Names to Know in Comedy

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This page is part of the "Names to Know" project.

The groundbreaking, the influential, the seminal... but not necessarily the most famous people in Comedy -- Stand-Up or otherwise. (However, please don't list Comic Actors who've never been on a stage in front of a live audience.)

These people are the genre definers, the Trope Makers, the people that other people in the Comedy field look to for inspiration.

The Greats

 * Lenny Bruce
 * Carol Burnett
 * George Carlin
 * Cheech and Chong
 * Bob Hope
 * Steve Martin
 * Mae West
 * Robin Williams

General Stand-Up

 * Woody Allen
 * Aziz Ansari
 * Bill Bailey
 * Richard Belzer
 * Lewis Black
 * Victor Borge
 * Russell Brand
 * George Burns
 * George Carlin
 * Johnny Carson
 * Louis CK
 * Billy Connolly
 * Steve Coogan
 * Dane Cook
 * Billy Crystal
 * Rodney Dangerfield
 * Larry David
 * Phyllis Diller
 * Janeane Garofalo
 * Gilbert Gottfried
 * Buddy Hackett
 * Mitch Hedberg
 * Richard Herring
 * Bill Hicks
 * Bob Hope
 * Eddie Izzard
 * Andy Kaufman
 * Sam Kinison
 * Denis Leary
 * Stewart Lee
 * Jay Leno
 * Lee Mack
 * Bill Maher
 * Steve Martin
 * Bob Monkhouse
 * Ross Noble
 * Patton Oswalt
 * Russell Peters
 * Emo Philips
 * John Pinette
 * Richard Pryor
 * Don Rickles
 * Joan Rivers
 * Chris Rock
 * Pauly Shore
 * Sarah Silverman
 * George Smilovici
 * Yakov Smirnoff
 * Christopher Titus
 * Tim Vine
 * Robin Williams
 * Michael Winslow
 * Steven Wright

Black Comedians

 * Bill Cosby
 * Eddie Murphy
 * Richard Pryor
 * Chris Rock
 * Flip Wilson
 * Michael Winslow

Borscht Belt

 * Woody Allen
 * Mel Brooks
 * Lenny Bruce
 * George Burns
 * Rodney Dangerfield
 * Phyllis Diller
 * Buddy Hackett
 * Mickey Katz
 * Jerry Lewis
 * Jackie Mason
 * Don Rickles

Comic Music and Parodies
Performers who routinely create or created humorous music as part of (or as) their regular act. One-Hit Wonders and novelty recordings by otherwise non-comedic acts should not be listed.
 * Kip Addotta
 * The Arrogant Worms
 * Barnes & Barnes
 * Bill Bailey
 * Heywood Banks
 * Benny Bell
 * The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
 * Victor Borge
 * Bowser and Blue
 * Julie Brown
 * The Capitol Steps
 * Jasper Carrott
 * Tim Cavanaugh
 * Jonathan Coulton
 * Da Vinci's Notebook
 * Duck Logic
 * Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre
 * Evolution Control Committee
 * Flanders and Swann
 * The Frantics
 * Grupa MoCarta
 * Arlo Guthrie ("Alice's Restaurant" and "The Motorcycle Song")
 * Stan Freberg
 * Neil Innes
 * Spike Jones
 * Mickey Katz
 * The Kingston Trio
 * Sam Kinison ("Wild Thing")
 * Christine Lavin
 * Denis Leary
 * Tom Lehrer
 * Lemon Demon
 * Tim Minchin
 * Modern Man
 * Mojo Nixon
 * Napoleon XIV
 * Ogden Edsl Wahalia Blues Ensemble Mondo Bizzario Band (aka "Ogden Edsl")
 * Ookla the Mok
 * Bob Rivers
 * Anna Russell
 * David Seville (Ross Bagdasarian Sr.)
 * Allan Sherman
 * Jim Stafford
 * Tim Wilson
 * Wally Wingert
 * "Weird Al" Yankovic
 * Frank Zappa

Country Comedy

 * Bill Engvall
 * Jeff Foxworthy
 * Larry the Cable Guy
 * Ron White

Improvisational Comedy

 * Wayne Brady
 * Burns and Allen
 * The Firesign Theatre
 * The Groundlings
 * Josie Lawrence
 * Colin Mochrie
 * Second City
 * Ryan Stiles
 * Robin Williams

Prop Comedians
Often considered by other comedians to be the lowest form of humor.
 * Carrot Top
 * Tommy Cooper
 * Keith Fields
 * Steve Martin (He incorporated prop humor into his act at the start of his career.)
 * Olsen and Johnson

Radio Comedy

 * Dr. Demento
 * The Firesign Theatre
 * The Frantics

Rant Comedy

 * Lewis Black
 * George Carlin
 * Dane Cook
 * Bill Hicks
 * Sam Kinison
 * Denis Leary

Recorded Comedy
Comic acts and performances which have been packaged and sold on vinyl or CD over the years.
 * Bob and Ray
 * Victor Buono
 * Tim Cavanaugh
 * Bill Dana
 * Jim Gaffigan
 * Grupa MoCarta
 * Spike Jones
 * Mickey Katz
 * Stewart Lee
 * Tom Lehrer
 * Jerry Lewis
 * Modern Man
 * Bob Newhart
 * Mike Nichols and Elaine May
 * Emo Philips
 * Monty Python
 * Anna Russell
 * Robin Williams
 * Steven Wright

Sketch Comedy

 * Rowan Atkinson
 * Jack Black
 * Bob and Ray
 * Carol Burnett
 * Cheech and Chong
 * Billy Crystal
 * Bill Dana
 * Eugenio Derbez
 * Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre
 * The Firesign Theatre
 * The Frantics
 * Stan Freberg
 * Christopher Guest
 * Jerry Lewis
 * David Mitchell and Robert Webb
 * Monty Python
 * Saturday Night Live
 * Catherine Tate

Storytellers

 * Rowan Atkinson
 * Lord Buckley
 * Bill Cosby
 * Billy Crystal
 * Gabriel Iglesias
 * Flip Wilson

Surreal Comedy

 * Rowan Atkinson
 * Bob and Ray
 * The Firesign Theatre
 * Armando Iannucci
 * Jerry Lewis
 * Spike Milligan
 * Monty Python
 * Steven Wright

Ventriloquists

 * Edgar Bergen
 * Jeff Dunham
 * Señor Wences
 * Paul Winchell

Comedy Teams and Troupes

 * Bob and Ray
 * Burns and Allen
 * Cheech and Chong
 * Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre
 * The Firesign Theatre
 * The Frantics
 * The Goons
 * The Groundlings
 * Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * Marx Brothers
 * David Mitchell and Robert Webb
 * Dudley Moore and Peter Cook
 * Mike Nichols and Elaine May
 * Olsen and Johnson
 * Monty Python
 * Penn & Teller
 * Los Rayos Gama
 * Dan Rowan and Dick Martin
 * Second City
 * Stiller and Meara
 * The Three Stooges
 * The Umbilical Brothers