Comedians of my Youth
Jerry Lewis. I never really found him funny after the age of 10; even before then, it was a case of assuming he must be good since everyone else was laughing. For my money, the best work he ever did was in “The King of Comedy.” Casting him in the role of Johnny Carson was a stroke of genius. RIP
Rodney Dangerfield. He only had one joke.
Bill Cosby. His best routine was Noah. For that he deserves accolades, but for the rest – not so much.
Lenny Bruce. Notable for courageously lowering the standards of acceptable humor. George Carlin was both smarter and funnier, and while his routine about the seven deadly words made valid points, the airwaves are still a better place without them (the words).
Comedians Who Knew Their Limits, and One Who Didn’t
Jack Benny. He too only had one joke, but somehow unlike Dangerfield it never became tiresome.
Johnny Carson. Knew his limits, and stayed well within them. People underestimate his talent for self-deprecation. At his best not in the monologue but in his ad-libbing. Especially good with animals. He always treated them with respectful courtesy, and seemed surprised each time he discovered they had claws.
Robin Williams. Wish he had stuck more to mimicry, at which his brilliance and versatility were unmatched. Convincing as John Wayne playing Hamlet.
Jay Leno was matchless in his man-on-the-street interviews. New Yorkers stuttered when he asked them to name the justices of the Supreme Court, but instantly rattled off the names of the judges on “America’s Got Talent.”
Great Comedians of the Past Who Are Underrated and Deceased
Dick Gregory. Consistently funnier than Cosby. RIP
Lucille Ball. Simply the best. Living proof that whoever said women can’t be funny was wrong.
Dean Martin. Underestimated as a singer too, and did a top-notch imitation of a drunk. Though he played the straight man in partnership with Jerry Lewis, he was actually much funnier.
Ernie Kovacs. All the more enjoyable for being a rare treat.
Red Skelton. Though he could be sentimental and his sad clown was a cliché, he often reduced me to tears of laughter.
Peter Sellers. Yes he made plenty of forgettable movies, but “Being There” is so sublime that he can be forgiven for the rest. That movie showed what he was capable of. Died before his talent was fully explored.
Contemporaries
Among the current crop, the cream are Colbert, Trevor Noah and John Oliver. Paid good money to see Paula Poundstone when she came to Rochester, and would do so again. Depending on your point of view, Seinfeld is either part of the smugly self-satisfied Manhattanite set, or lampooning them.
Here’s Jerry Seinfeld on “Seriously Funny,” by Gerald Nachman. “This is another incredibly well-researched history, of comedians from the ’50s and ’60s. They really invented the form of stand-up comedy that I do. So that’s another fantastic book. It goes comedian by comedian. It’s fun to just be there with Mort Sahl and Woody Allen and Dick Gregory and these guys when they were starting out. My favorite memoir is Steve Martin’s “Born Standing Up.” I think that’s the best book about being a comedian, written by a comedian, ever done. Dustin Hoffman is a wonderful actor, I love him. But he can’t do stand-up. Because actors are acting. Comedians are talking to a group of people as if they are an individual. They are locked in on those people. They’re not really thinking about performing.” NY Times, Dec. 12, 2020
Obviously this is only a partial list, and will be updated as other names come to mind. If a comedian is not on the list, for example Woody Allen, it’s because I believe we’ve got him pegged about right.
Related: See also list of favorite movies, arranged by decade, elsewhere at this site. Also Academy of the Overrated (Film Section).
(C) Hamilton Beck
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