Favourite comedians

[Darandio]

I like most comedians. My favourites include Michael MacIntyre, Jack Whitehall & John Bishop.

The two in bold really irritate me, but not just because they aren't really that funny. I believe they really could be funny, but they try far too hard at being funny which in turn does not make them funny. Did that make sense?

I also notice no mention of Jo Brand in the thread, because she isn't very funny either.

 

[341o2]

Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd.......still going strong at 90....and still one of, if not, the funniest men around (IMHO).

He could have been lost to comedy, starting a new career in politics as Screaming Lord such offered him the position of Shadow Chancellor in the Monster Raving Looney Party due to the handling of his tax affairs.....

 

[AlterEgo]

(Early) Billy Connolly - the world’s best ever raconteur in my view.

 

[AlterEgo]

Ones I cant stand:

Jimmy Carr
Michael McIntyre
Ricky Gervaise
Lee Evans
Jack Whitehall
David Walliams

This, very much, but throw in Russell Howard and put Michael McIntyre right at the top.

McIntyre is comedy for absolute simpletons. His prime time TV show is appallingly contrived garbage (fake as hell, Unexpected Star of the Week made me want to put a brick through the telly) and I feel sorry for the people that enjoy it. They mustn’t have any brain cells left.

 

[Minilad]

If you find Lee Evans funny and you're old enough to drink alcohol, you haven't been drinking enough. If he's a comedian then I'm in the running for the Ballon d'Or.

See also Mickey Flanagan

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Most of my favourites are no longer with us and, probably wouldn't pass today's PC brigade! Bernard Manning, Dave Allen, Frank Carson etc.
Of the current crop there is only Peter Kay who I would pay to see, but being a Yorkshireman there is no way I would pay the current asking price for tickets!
The likes of Eddie Izzard, Alan Carr, Michael McIntyre et al are dreadful, as for Ricky Gervais, to me he is probably the least funny man on the planet

Manning was NEVER funny, not then and certainly not now. Nothing to do with political correctness, just that his humour was always cruel- even the non-racist stuff.
Peter Kay's comedy hasn't aged particularly well considering how relatively recent his "big hits" were.

See also Mickey Flanagan

He, on the other hand, might have been considered funny 30 years ago. Whenever he comes on TV now though, I feel like I've fallen through a wormhole to the mid-1980s.

 

[bspahh]

Most of my favourites are no longer with us and, probably wouldn't pass today's PC brigade! Bernard Manning, Dave Allen, Frank Carson etc.
Of the current crop there is only Peter Kay who I would pay to see, but being a Yorkshireman there is no way I would pay the current asking price for tickets!
The likes of Eddie Izzard, Alan Carr, Michael McIntyre et al are dreadful, as for Ricky Gervais, to me he is probably the least funny man on the planet

If you want to watch live comedy without paying for it, keep an eye out for tickets for TV and radio recordings. The downside is that when they don't charge you, they don't guarantee that you will get a seat. The up side is that you can see how the comedians act when they don't have anything prepared. With TV recordings, there is a lot of messing about with retakes so it takes 3 hours to record a 30 minute show. With radio, there is a lot less setup time.

I don't have a problem with watching comics who rely on other people's material. However, I went to recordings of the One Ronnie, and the One Jasper Carrott. They both read their lines from an autocue, but off camera Ronnie Corbett was still able to string a few sentences together, whilst Jasper Carrott had nothing to offer than what was in the script.

The problem for a comedian who appears on TV, is that you can tell a joke to an audience in one show which would have kept you in business for a decade of live performances. There were music hall comedians who had one 20 minute act that they repeated every night for decades at a time. On TV, especially on a program that ends up on Dave, it has to be a very good joke for you to be able to use it in more than one recording.

 

[northwichcat]

I doubt you'll see Peter Kay for free via a TV recording, unless you go to a chat show recording and he happens to be a guest.

The BBC New Comedy Award is worth keeping an eye out for. The finals are in Edinburgh with heats in London, Cardiff and Manchester. Really surprising they use The Comedy Store for recording in Manchester as you can hear the trams overhead from inside.

It seems increasingly fewer and fewer programs featuring comedians are being filmed outside of London. Not that long ago Michael McIntyre did a comedy roadshow in various cities, John Bishop did programs filmed in Manchester and UKTV did Dave's One Night Stand in various cities. Now it seems almost everything is done in the Greater London area.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

(Early) Billy Connolly - the world’s best ever raconteur in my view.

I forgot him when I first posted, but I fully agree. He could stand on stage and read aloud a dictionary and it would still captivate me for hours.

This, very much, but throw in Russell Howard and put Michael McIntyre right at the top.

McIntyre is comedy for absolute simpletons. His prime time TV show is appallingly contrived garbage (fake as hell, Unexpected Star of the Week made me want to put a brick through the telly) and I feel sorry for the people that enjoy it. They mustn’t have any brain cells left.

I also agree with this, there are a lot of comedians I don't get, but I reserve special contempt for McIntyre's utterly vapid output. Complete tat.

Manning was NEVER funny, not then and certainly not now. Nothing to do with political correctness, just that his humour was always cruel- even the non-racist stuff.

Whilst I will give you stuff like 'dog born in a stable...' is pretty bad, he did have some very good material - things like the Glenn Miller Stars in Their Eyes and the Spanish 'Has't any Bisto?' jokes I do find funny.

 

[dgl]

Milton Jones is a good one, saw him live once and he was great, even bringing stuff from the local area into his comedy, used of all things an overhead projector for the 2nd half.
Also one that doesn't seem to have been mentioned strangely is Rowan Atkinson, there is no one quite like him, given that he can be funny without saying a word, but is just as funny when he does. If you look on youtube for the Rowan Atkinson live stuff it's hilarious. i.e.

 

[Bevan Price]

Younger readers will probably think that some of my favourites are corny / old-fashioned, etc., and many are no longer with us. I have listed some who were mainly "stand-up" comedians, and some who relied on visual comedy. also I have probably forgotten a few. (List not in any particular order of favouritism)

Lucille Ball
Jasper Carrott
Billy Connolly
Arthur Askey
Frankie Howerd
Kenneth Horne ("Round The Horne", etc.)
Dave Allen
Bob Hope
George Burns
Jack Benny
Michael Bentine.

and some comedy programmes (radio or TV)
Round The Horne
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
The Goon Show.

 

[Darandio]

Are we allowed to post a collective? If so, Monty Python. It's just a shame that less and less people now seem to 'get it'.

If we aren't, then the above also brings me to John Cleese and in particular Fawlty Towers, timeless.

 

[Busaholic]

What is a definition of a comedian? Today it seems to be people who do a one-man/woman routine or appear on inane, money-for-old-rope panel shows. In years gone by (but not too long ago) it would be sitcoms and sketch shows, etc. Some of my favourites only ever played 'characters' and never had their own routines or cracked a joke. To my mind John Cleese's Basil Fawlty would be high in the pantheon, as much due to the superb writing as his and other performances: Leonard Rossiter was a superb comic actor, with Rigsby in 'Rising Damp' ahead even of Reginald Perrin. Peter Cook was an incredibly witty, sharp individual and it's a crying shame that so few of his innumerable self-penned comedy sketches with the likes of Dudley Moore have survived. Tommy Cooper was revered by almost all of the other comics of his day: my father-in-law used to crease up at his TV shows, whereas I never saw him laugh at any other comedian! Ronnie Barker was superb in 'Porridge', again aided by marvellous writing. I have a soft spot for Paul Merton and Andy Hamilton of modern comics, and Jack Dee can be very sharp, in a good way.

 

[furnessvale]

I think you may have all missed the subtlety of his approach there. Gervais, much like both Frankie Boyle and Jimmy Carr, plays on an anti-hero image a bit. The Live8 bit in particular doesn't read as if it was intended to be taken at face value.
You can decide whether or not you find something funny, but it isn't always the fault of the comedian if you don't laugh.

You are correct. I totally missed the subtlety of the Gervais approach, especially the subtlety of his inability to adlib for five minutes.

 

[Mag_seven]

Has anyone mentioned Morecambe and Wise yet? If not laugh out loud at this:

 

[61653 HTAFC]

You are correct. I totally missed the subtlety of the Gervais approach, especially the subtlety of his inability to adlib for five minutes.

I wasn't there, and you may be right that he was genuinely losing it with the producers... but much of his online stuff (podcasts and the like) has him taking on an anti-hero character who rants at his guests and has a pompous, self-important demeanour intended to poke fun at the "do you know who I am?" celebrity attitude.

He may well really be like that in person, but it seems like part of his act to me at least.

Speaking of that celebrity attitude, I'd recommend anyone who hasn't already done so to check out Jonathan Pie on YouTube... roughly 3 times a year his routine is mistaken by uninformed American broadcasters for a genuine example of a news reporter "losing it"!

 

[gazthomas]

My favourites, in no particular order:

Frankie Howerd
Jasper Carrott
Dave Allen
Jack Dee
Vic Reeves
Bob Mortimer
Frankie Boyle
Bob Monkhouse
Milton Jones
Steve Punt
Hugh Dennis
Russell Howard
Sean Lock
Bill Bailey
Peter Kay

 

[61653 HTAFC]

A couple of other comedians I like, who haven't been mentioned yet:
Josie Long
Tim Vine (possibly a "so bad, he's good" situation)
Kellyanne Conway (Not a comedy act, apparently... but still hilarious!)

 

[AlterEgo]

Are we allowed to post a collective? If so, Monty Python. It's just a shame that less and less people now seem to 'get it'.

If we aren't, then the above also brings me to John Cleese and in particular Fawlty Towers, timeless.

Monty Python are the Beatles of comedy. They drew all pre-existing influences into a tight nexus and their output influenced in some way or another every comic since.

I think it’s a great shame that their stuff is showing its age - my favourite was always the go-to ridiculous authority figures which broke up sketches, like daft policemen or Graham Chapman dressed as a major-general. It’s very post-War and a lot of the nuance is lost on modern viewers. Crucially, Python reflected the changing attitudes and values of the time in a way no other comedy show could.

My favourite sketch is Confuse-a-Cat.

 

[IanD]

Has anyone mentioned Morecambe and Wise yet? If not laugh out loud at this:

I never understand why people think this is the best thing Morecambe and Wise did. It's not particularly funny. Not even original as Benny Hill did it first.

 

[Mag_seven]

I never understand why people think this is the best thing Morecambe and Wise did. It's not particularly funny. Not even original as Benny Hill did it first.

Well I think its funny.

 

[fowler9]

Most recent comedian I saw live was Jerry Sadowitz, disgracefully offensive and very funny. Dylan Moran was hilarious live also. Bill Hicks is amazing but I'm not sure if he is a comedian or just someone who speaks the truth and happens to be funny. Even as a Scouser I loved listening to Brendan Burns slagging off Scousers to the nth degree. I peed myself listening to it. Just look up Brendan Burns slagging off scousers on Youtube. Another guy I saw recently was a Canadian called Tony Law, an absolute lunatic, very surreal. Reginald D Hunter aswell, love him.

 

[fowler9]

Milton Jones is a good one, saw him live once and he was great, even bringing stuff from the local area into his comedy, used of all things an overhead projector for the 2nd half.
Also one that doesn't seem to have been mentioned strangely is Rowan Atkinson, there is no one quite like him, given that he can be funny without saying a word, but is just as funny when he does. If you look on youtube for the Rowan Atkinson live stuff it's hilarious. i.e.

I love Rowan Atkinson but never thought of him as a stand up.

 

[fowler9]

A couple of other comedians I like, who haven't been mentioned yet:
Josie Long
Tim Vine (possibly a "so bad, he's good" situation)
Kellyanne Conway (Not a comedy act, apparently... but still hilarious!)

I can't stand Tim Vine, a couple of mates I go watching stand up with love him. Not my cup of tea.

 

[fowler9]

I wasn't there, and you may be right that he was genuinely losing it with the producers... but much of his online stuff (podcasts and the like) has him taking on an anti-hero character who rants at his guests and has a pompous, self-important demeanour intended to poke fun at the "do you know who I am?" celebrity attitude.

He may well really be like that in person, but it seems like part of his act to me at least.

Speaking of that celebrity attitude, I'd recommend anyone who hasn't already done so to check out Jonathan Pie on YouTube... roughly 3 times a year his routine is mistaken by uninformed American broadcasters for a genuine example of a news reporter "losing it"!

Speaking of Ricky Gervais, Patrick Stewart on Extras is hilarious, talking about how his X Man super power is making women's clothes fall off..... And he can see everything.

 

[fowler9]

Oh, and Bernard Manning isn't just a big old music hall edgy comedian, he is just a racist.

 

[507021]

My favourite comedians are Jo Brand, Peter Kay, John Bishop and Johnny Vegas.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Most recent comedian I saw live was Jerry Sadowitz, disgracefully offensive and very funny. Dylan Moran was hilarious live also. Bill Hicks is amazing but I'm not sure if he is a comedian or just someone who speaks the truth and happens to be funny. Even as a Scouser I loved listening to Brendan Burns slagging off Scousers to the nth degree. I peed myself listening to it. Just look up Brendan Burns slagging off scousers on Youtube. Another guy I saw recently was a Canadian called Tony Law, an absolute lunatic, very surreal. Reginald D Hunter aswell, love him.

Oh, and Bernard Manning isn't just a big old music hall edgy comedian, he is just a racist.

Tense-fail here... one of which is very sad, the other however isn't!

 

[northwichcat]

Gervais is not in any way funny to me. To me what sums him up is Live 8 - he came on stage and said (paraphrasing) "The G8 have agreed to wipe out all the debt. No, just kidding, we can stay here and have more music!". He treated it like the music was the point rather than just the attention grabber, and that utterly sickened me. I have never found anything he's done funny, and I wouldn't **** on him if he were on fire.

I think you may have all missed the subtlety of his approach there.

You are correct. I totally missed the subtlety of the Gervais approach, especially the subtlety of his inability to adlib for five minutes.

He could have made the Live8 joke work by implying he wanted the G8 to cancel the debt in a few hours time so x didn't have to go all the way back to y without getting a chance to perform, rather than claiming they've cancelled it and then saying it was a joke.

 

[PeterC]

So much depends on the writers and the format. Milton Jones was excellent when I saw him on Mock the Week but the sketch shows that he has had on the radio have been painful to listen to.

A lot of the younger standups don't seem to have the same sense of timing as people like Les Dawson or Ken Dodd. Boring as I find their material their technical prowess is undeniable.