One of the best witty comedians? You decide.

shitar · Sat 30/12/2006 05:28:10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOnsH29qKzY

Evil · Sat 30/12/2006 06:15:03

He was, indeed. Pity he's no longer alive.

EagerMind · Sat 30/12/2006 17:49:44

Not bad. I was always a fan of this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lQbgIY5g7Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYffXv7jMYQ

shitar · Sat 30/12/2006 19:54:44

Wow that guy is good I never heard of him before.

Kinoko · Sun 31/12/2006 06:34:27

Nope, not even close. I laughed a couple of times, he's alright, but not "best" at anything, I'm afraid -_-

DGMacphee · Sun 31/12/2006 07:03:59

Yeah, Mitch Hedburg's great. Dead, but great. If you like his stuff, you might like Demetri Martin. (Fuck, I sound like Amazon.com)

David Cross is still my fave.

Also, been getting into Eugene Mirman lately.

R4L · Sun 31/12/2006 10:05:11

I hear Michael Richards is good, with his anti-heckling and such, you're sure to be entertained for quite a while.

vict0r · Sun 31/12/2006 12:36:23

I'm kinda with Kinoko here. Some of his jokes made me smile, but he was an overall boring comedian... Annoying accent aswell

Rincewind · Sun 31/12/2006 14:17:16

Mm, quite funny, although not hilarious. Gave me a few chuckles, though.
If we're gonna namedrop favorite stand-ups, though, I think I prefer Dylan Moran.
He's a bitter, smoking and ranting Irish man, sometimes nonsensical but always extremely funny, methinks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK0t-U_yOCY

Nacho · Sun 31/12/2006 15:05:03

What I know of his is that he was stupid enought to suicide by cocaine and heroin use... That makes him loss a lot of the (not many) points he had. Of course personal aspects of the comedian won' t make me laugh less if the jokes are good, but, for me, he is totally out of the "best comedian ever" race for that.

DGMacphee · Sun 31/12/2006 17:25:25

In defense of Hedberg, I find it very rare to see comedians these days whose material is as delightfully innocent as Hedberg's. Most comedians I see deal with the same hack topics that are supposed to be "taboo" but have been talked about on and on and on that they've become shitty and stupid. Typical sex, smutty and hey i can say the word fuck a lot hack comedy. Where as Hedberg at least can think about things in an abstract way, and that I can appreciate.

shitar · Sun 31/12/2006 18:35:28

Quote from: DGMacphee on Sun 31/12/2006 17:25:25
In defense of Hedberg, I find it very rare to see comedians these days whose material is as delightfully innocent as Hedberg's. Most comedians I see deal with the same hack topics that are supposed to be "taboo" but have been talked about on and on and on that they've become shitty and stupid. Typical sex, smutty and hey i can say the word fuck a lot hack comedy. Where as Hedberg at least can think about things in an abstract way, and that I can appreciate.

Wow I thought I was the only one that felt like that. I enjoy comedy I can watch with a parent or a child. Chris Rock always talks about race which was as entertaining as Adam Sandler's screaming antics (in every single movie he's ever made). /hi5

shitar · Sun 31/12/2006 18:37:00

Quote from: Nacho on Sun 31/12/2006 15:05:03
What I know of his is that he was stupid enought to suicide by cocaine and heroin use... That makes him loss a lot of the (not many) points he had. Of course personal aspects of the comedian won' t make me laugh less if the jokes are good, but, for me, he is totally out of the "best comedian ever" race for that.

Not sure if you live in the USA or not but Mitch was considered to have "a lot of points" amongst alot of comedy fans.

Snarky · Sun 31/12/2006 19:42:25

Quote from: the vict0r on Sun 31/12/2006 12:36:23
I'm kinda with Kinoko here. Some of his jokes made me smile, but he was an overall boring comedian... Annoying accent aswell

Heathen.

Mitch Hedberg's undeniable genius may take a while to sink in, his personal tics may be off-putting at first. But stuff like his musings about koala bear infestations and toast proves that he's one of the comedy greats.

"I sit at my hotel at night, I think of something that's funny, then I go get a pen and I write it down. Or if the pen's too far away, I have to convince myself that what I thought of ain't funny."

Well...it's all in the delivery.

As for the inane idea, Nacho, that his talent and legacy is in any way diminished by his drug problem and death, tell that to Lenny Bruce, John Belushi, Richard Pryor (survived to die of other causes) or Chris Farley.

Timosity · Mon 01/01/2007 02:47:30

I never remember the names of the good comedians you see on those comedy specials

and you don't get to see a lot of comedians on tv, unless they're really commercial (which doesn't mean they're good eg. Ray Romano)

I've found Ed Byrne entertaining
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-u1mQOHn1o

Demetri Martin is fairly clever

There's also some cute kiwi chick that I can't think of her name, If anyone could help out

As for Hedberg, I'd never heard him before but he wasn't too bad

MillsJROSS · Mon 01/01/2007 05:04:49

Ray Ramano's stand up is awful, but his comedy worked better as a sitcom.

As far as Mitch Hedberg is concerned, I think his jokes are brilliant. It's completely against comedy of today, which is mostly situational comedy. His one liners don't just rely on puns, but he had a unique prespective on life. It's unfortunate he died, especially since he was about to sign on HBO and do one of their stand up programs.

In regards to "best", comedy is a definitely a personal thing. I do regard him as one of my favorites.

-MillsJROSS

Steel Drummer · Mon 01/01/2007 07:04:40

Frank Caliendo is awesome at impressions. Search him up on YouTube (I'm too lazy to post a link, it's 11:01 here and I'm gonna hit the hay soon).

DGMacphee · Mon 01/01/2007 12:03:28

Quote from: Snarky on Sun 31/12/2006 19:42:25
As for the inane idea, Nacho, that his talent and legacy is in any way diminished by his drug problem and death, tell that to Lenny Bruce, John Belushi, Richard Pryor (survived to die of other causes) or Chris Farley.

Dig your point on this. You'd be hard-pressed to find very many top comedians who didn't do drugs.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Mon 01/01/2007 12:23:17

Yeah, I'm pretty sure George Carlin and Gallagher have been guilty of abusing many substances in their time, and we don't even need to get into Cheech and Chong. I don't condone illegal drug use of any kind, but their business is a rough one despite what many might think, standing before a crowd of strangers in run down clubs night after night under hot spotlights, sometimes for several years before getting a break. We tend to see them at the top of their game in huge comedy central shows, but they all spent years in trashy joints dealing with hecklers and surrounded by drugs ideal for short-term boosts in energy. Also remember that many of the 'old' comedians were making it big in the 70's, when just about every celebrity was guilty of some kind of substance abuse. Again, I don't condone this behavior or justify it, but it was (and still is) relatively commonplace with a great deal of performers despite them watching many of their peers die as a result. A movie I recommend that gives a glimpse (albeit a happier and more Hollywood version) of the life of an average comic is Punchline: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095927/