28 articles
Alan King
Alan King, born Irwin Alan Kniberg (1927-2004), American stand-up comedian and actor famous for angry cigar-wielding monologues on suburbia, Ed Sullivan Show guest, 1972 Oscars host, Casino and Rush Hour 2 actor.
Bert Williams
Bert Williams (Egbert Austin Williams, 1874–1922) was a Bahamian-born American comedian who led the team Williams and Walker and joined the Ziegfeld Follies in 1910.
Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart, born George Robert Newhart, was an American comedian and actor whose deadpan telephone routines led to sitcom stardom in The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart.
David Brenner
David Brenner (1936-2014), American stand-up comedian and former documentary filmmaker, pioneer of observational comedy and record-setting Tonight Show guest who influenced Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno.
Don Rickles
Don Rickles (Donald Jay Rickles, 1926-2017), American insult comic and actor nicknamed Mr. Warmth and Merchant of Venom; ad-libbed nightclub roasts, Tonight Show regular, Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story, Emmy winner 2008.
Foster Brooks
Foster Brooks (Foster Murrell Brooks, 1912-2001), American comedian and former newscaster famous as the 'Lovable Lush' drunk act on Dean Martin's Celebrity Roasts; quit drinking himself in the 1960s.
Gary Morton
Gary Morton (Morton Goldaper), American stand-up comedian and television producer, second husband of Lucille Ball from 1961; warm-up comic and executive producer of The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy; died 1999. Distinct from the British union official and other namesakes.
George Carlin
George Carlin (1937–2008), American stand-up comedian and social critic, famed for the 'Seven Dirty Words' routine, FCC v. Pacifica, 14 HBO specials, 22 albums, 4 Grammys.
George Gobel
George Gobel (1919–1991), American comedian George Leslie Goebel, nicknamed Lonesome George; deadpan host of The George Gobel Show (NBC 1954–1959, CBS 1959–1960), catchphrases 'Well, I'll be a dirty bird,' later a Hollywood Squares panelist.
Henny Youngman
Henny Youngman (Henry Youngman, 1906-1998), British-born American comedian and violinist, the "King of the One-Liners," famous for "Take my wife, please," rapid-fire delivery of 250 jokes in 45 minutes, and a career from the Borscht Belt to Goodfellas.
Irwin Corey
Irwin Corey (1914-2017), born Irwin Eli Cohen, American comedian billed as "Professor" Irwin Corey, the World's Foremost Authority, known for double-talk routines, the 1974 Pynchon National Book Award stunt, and a 70-plus-year career.
Jack Benny
Jack Benny (Benjamin Kubelsky, 1894-1974), American comedian and violinist whose The Jack Benny Program ran on radio 1932-1955 and TV 1950-1965, pioneering the sitcom with his stingy, eternally 39 persona.
Jack Burns
Jack Burns (John Francis Burns, 1933-2020), American comedian, actor, writer: comedy partner of George Carlin then Avery Schreiber, Deputy Warren Ferguson on The Andy Griffith Show, first head writer of The Muppet Show, co-writer of The Muppet Movie.
Jack Carter (comedian)
Jack Carter (born Jack Chakrin) was an American comedian and actor whose brash stand-up style made him a star of early television, from 1948 until 2015.
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason (Yacov Moshe Maza), American stand-up comedian and actor, 1928-2021; rabbi-turned-comic from the Borscht Belt, Broadway's The World According to Me!, Special Tony, two Emmys, Simpsons voice role.
Jerry Clower
Jerry Clower (Howard Gerald Clower, 1926-1998), Mississippi country comedian and Grand Ole Opry storyteller, gold-record album Jerry Clower from Yazoo City, Mississippi Talkin', Ledbetter clan tales, fertilizer salesman turned humorist.
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers (Joan Alexandra Molinsky, 1933–2014), American stand-up comedian, Tonight Show guest host, first woman to host a late-night talk show (Fox, 1986), QVC jewelry and Fashion Police brand, died after 2014 cardiac arrest.
John Byner
John Byner, born John Thomas Biener, is an American comedian and impressionist known for his impressions and for voicing the Ant and the Aardvark cartoons.
Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters (Jonathan Harshman Winters III, 1925-2013) was an American improvisational comedian, actor, author, television host, and artist from Ohio radio to NBC's The Jonathan Winters Show, creator of Maude Frickert, 1991 Emmy and 1999 Mark Twain Prize winner.
Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce (Leonard Alfred Schneider, 1925–1966), American stand-up comedian and satirist whose freestyle material on sex, religion, and race led to obscenity arrests, a 1964 conviction, and a 2003 posthumous pardon, making him a free-speech landmark.
Morey Amsterdam
Morey Amsterdam (Moritz Amsterdam), American comedian and "Human Joke Machine", gag writer and cellist-prop comic, Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966) and host of Broadway Open House; also wrote "Rum and Coca-Cola".
Mort Sahl
Mort Sahl (Morton Lyon Sahl, 1927-2021), Montreal-born American stand-up comedian and political satirist who pioneered headline-driven improvised monologues at San Francisco's hungry i, influenced Lenny Bruce through Jon Stewart, and derailed his career over the JFK assassination.
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller (Phyllis Ada Driver, 1917–2012), American stand-up comedian widely considered the first woman solo stand-up comic; creator of the Fang persona, Bob Hope collaborator, and concert pianist as Dame Illya Pillya.
Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx (John Elroy Sanford, 1922–1991) was an American stand-up comedian, party-record pioneer with over 50 albums, and star of NBC's Sanford and Son (1972–77) as Fred Sanford, influencing Pryor, Rock, Eddie Murphy, and Jamie Foxx.
Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor (1940–2005), American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer from Peoria, Illinois; five Grammys, first Mark Twain Prize, Live in Concert (1979), Blazing Saddles co-writer.
Shecky Greene
Shecky Greene (Fred Sheldon Greenfield, 1926–2023), American comedian and actor, Las Vegas lounge headliner from the 1950s to 1970s, opening act for Elvis Presley in 1956 and Sinatra, earned up to $150,000 a week, known for fully improvised acts, played Pvt. Braddock on Combat!.
Shelley Berman
Shelley Berman (1925–2017), Chicago-born comedian and actor of the Compass Players/Second City lineage, pioneered seated telephone-monologue stand-up; his Inside Shelley Berman was the first gold-record comedy album and first non-musical Grammy winner, and he played Nat David on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Totie Fields
Totie Fields (Sophie Feldman), American stand-up comedienne of the 1960s-1970s, Ed Sullivan Show regular and Las Vegas headliner known for self-deprecating humor about her weight; died 1978 after leg amputation and mastectomy.