could watch YouTube videos of Don Rickles forever.
 
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