Names to Know in Comedy


 * 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.

For classic routines, or at least classic punchlines, see Stock Shticks.

The Greats

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

General Stand-Up

 * Abbott and Costello
 * Woody Allen
 * Tim Allen
 * Aziz Ansari
 * Bill Bailey
 * Roseanne Barr
 * Chris Barrie
 * Richard Belzer
 * Milton Berle
 * Lewis Black
 * Lenny Bruce
 * Victor Borge - more "sit-down comedy", because it's difficult to stand and play the piano at the same time
 * Russell Brand
 * George Burns
 * Brett Butler
 * George Carlin
 * Johnny Carson
 * Louis CK
 * Billy Connolly
 * Steve Coogan
 * Dane Cook
 * Billy Crystal
 * Rodney Dangerfield
 * Larry David
 * Ellen DeGeneres
 * Phyllis Diller
 * Redd Foxx
 * Janeane Garofalo
 * Gilbert Gottfried
 * Buddy Hackett
 * Mitch Hedberg
 * Richard Herring
 * Bill Hicks
 * Bob Hope
 * Eddie Izzard
 * Kevin James
 * Andy Kaufman
 * Sam Kinison
 * Martin Lawrence
 * Denis Leary
 * Eugene Levy - did stand-up in Toronto before SCTV
 * Stewart Lee
 * Jay Leno
 * Robert Llewellyn
 * George Lopez
 * Lee Mack
 * Bill Maher
 * Steve Martin
 * Rik Mayall
 * Bob Monkhouse
 * Dylan Moran
 * Ross Noble
 * Patton Oswalt
 * Russell Peters
 * Emo Philips
 * John Pinette
 * Joe Piscopo
 * Richard Pryor
 * Paul Reubens
 * Don Rickles
 * Joan Rivers
 * Chris Rock
 * Rita Rudner
 * Bob Sagat
 * Adam Sandler
 * Jerry Seinfeld
 * Pauly Shore
 * Sarah Silverman
 * Red Skelton
 * George Smilovici
 * Yakov Smirnoff
 * Christopher Titus
 * Tim Vine
 * Robin Williams
 * Michael Winslow
 * Steven Wright
 * Henny Youngman -- "Take my wife. Please!"

Black Comedians

 * Bill Cosby
 * Redd Foxx
 * Steve Harvey
 * Martin Lawrence
 * Eddie Murphy
 * Tyler Perry
 * Richard Pryor
 * Chris Rock
 * Flip Wilson
 * Michael Winslow

Borscht Belt Comedy
Comedians who honed their craft in the Borscht Belt -- the summer resorts of the Catskills in New York state, active mostly from the 1920s to the 1970s -- or whose style reflects the tradition of Jewish comedy established there.
 * Woody Allen
 * Benny Bell
 * Mel Brooks
 * Lenny Bruce
 * George Burns
 * Billy Crystal
 * Rodney Dangerfield
 * Phyllis Diller
 * Buddy Hackett
 * Gabe Kaplan
 * Mickey Katz
 * Andy Kaufman
 * Jerry Lewis
 * Jackie Mason
 * Don Rickles
 * Joan Rivers
 * Jerry Seinfeld

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
 * Mister Stick
 * Modern Man
 * Martin Mull
 * Mojo Nixon
 * Napoleon XIV
 * Ogden Edsl Wahalia Blues Ensemble Mondo Bizzario Band (aka "Ogden Edsl")
 * Ookla the Mok
 * Paul and Storm
 * Bob Rivers
 * Anna Russell
 * Mark Russell
 * David Seville (Ross Bagdasarian Sr.)
 * Allan Sherman
 * Jim Stafford
 * Ruth Wallis
 * Rusty Warren
 * Tim Wilson
 * Wally Wingert
 * Woody Woodbury
 * "Weird Al" Yankovic
 * Frank Zappa

Country Comedy

 * Brett Butler
 * 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
 * Gallagher (and his brother, who tours as "Gallagher II, The Living Sequel")
 * Steve Martin (He incorporated prop humor into his act at the start of his career.)
 * Olsen and Johnson

Radio Comedy
Started on radio and (for the most part) stayed there:
 * Fanny Brice
 * Dr. Demento
 * Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre (on NPR)
 * The Firesign Theatre
 * The Frantics
 * The Goon Show
 * Hamish and Andy
 * Jim and Marian Jordan

Started on radio, eventually moved to TV:
 * Lucille Ball
 * The Jack Benny Program
 * Milton Berle
 * Eddie Cantor
 * Benny Hill
 * Royal Canadian Air Farce
 * Wayne and Shuster
 * Red Skelton

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.
 * Benny Bell
 * 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
 * Ruth Wallis
 * Rusty Warren
 * Robin Williams
 * Woody Woodbury
 * 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
 * Paul Reubens
 * Saturday Night Live
 * Catherine Tate
 * Wayne and Shuster

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

Vaudeville
Comedians who got their start in Vaudeville and/or Burlesque, particularly in the fading years of the circuit.
 * Abbott and Costello
 * Fatty Arbuckle
 * Lucille Ball
 * Milton Berle
 * Fanny Brice
 * George Burns
 * Eddie Cantor
 * W. C. Fields
 * Jim and Marian Jordan
 * Danny Kaye
 * Buster Keaton
 * Bert Lahr
 * Laurel and Hardy
 * The Marx Brothers
 * Red Skelton
 * The Three Stooges (Originally part of "Ted Healey and his Stooges", but Healey's Hollywood career went nowhere.)

Ventriloquists

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

Comedy Teams and Troupes

 * Abbott and Costello
 * Bob and Ray
 * Burns and Allen
 * Cheech and Chong
 * Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre
 * The Firesign Theatre
 * The Frantics
 * French and Saunders
 * Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie
 * The Goons
 * The Groundlings
 * Bob Hope and Bing Crosby
 * Jim and Marian Jordan
 * Laurel and Hardy
 * Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * The 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
 * Royal Canadian Air Farce
 * Second City
 * Stiller and Meara
 * The Three Stooges
 * The Two Ronnies
 * The Umbilical Brothers
 * Wayne and Shuster