Monday, January 10, 2005

Judging Funny You know me and lists, and since Comedy Central has put out its 100 Greatest Standups list, I have to make a comment or three. First here's the top 20: 1. Richard Pryor 2. George Carlin 3. Lenny Bruce 4. Woody Allen 5. Chris Rock 6. Steve Martin 7. Rodney Dangerfield 8. Bill Cosby 9. Roseanne Barr 10. Eddie Murphy 11. Johnny Carson 12. Jerry Seinfeld 13. Robin Williams 14. Bob Newhart 15. David Letterman 16. Ellen DeGeneres 17. Don Rickles 18. Jonathan Winters 19. Bill Hicks 20. Sam Kinison While I agree with George Carlin, Steve Martin, and Chris Rock being way up there, I had no idea Woody Allen ever did standup comedy, and if he's not well-known for doing so, he should not be on the list.  Same goes for Johnny Carson and David Letterman.  They're talk show hosts -- not standup comedians.  While they both may have done a little standup here and there, just like Allen who is known as a writer/director, Carson and Letterman are not known for standup comedy. Roseanne Barr number nine?  Ahead of Eddie Murphy, Jerry Seinfeld and Robin Williams?  She'd be lucky to make ninety-nine on my list. I always hated Jonathan Winters, so please knock him off the list.  Any guy who couldn't even make me grin doesn't rank top five hundred comics, much less top twenty.  Pretty much the same thing goes for Don Rickles.  And for the record, Bill Hicks should be top five, or at the very least top ten.  The guy was a genius.  Too bad cancer got him at 32.  You can see some clips of him in action here. Still waiting for the Top 100 Cheesy Standup Introducers ("Let's keep it going for <fill-in the bank with any comic's name>"). 5:23:28 PM     |

Rick James Of Course Unavailable For Comment California principal bans "freak dancing." 5:00:28 PM     |

© Copyright 2005 Alex L. Mauldin.