List: American stand-up comedians

by likeorhate

•  Albert Brooks

  Albert Brooks (born July 22, 1947) is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News. His voice acting credits include as Marlin, the clownfish father in Finding Nemo and as a recurring guest voice actor for the animated television series The Simpsons.

  

  26.6%
  

  28.2%
  

  45.2%
  
•  Billy Crystal

  William Edward "Billy" Crystal (born March 14, 1948) is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes When Harry Met Sally... and City Slickers. Additionally, he has hosted the Academy Awards eight times.

  

  30.1%
  

  37.6%
  

  32.3%
  
•  Denis Leary

  Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. He is known for his often biting comedic style and his chain smoking. Leary is the star and co-creator of the television show Rescue Me now in its fifth season.

  

  35.7%
  

  32.9%
  

  31.4%
  
•  Jay Leno

  James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno (born April 28, 1950) is an American stand-up comedian and television host. From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. , also on NBC. After The Jay Leno Show was cancelled in January 2010 amid a host controversy, Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010.

  

  24.4%
  

  35.6%
  

  40.0%
  
•  Woody Allen

  Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Konigsberg; December 1, 1935) is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, comedian, writer, musician, and playwright. Allen's distinctive films, which run the gamut from dramas to screwball sex comedies, have made him a notable American director. He is also distinguished by his rapid rate of production and his very large body of work. Allen writes and directs his movies and has also acted in the majority of them.

  

  33.3%
  

  25.0%
  

  41.7%
  
•  Freddie Prinze

  Freddie Prinze (June 22, 1954 – January 29, 1977) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He was best known as the star of Chico and the Man. He was the father of actor Freddie Prinze, Jr.

  

  20.0%
  

  50.0%
  

  30.0%
  
•  Rosie O'Donnell

  Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, singer, author and media personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family Vacations.

  

  33.3%
  

  26.7%
  

  40.0%
  
•  Bill Hicks

  William Melvin "Bill" Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian and social critic. His humor challenged mainstream beliefs, aiming to "enlighten people to think for themselves."

  

  50.0%
  

  0.0%
  

  50.0%
  
•  Milton Berle

  Milton Berle (July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an Emmy-winning American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater (1948–55), in 1948 he was the first major star of US television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr. Television to millions during TV's golden age.

  

  28.6%
  

  57.1%
  

  14.3%
  
•  Lenny Bruce

  Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was an extremely influential and controversial American stand-up comedian, writer, social critic and satirist of the 1950s and 1960s, whose comedy revolved heavily around the social stigmas and taboos of the era in which he lived. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon, the first in New York state history.

  

  20.0%
  

  20.0%
  

  60.0%
  
•  Robin Williams

  Robin McLaurim Williams (born July 21, 1951) is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. He has also won three Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and three Grammy Awards.

  

  50.0%
  

  0.0%
  

  50.0%
  
•  Eddie Murphy

  Edward "Eddie" Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, voice actor, film director, producer, comedian and singer. He is the second-highest grossing actor in motion picture history. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian. He was ranked #10 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.

  

  9.1%
  

  36.4%
  

  54.5%
  
•  George Burns

  George Burns (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996), born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer. His career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three quarters of a century.

  

  46.2%
  

  23.1%
  

  30.8%
  
•  Jack Benny

  Jack Benny (February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974), born Benjamin Kubelsky was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film. Widely recognized as one of the leading American entertainers of the 20th century, Benny played the role of someone comically "tight" with his money, insisting on remaining 39 years old despite his actual age, and often playing the violin badly.

  

  16.2%
  

  21.6%
  

  62.2%
  
•  Sandra Bernhard

  Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is number 97 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.

  

  36.4%
  

  45.5%
  

  18.2%
  
•  Margaret Cho

  Moran "Margaret" Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, gay icon, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race, sexuality, and sex. She has also directed and appeared in music videos and has her own clothing line.

  

  60.0%
  

  20.0%
  

  20.0%
  
•  Roseanne Barr

  Roseanne Cherie Barr, also known as Roseanne Arnold, (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. Barr won both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work on Roseanne. In addition, she has won six People's Choice Awards, three American Comedy Awards, and a Kids Choice Award. In 2008, Barr and the cast of Roseanne were honored with the Innovator Award at the TV Land Awards.

  

  11.1%
  

  33.3%
  

  55.6%
  
•  Andy Kaufman

  Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman (January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one. He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood, referring to himself instead as a "song-and-dance man."

  

  33.3%
  

  50.0%
  

  16.7%
  
•  Johnny Carson

  John William “Johnny” Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years (1962-1992). Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, and received Kennedy Center Honors in 1993.

  

  0.0%
  

  0.0%
  

  100.0%
  
•  Henny Youngman

  Henry "Henny" Youngman (March 16, 1906 – February 24, 1998) was a British-born comedian and violinist famous for "one-liners," short, simple jokes usually delivered rapid-fire. His best known (and oft misattributed) one-liner was "Take my wife—please". In a time when many comedians told elaborate anecdotes, Youngman’s comedy routine consisted of telling simple one-liner jokes, occasionally with interludes of violin playing.

  

  25.0%
  

  25.0%
  

  50.0%
  
•  Dana Carvey

  Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.

  

  100.0%
  

  0.0%
  

  0.0%
  
•  Adam Sandler

  Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, musician, screenwriter and film producer. He is the founder of Happy Madison Productions, a film production company that also developed the television series Rules of Engagement. After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, he went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over US$100 million at the box office.

  

  60.0%
  

  20.0%
  

  20.0%
  
•  Steve Martin

  Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician, and composer. He was raised in Southern California, where his early influences were working at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm and working magic and comedy acts at these and other smaller venues in the area. His ascent to fame picked up when he became a writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later became a frequent guest on the Tonight Show.

  

  40.0%
  

  40.0%
  

  20.0%
  
•  Jerry Seinfeld

  Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld (born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer, best known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld (1989–1998), which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons, co-executive-produced. In his first major foray back into the media since the finale of Seinfeld, he co-wrote and co-produced the film Bee Movie, also taking on the lead role of Barry B. Benson.

  

  55.6%
  

  22.2%
  

  22.2%
  
•  Steven Wright

  Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, witty, philosophical and sometimes deeply confusing or nonsensical jokes and one-liners with contrived situations.

  

  0.0%
  

  60.0%
  

  40.0%