Your Comedian Mount Rushmore

oldman

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Nov 5, 2009
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Old-timers:

Richard Pryor
Eddie Murphy
Bill Cosby (best all-time clean comic)
Steve Martin

Current Favs:

Jim Gaffigan (current best clean comic)
Louis C.K.
Sarah Silverman
Bill Burr

Never liked Robin William's cocaine-induced gibberish rants. To me, George Carlin is like Bob Dylan of music, largely overrated through history.
Saw Steve Martin when I was in high school. Really funny.
 
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LincolnWay187

Guest
I'm just going to go with guys who were in their prime during my lifetime (Pryor, Carlin were before this).
Chappelle
Louie
Bill Burr
Greg Giraldo
I would mimic the above with maybe putting Patrice O'Neal or norm McDonald in over Greg.

Special mention to Tom Segura, Ari Shaffir,
 

discydisc

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Jan 14, 2014
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I am now rethinking,should maybe just expand to 5, but Mel Brooks is definitely making it, so I guess I'm removing Carlin.

Pryor, Brooks, Chappelle, I feel like there has to be a woman and I'm having a hard time coming up with one who is more iconic than Ball. Robin Williams is hard to leave off too
 

cyguy9320

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Nov 26, 2006
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Louis C.K.
Dave Chappelle
Tom Segura
John Mulaney

Honorable Mention: Daniel Tosh, Bo Burnham, Mitch Hedberg, Dane Cook (I know, I know, but he was big when I was in high school so I have fond memories)
 
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LincolnWay187

Guest
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Norm McDonald.

I'm not surprised no one has mentioned Carrot Top, Pauly Shore, or Gallagher.
Please tell me you saw norms "podcasts" on you tube before Netflix pulled them down
 

Drew0311

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Nov 7, 2019
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Norwalk, Iowa
Forgot to add Dave Attell. The new thing he is doing with Ross absolutely sucks though. His stand up is so funny though. I like him and Ross. Just this mic touch thing is really bad.
 

cyfanatic

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Oct 18, 2006
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Norm McDonald is another one that I should have thought of, and didn't.

I love his delivery...and with Spade...I love the snarkiness...I laugh so hard at both of them...and yet they are so different! I imagine Spade got beat up in high school a lot for being mouthy...and Norm was probably never messed with because the people he was making fun of didn't realize it until hours later!
 

BryceC

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Chappelle
Gaffigan
Mulaney
Rock
 

MeanDean

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Blue Grass IA-Jensen Beach FL
Basing mine on who affected me over time, though some in retrospect don't seem as funny now:

George Burns (though Gracie Allen actually got the laughs in their heyday)
George Carlin
Steve Martin
Jerry Seinfeld

I always liked Norm McDonald - I am surprised by the love he's getting here.

You could just take the 3 Stooges (Curly version) and go with that and I'd be fine, too.
 

galactawitz

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Nov 27, 2007
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George Carlin- Genius, his stuff still holds up so well.
Steve Martin- Just loved how versatile he is, plus he plays a banjo for gosh sakes.
Robin Williams- Just amazing energy.
Will Ferrell- For some reason I just enjoy his movies and humor, though I know he isn't for every one. The Other Guys is so funny to me.

HM: When I was growing up Sandlers They're All Gonna Laugh at You was played continuously for an entire summer. Doesn't hold up that well to me now but I definitely loved his early stuff.
 

heitclone

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Way up there
He obviously isn't known for stand up but Jamie Fox's "I might need security" is pretty good. That guy can kind of just do it all.
 

AuH2O

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Sep 7, 2013
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Chapelle and three other guys.

I guess I'd probably go Louis CK, Attell and Gaffigan. To me Attell and Gaffigan vary pretty widely. Some stuff I think is absolutely hilarious, but I'll go bits where I don't find it very funny. But I find the funniest stuff they do to be up there with the best. But I find Chapelle and CK's standup to be consistently great. There's some stuff in Chappelle's show that wasn't great, but there was also some absolute gold in there.

I find Burr as great and really funny in an interview/podcast situation, but I don't think his standup material is quite as consistently good as the other guys.

Also figured I was alone in my admiration of McDonald. I suppose the true comedy experts can point to who is style is modeled after, but since I'm a novice I find it to be unique and hilarious.
 
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1100011CS

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Oct 5, 2007
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I could get on this. We just started Curb. I never watched it before because I HATE HATE HATE Seinfeld. Curb is ******* great though! I'm late to the game but good to have something to watch during quarantine.
Curb is the only show that I literally LOL the whole damn time.
 

Clonefan32

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Nov 19, 2008
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I don't know if he would be classified as a comedian, but to me Conan is one of the funniest people on this planet. Being in my mid-30s I remember staying up late to watch his show as a teenager and loving how different it was than other late night shows. His manner of humor just worked for me.

His podcasts are an absolute riot and he gets great guests.
 

Lemmiwinks

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Aug 31, 2018
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Ankeny
Also figured I was alone in my admiration of McDonald. I suppose the true comedy experts can point to who is style is modeled after, but since I'm a novice I find it to be unique and hilarious.
Pretty sure McDonald made that style. As far as I know, he's still the only one pulling it off.
 

Sigmapolis

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In favor of inclusiveness (on a board mostly dominated by White, college-educated men from the Midwest), some of my favorite female comics --

Tina Fey -- if only for Mean Girls alone

Amy Poehler -- not as big a Parks and Rec fan as some, but it is definitely funny

Julia Louis-Dreyfus -- already mentioned her from Seinfeld and Veep, and Anna Chlumsky deserves some mention as Amy from Veep and Liza on In the Loop

Mindy Kaling -- The Mindy Project being a favorite of my wife (and probably the closest thing to a show based on her life that I have found out there)

Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci -- Garfunkel and Oates are hilarious

I know these are all pretty recent, but I intend them as personal favorites over all-timers.
 

Cat Stevens

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Mar 7, 2017
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Bill Hicks
George Carlin
Richard Pryor
Eddie Murphy


I always tell you when you’re wrong, so I will give credit where it’s due.

Hicks was amazing. Before his time, and brilliant.

Carlin and Pryor are The Godfather’s.

And 4th, I love Murphy and kinnison, and saw them both live. But I don’t think I ever laughed harder than I did when I saw dennis Miller (pre him being scared by 911). His HBO show was gold. Makes Bill Maher look bad in comparison.

As for newer guys, I really like Kyle Kinane. I had bought tickets to see him at the paper tiger here in sa, but then the shut down happened.

Also, I saw Patton Oswald last spring at the Tobin Center, he’s brilliant.