What are your favorite comedians and why?

George Carlin really is my absolute favorite. He’s the only famous person I ever looked up to.
I also like Sarah Silverman a lot too, for reasons partly sexual.

David Cross, Andy Kaufman, George Carlin, Daniel Tosh, Mitch Hedberg, Sam Kinnison, Jeff Ross, Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswald, and Russell Peters . . . for starters.

As to why, well, they are fucking funny.

Bob Saget. Because he is genuine and goofy and passionate about the craft. And dirty as hell.

I would also submit that both Weird Al and Flight of the Conchords are pretty damn funny in the music category.

edit: and Bo Burnham.

I’m going to see Jerry Seinfeld in Vegas in a few weeks…I loved his show, never been to his stand up before though.

Buddy Hacket was hysterical back in the day. Eddie Izzard, Joy Behar, Robin Williams. Chris Rock.

Eddie izzard atm because I like his original range of material – from mythology to bumble bees.

And also Frankie Boyle because he likes to focus on bitter/dark stuff.

Robin Williams old stand-up. Brilliant! You have to watch it over and over to catch all the jokes.

Carlin and Pryor
Some of the few people I wouldn’t mind throwing curses around

@juwhite1 he’d have to watch it over and over to catch all the jokes as well. anyone up for some cocaine, robin is buying

George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, John Belushi, Steve Martin, and I am sure I have left some out it’s only 9am. Why Because they are FUNNY.

Many of my favorites have been listed. I’d like to add Steven Wright and Lisa Lampanelli.

Also Bill Hicks

@juwhite1 Thought you said Robbie Williams for a while there. Couldn’t imagine him doing stand-up at all so had me quite confused.

Oops I forgot Jerry Seinfeld! !

Bill Hicks (rip)

Wanda Sykes, Tracey Ullman, and George Carlin.

Wanda Sykes…I love her.

Benny Hill!!!!!

I enjoy Ralphie Mays , Ron White , and Lisa Lapinalli .

I just like their style of comedy .

Chris Rock. I hate his movies, but his stand up is pretty good.

@JLeslie I love Wanda too! My fave is Jim Gaffigan because he talks about bacon and hot pockets.

Katt Williams

Mike Epps

I just think they’re hilarious.

My favourite stand-ups are Eddie Izzard, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Dave Chappelle.

They all keep it real and truthful, as good comedy should do, and they “play” at the top of their intelligence. They don’t condescend to the lowest common denominator. That’s not to say they won’t do a poop joke, but their acts aren’t all poop joke-based.

And that’s the same criteria I have for my favourite comedic teams, as well: Monty Python, The Kids in the Hall, French and Saunders, Mr Show and the whole Chappelle’s Show crew.

But Python is my favourite of favourites, my Holy of comedic Holies, and Michael Palin is their king.

Gabriel iglesies is definatly my favorite comic of all time, he makes me laugh so hard. Another good one is jim gaffigan

Favorite comedian? That’s tough.
I do have a favorite, up-and-coming comedian—fellow New Yorker Erik Rivera

http://erikrivera.com/

I’m sad that no one mentioned Demetri Martin. I think his CD is hysterical.

George Carlin for his clever use and guardianship of the language.

Steven Wright for his uncanny ability to turn the most commonplace objects and situations into the weird and ironic.

Maria Bamford for her characterizations, whether with voice or mannerism.

Julia Lillis because her tunes are funny and also hummable almost immediately.

Andy Kaufman, who could make the most annoying shit pretty funny (if you were in on the joke, otherwise you just wanted to smack the jerk).

Paula Poundstone, who joked about fears and anxieties and foibles that are probably common to us all.

Sam Kinison for expressing the male side of male/female relationships in a manner that we men would if we thought we could.

Richard Pryor for expressing the black side of white/black relationships in a manner that we blacks and whites would if we thought we could.

Bill Hicks, because the truth can be funny and like a knife in the gut at the same time.

Kathy Griffin’s bit about her relationship with Steve Wozniak was incredibly funny to Apple geeks.

Gilbert Gottfried: If you haven’t seen his stand-up you haven’t seen Gilbert. He is hilarious and his impressions are fabulous.

Mitch Hedberg: He was real. Real funny.

Sarah Silverman: Sexy and incredibly funny with her takes on life. Great TV show too

Rodney Dangerfield” Classic

Jack Benny: Oh Rochester….

Jerry Seinfeld does not do as good a Jerry Seinfeld as Gilbert does.

I sincerely nearly wet myself during his set when he did Jerry.

Final point on Gilbert, he is a genuinely nice person. After the show Jenn and I were finishing our drinks and the place cleared out and Gilbert came out to get a drink. He stopped by our table and pulled up a chair and chatted with us for about 10 minutes. Very nice guy.

I’m going to have to go with some of the others on here and say: Eddie Izzard.

Eddie is awesome for a number of reasons, one being his accent, two being his horrible impressions, and three being the applicability of pretty much everything he jokes about to any situation you can think of. Or, in simpler words: he does not lie. His history lessons are as truthful as any inside a classroom. :P

I crack up whenever I see him, doing his thing. (Just listening to him doesn’t work; he does weird pantomime with pretty much everything.) He’s even funnier in person—saw him on stage, laughed so hard my sides ached the next day.

And I would like to agree with @aprilsimnel: Eddie doesn’t really make poop jokes, although he swears like a sailor. It’s mostly highbrow humor. (There’s a reason why he’s “The Lost Python”.)

Doug Stanhope, nothing is off limits in his act, including me, you, and him.