Greatest Comedians of All Time
These comedians don't need to be the funniest necessarily (although they can be), but they should be voted up for also having groundbreaking or really intelligent ideas and/or great social, political or religious satire.
Robin McLaurin Williams was an American actor and comedian. Starting as a stand-up comedian in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, he is credited with leading San Francisco's comedy renaissance. He died in 2014. He was without a doubt the king of classic comedies. He made the world laugh & he was the funniest actor on Earth. His roles in Aladdin as the Genie as well as Hook, Jumanji & many more were gold. We still can't get over the fact he committed suicide & his loss has changed entertainment & the world forever. He was 63. R.I.P. to an irreplaceable legend.
Greatest natural comedian of all time. His talent has never been repeated or recreated.
Watch him & Jonathan Winters bounce off each other and you're gonna need some clean britches.
Watch his sketch on golf and you'll be crying of laughter in no time.
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Carlin was noted for his black comedy and reflections on politics, the English language, psychology, religion, and various taboo subjects. Well, obviously he's up here. He was the first comedian to make rants about things that he hated funny
George has no line and he is partying in a pub beyond the line!
He could pick the simplest subject and kill it, one of a kind.
Compared to Carlin, nobody else on this list is even funny.
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson, is an English actor, comedian, and screenwriter best known for his work on the sitcoms Blackadder and Mr. Bean. There are a lot of people in the list that most non-English speaking people have never heard of; but when it comes to Mr. Bean, everyone knows him. He's made the people of every generation laugh. I can't think of anyone else topping him.
He is the best of all times, debating about this matter is a waste of time! I wonder why Robin tops the list; is it because he is dead? because people tend to be extremely redundant when it comes to the deceased.
He made the world laugh without even saying much and he's also good with funny dialogues in his other movies.
This guy just defines comedy more than anyone else on this list.
Other comedians have to say something to make people laugh, but Rowan had done it. That's why there's no language barrier in his comedy.
Louis Székely, known professionally as Louis C.K., is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, and editor. Words the great ideas he has for jokes perfectly to make them as funny as possible. He is a "comic's comic" and he is just so down to earth and can talk about any subject. I don't agree with 100% of what he says but still is highly intelligent and just a true professional comic. Louie is a great show as well
Comedic genius. Top 3 standup comedians of all time, and a prodigious T.V. writer to boot. Along with Dave Chappelle, he's the only comedian guaranteed to make me laugh or think hard whenever I see anything they produce, from standups to T.V..
Definitely the best comeidan that is still active today. Extremely good at making people laugh.
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian American actor, comedian, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is well known for comedic roles in films such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask , Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, The Cable Guy, Liar Liar, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, ...read more. This guy should be way higher! One of the best comedians of all time
He is a giver. He gives himself all the time.
You can laugh by just seeing him!
He's just the best
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, playwright, author, and musician. Martin came to public notice in the 1960s as a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later as a frequent guest on The Tonight Show. His physical comedy is hyserical, and for a bonus, he plays a wicked banjo.
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the silent era. He is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry. Charlie Chaplin and Rowan Atkinson are two great comedians who are capable of making everyone laugh by talking little to no talking at all!
Was the first great comedian in the world! We should respect him for his tramp character! His greatest film The Gold Rush watch it and enjoy!
Chaplin was a genius on at least three different levels of entertainment.
He practically invented modern American comedy!
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, voice actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report.
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, producer, writer and former singer and manager.
He brought ideas for comedy into the mainstream and defined a lot of what comedy is today. Good number 1
The Newcomers
William Frederic "Bill" Burr is an American comedian, writer, and actor. He is best known for his stand-up comedy specials. Just... Just watch his opinion of Yoko Ono and you will see why this guy is amazing haha
John William Oliver is an English comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian, both in the United Kingdom and United States.
Christopher Julius Rock III is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director. After working as a standup comic and appearing in small film roles, Rock came to wider prominence as a cast member of Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s. This guy is so famous that I don't really have to describe why he is so good but I will anyway. His voice is one of the greatest voices ever, his ideas are just so true and his punchlines can just make an audience of thousands of people go psycho. This is because he builds up to his punchlines for so long that it creates the perfect amount of suspence and anticipation that would make anything he said funny.
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American comedian, actor, writer, singer, and producer. Murphy was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984. Eddie was the first comedian to reach the apex of celebrity. Raw and Delirious are both among the greatest standup specials of all time. Eddie is top 5 hands down.
Norman Gene Macdonald[ (October 17, 1959 – September 14, 2021) was a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer, and actor known for his deadpan style.Early in his career, he wrote for the sitcom Roseanne and made guest appearances on shows such as The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio. Macdonald was then a cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL) for five years, including anchoring the Weekend Update segment for three seasons. After leaving SNL, he starred in the 1998 film Dirty Work and in his own sitcom, The Norm Show, from 1999 to 2001. ...read more.
The greatest by miles for me. Of ALL time. He matched my sense of humor perfectly. Every other comedian misses frequently with me. Not Norm.
This list has no credibility. Norm, Rickles, Dangerfield, Cosby, Murphy and Pryor are all out of the top 10. This old chunk of coal has my vote as #1.
Put Norm in the room with any other comedian, he always comes out on top.
Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing material for television in the 1950s, mainly Your Show of ...read more.
Francis Martin Patrick "Frankie" Boyle is a Scottish comedian and writer, well known for his pessimistic and often controversial sense of humour.
Willard Carroll "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, producer, rapper, and songwriter. He is best known for his acting career overall. He has been in many popular movies, These include, but are not limited to, the Men in Black franchise, The Pursuit of Happyness, ...read more.
Michael Hazen James McIntyre is an English comedian, actor and presenter. In 2012, he was reported to be the highest-grossing comedian in the world.
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American comedian, writer, actor, playwright, and television producer.
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and social critic. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed vulgarities and profanity, as well as racial epithets. He should be no lower than #2. Richard Pryor is the god of standup. He was Chappelle and Murphy before Chappelle and Murphy.
Prior is so far beyond anyone else on this list it's hard to give any merit to a list putting him so low on the list.
Pryor is 1 or 2. Ridiculous.
William Melvin "Bill" Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. I always consider Hicks, Carlin and Stanhope to be the big three of intelligent, critical thinkers who should be president. Its too bad that Hick's career was cut short and he didn't survive long enough to see his predictions about the current world we live in be right.
Best comedian along side Carlin.
Laid the platform, his personality was the act!
The greatest of all time
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live.