For me, i'm trying to think if I can separate someone from having a funny act or ability to be funny in a skit, versus just always being funny in everyday conversation. Those are the ones I think are truly funny people.

That's one of the reasons I put Conan up there. Don Rickles has also got to be up there on the list because he was just always on.

Some of the stories I have heard about Will Ferrell and the things he would do, and commit to sound absolutely hilarious.

I think there's a difference b/t good standup comedians, comedic actors, and people that are just flat out funny.

Seinfeld and Carlin are/were great at standup.

Mike Myers has hilarious movies but is pretty dull and not funny in most interviews.

Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, and Chris Farley were hilarious in any setting.

NoahAg said:

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I think there's a difference b/t good standup comedians, comedic actors, and people that are just flat out funny.

Seinfeld and Carlin are/were great at standup.

Mike Myers has hilarious movies but is pretty dull and not funny in most interviews.

Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, and Chris Farley were hilarious in any setting.

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that's why i kind of did standups, actors and SNL in separate lists some cross over those but I have faves in each

Bill Cosby was pretty funny in his heydey.

That's the cool thing about comedy, so many of the things I have always thought were great but didn't get a ton of love are here. Funny is universal when it's truly good.
I remember when the Simpsons movie came out and I saw it in a theater. It was such a strange but really awesome experience to hear hundreds of people laughing at the Simpsons jokes with you for the first time. All of a sudden it was clear what a truly cultural show it was and a shared experience.

Hard to pick one for me but some combo of Adam Sandler, Farley, Rob Schneider, and Spade. I will throw in Dana Carvey as well. The Steve Martin/Martin Short combo is good as well.
So in summary, I've butchered the original question.

GoAgs92 said:

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The problem with Carrey and Williams is they seem to feel they have to be "on" all the time, watching comedians in cars getting coffee, Jim couldn't seem sit still and have a normal conversation.

He is very funny but being around him would get old quick.

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I caught a rerun of the Dick Cavett show with Robin Williams on it. Y'all should check out his show if you can. He did more modern podcast style longer form interviews.
Anyways, by the end with Williams I ended up just feeling sad that Williams felt this pressure to always perform. Except for a few rare minutes, I don't think he gave a straight answer the whole time.

Orlando Ayala Cant Read said:

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Gervais hosting the Globes that year had to be the top hosting job ever. He brought it that night.

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I believe he did it five times, and was the main reason I watched. Absolutely slayed every time. Here's a video of the best bits from all of them.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Orlando Ayala Cant Read said:

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Gervais hosting the Globes that year had to be the top hosting job ever. He brought it that night.

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I believe he did it five times, and was the main reason I watched. Absolutely slayed every time. Here's a video of the best bits from all of them.

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Well it doesn't have 2020 which was brutally funny. Or it doesn't have the video anyway.

Gailard Sartain as Officer Bimbeau in The Hollywood Knights gets me every time…

I think this should be separated into two categories: (A) physical/antics comedy and (B) spoken/written comedy.

I think Robin Williams/Jim Carrey are tops in category A.

I think Dave Chappelle is tops in category B.

The funniest person of all times:

William Shakespeare - his comedies have held up incredibly well. 500 years and counting. Not sure I could see anyone else rank higher. Obviously not the funniest person of my lifetime, but certainly the standard against which everyone else is measured.

Aristophanes may not be for most, but his material also holds up reasonably well even though it's about 2,500 years or so old. Harder to separate from the times in which his plays were written, but it's apparent the ancient Greeks enjoyed their dirty jokes.

I can nerd out on pre-television comics, but I'm probably in a minority and don't want to go all Redstone here.

Funniest person of all time? Probably not, but I'll throw a few more out there that haven't been mentioned much

Chris Rock
Larry David
Leslie Nielsen
Bernie Mac
Kevin Hart
Bob Hope
Peter Sellers
Rowan Atkinson

DallasTeleAg said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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Too late for that!

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Was literally scrolling down to post this exact thing.

My favorite comic is God, because he created everything and therefore created comedy!

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Well if, per Gary Larson and The Far Side, God did this:

then certainly He created comedians as well.

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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DallasTeleAg said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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Too late for that!

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Was literally scrolling down to post this exact thing.

My favorite comic is God, because he created everything and therefore created comedy!

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Well if, per Gary Larson and The Far Side, God did this:

then certainly He created comedians as well.

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Do you have a version I can read that is bigger than 8kb or whatever that is?

Bob Newhart is probably the greatest living comedian, unless he's dead of course.

Influenced many of the current greats and best friend of Don Rickles too.

There are a lot of funny people listed above. Who is the funniest is of course subjective. I want to add Rocky the Dog for his Sunday Funnies thread on F16

maroon barchetta said:

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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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DallasTeleAg said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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Too late for that!

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Was literally scrolling down to post this exact thing.

My favorite comic is God, because he created everything and therefore created comedy!

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Well if, per Gary Larson and The Far Side, God did this:

then certainly He created comedians as well.

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Do you have a version I can read that is bigger than 8kb or whatever that is?

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How about Red Skelton. Saw him at G Rollie in 1982.

The king of quick wit: Groucho Marx

He was a one-trick pony, but Foster Brooks was brilliant.

Trey Parker

Betty White

John Cleese

I have to vote for Conan- he is still pretty funny and he has written so much over the last 40+ years. Plus, as mentioned, he is so quick witted even when not on cue cards.

If you like Dana Carvey and David Spade they have a pretty good podcast with weekly guests called "Fly on the Wall". They have had Chris Rock, Tom Hanks, Conan, etc as guests.

KidDoc said:

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I have to vote for Conan- he is still pretty funny and he has written so much over the last 40+ years. Plus, as mentioned, he is so quick witted even when not on cue cards.

If you like Dana Carvey and David Spade they have a pretty good podcast with weekly guests called "Fly on the Wall". They have had Chris Rock, Tom Hanks, Conan, etc as guests.

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Speaking of which, I have always found David Spade to be hilarious.

KidDoc said:

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I have to vote for Conan- he is still pretty funny and he has written so much over the last 40+ years. Plus, as mentioned, he is so quick witted even when not on cue cards.

If you like Dana Carvey and David Spade they have a pretty good podcast with weekly guests called "Fly on the Wall". They have had Chris Rock, Tom Hanks, Conan, etc as guests.

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That podcast gave me the idea to start this thread. I enjoy it.

You guys nailed the all-time greats, but don't forget some of these other greats


The entire cast of Whose line is it anyway?
The Monty Python crew
Rodney Carrington
Jeff Dunham
Jeff Foxworthy
Bill Engvall
Burt Kreischer
Sam Kinnison
Young Ellen DeGeneres
Steven Wright
Gallagher
Bill Cosby

So many of these people had me doubled over in pain from laughing...