From funniest to not as funniest:
- Eddie Murphy
- Richard Pryor
- George Carlin
- D. L. Hughley
- Dave Chappelle
- Chris Rock
- DeRay Davis
- Kevin Hart
- Ray Lapowski
- Sarah Silverman
Honorable mentions: Martin Lawrence; Sam Kinison; Mike Epps; Cedric the Entertainer; Steve Harvey; Mark Curry.
B”H
Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth 
None are even close to Billy Connolly.
Mind you I haven’t heard of most of them but they won’t be as good. Billy is supreme and anyway if Eddie Murphy is top of your list (actually the only one I know), it doesn’t say much for the rest … Eddie isn’t a natural wit. He reads scripts and he’s not very versatile. And he ain’t half as sexy as Billy.
I like some of these, but I would have these in my list: Rita Rudner, Brian Regan, Demetri Martin, and George Wallace. Regan and Martin are still performing, but Rudner and Wallace only do a little (I think).
Steph: From what I remember of Billy Connolly he was just alright. He did a brief stint on a TV show called Head of the Class when I was a kid and he had his own sitcom for a while that was mildly entertaining, but I can’t say that I’ve seen his stand-up comedy.
If all you know of Eddie Murphy is his movies then you’ve got to search out his stand-up. His specials Eddie Murphy: Delirious and Eddie Murphy: Raw are classics. No one could doubt his natural wit after seeing those!
I’ll leave all talk of sexiness to you. ;-)
No Bill Cosby? Really?
Ben: Nah, not for stand-up. If we’re talking sitcoms then he had one of the best of all time.
Nah I’ve seen eddie stand up. Not funny. Billy’s world tour was best. He leaves Australia on a harley davidson in the absolute nuddy. All you see is his bare bottom and his purple hair flying in the wind. But that wasn’t what was funny. And of course I told you about my working at the theatre and seeing his performances every single night – none of which were the same and each of which made me laugh so hard my eyes swelled up with the tears. And then I bumped into him outside the green room and he yelled to his gofer – ‘after those legs’ as I legged it down the corridor in fright. Long time ago…
Have you heard any of Cosby’s stand-up stuff? It’s at least worth an honorable mention.
Murphy was good when he was doing stand up but Pryor and Carlin both proved themselves over a longer time and a wider range. I remember thinking Cosby was great when he was doing stand-up but I don’t think his stuff has held up as well.
Rock and Chappelle would be near the top for me of those currently working. I also like Jim Gaffigan, Eddy Izzard, and Louis Black.
Steph: We’ll have to agree to disagree.
Matt: Yeah, I’ve heard it, but honestly I’ve never been a fan of his stand-up.
Vinny: I never got Izzard’s comedy. I loved him in The Riches though. It’s a shame they canceled the show. And I just saw Louis Black not too long ago. I hardly cracked a smile.
Nick and Vinny: Cosby was the king of stand-up. He was probably the first to have shows that lasted nearly two hours full of uninterrupted comedy (and he rarely cursed). “Bill Cosby Himself” is one of the best stand-up routines you will ever find (though it is just one example of his many shows). You can find a lot of his stand up on YouTube. He also used to produce records that were nothing but stand-up comedy. If your only knowledge of Cosby’s comedy is from sit-coms, you are really missing out.
Eddy Izzard yes!!
Kangaroodort,
I am old enough to remember Cosby in his stand-up prime and I remember how much I enjoyed him. Maybe I just can’t get his intervening sitcom work (as good as it has been) out of my head.
SLF,
My daughter turned me on to Izzard.
I have never seen Connolly do stand-up, but I have heard him tell stories in interviews that were phenomenal.
He does do interviews well. I remember him on Parkinson years ago and that was side splitting. And he played up well in various interviews when he came down under. Lucky Pamela Stephenson eh!
Ben: I’ve seen his stand-up but it’s just not the style of comedy that I personally go for. That’s not to say that Cosby’s not funny; on the contrary, the man is a genius, but I prefer a different type of stand-up.
i remember being in the hospital the night before my son was born….long, long ago before the bleep was invented or necessary…and watching Carlin on the TV. It was the closest I have ever come to actually ROFL.
Nancy: Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” is to date one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.