The 32 Most Influential Stand-up Comedians of All Time

The 32 Most Influential Comedians of All Time – I’m aware that writing such a post may alienate a certain portion of my readers, but what you have to remember is any such list is subjective. You might not find one of these comedians funny and you may want a completely different bunch of people listed.

These performers have all been key voices in the solo comedy artform during the 20th and 21st Centuries. As a result of that, I wanted to be able to list them here on my blog because, sometimes on lists such as these, a comedian can be left off. Remember, this is my list of influential comedians. It’s not the final word on the subject.

Some of these names you may have heard of, some you may be hearing for the first time. Each is important in his/her own way in helping to advance and shape comedy and influence all those who followed.

I also had to limit the list to stand-ups only, otherwise the list would’ve been enormous. Other notably influential comics I wanted to include were Peter Sellers, Groucho Marx, Bill Murray, Spike Milligan, Morecombe & Wise, Monty Python and Larry David. But the list would’ve then covered sketch comedy, double acts, T.V. comedy and film comedy so I had to draw a line somewhere.

I have also tried to include video clips where I can, so that you can sample the comedian’s work if you haven’t done so previously.

So, in no particular order, I present The 32 Most Influential Comedians of All Time:


1. Bill Hicks
For being a comedic firebrand when we most needed one, for being an outspoken critic of our times, for reminding us “it’s just a ride”. For influencing Eddie Izzard and Sean Hughes. For providing “inspiration” to Denis Leary. Here’s a link to a 1m 36sec Bill Hicks video clip (warning foul language).

2. Richard Pryor
The father of modern stand-up, for being, in his own words, “a f**king legend”, for influencing countless comedians both black and white (and every other colour in the spectrum), for making us laugh at things we shouldn’t be laughing at. Here’s a link to a 6min Richard Pryor video clip (warning foul language). He also gave what many consider to be the most influential stand-up performances on the concerts; Live in Conert, Live on the Sunset Strip, and Here and Now.

3. Lenny Bruce
Often considered the grandfather of stand-up comedy (no Lenny Bruce would’ve meant no Pryor, no Carlin, no Hicks… the list is endless), for fighting for the freedom of speech, for introducing freeform jazz-like improvisation into stand-up comedy when most other comics around him just told jokes. Here’s a 5 min clip of Lenny Bruce’s second to last performance (warning foul language).

4. Eddie Izzard
For turning talking bollocks into an artform, for being one of those comedic voices that influenced all those who followed and for granting himself equal clothing rights and for being so much more than a “bloke in a dress”. For influencing Harry Hill, Sean Lock and Dara O’Briain. Here’s a 3m 41sec Eddie Izzard clip.

5. Woody Allen
For giving us endlessly quotable lines, for “shooting a moose” and kidnapping “the Burkowitzes” by mistake, for continuing and re-inventing the one-liner format made famous by comedians the generation before. For being the comedian that went on to create his early funny movies.

6. Ben Elton
For being one of the leading voices of the U.K. a satirical movement when we most needed one, for cramming in hours of material into his motormouth hour sets, for being one of the forefathers of the British alternative comedy movement that began in 1979. Here’s a Ben Elton video clip that lasts 8m 16sec (Warning Foul Language)

7. Billy Connolly
For giving us his freeform rambling storytelling style that has influenced countless comedians that followed. For not really knowing what his style of comedy is, for pushing the envelope when we thought there was nowhere else it could be pushed. For influencing Eddie Izzard. Here’s a 4m 34 sec video clip of Billy Connolly (warning foul language).

8. Chris Rock
For reminding us that comedy can be scathingly satirical and semi-autobiographical; for being controversial in a post-Bill Hicks world; for being as honest about himself as he is about others. I read an interview with George Carlin who saw an early special by Rock and realized he didn’t to take it up a notch. Here’s a 4m 29sec video clip of Chris Rock (warning foul language).

9. Eddie Murphy
For his great storytelling, his chameleon-like ability to become different characters his performance in “Delirious” and that laugh. For influencing Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence. Here’s a 2m 23sec video clip of Eddie Murphy (warning foul language).

10. Jerry Seinfeld
For observing the minutiae of life and giving us the “show about nothing” Seinfeld which was a genre-busting sitcom in the 1990s, for not doing another sitcom or forging a movie career and, instead, returning to stand-up. What a breath of fresh air. For influencing Kevin Hart and Judd Apatow. Here’s a 9m 50sec video clip of Jerry Seinfeld.

11. Bob Monkhouse
For his wonderful memory, ability with a joke and being able to relentlessly deliver jokes and one-liners and continuing a style originated by his idol Bob Hope. For influencing modern one-liner comics in the U.K. such as Jimmy Carr, Tim Vine, as well as the comics with that slightly naughty quality like John Bishop and Michael McIntyre. Making it “okay” to use fictional made-up jokes, rather than the autobiographical, confessional comedy made popular by the likes of Richard Pryor.

12. George Carlin
For picking up the baton dropped by Lenny Bruce, by having a great way with language (not including four-letter words) and for giving us great routines like the Seven Dirty Words You Can’t Say on TV (10m 37sec video clip. Contains foul language). He also influenced, among others, Jerry Seinfeld, Louis C.K., Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Lewis Black.

13. Mel Miller
For helping to “invent” the modern stand-up comedy scene in South Africa when one didn’t exist and when it desperately needed one. Need I say more? Okay, I will for being virtually a equal opportunities offender too, joking about ring wingers, left wingers, the Apartheid government, the ANC… the list goes on. Check out Mel Millers’ C.V.

14. Whoopi Goldberg
For her brilliant characters, her ability to improvise and her wonderful one woman show, “The Spook Show”, that launched her on Broadway. Here’s a 3m 57sec video clip of Whoopi Goldberg appearing on the U.S. version of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line is it Anyway?

15. Phyllis Diller
For those wild and crazy outfits and the relentless ability to deliver one set-up line followed by a dozen punchlines which landed her in the Guinness Book of World Records. For doing a great service to future female comics and going out and working as a comic when it wasn’t the appropriate thing for a woman to do at that time. Here’s a 1m 10sec video clip of Phyllis Diller.

16. Bill Cosby
For all those wonderful stories and characters and not joking about the differences between the races but joking about those things that we all share. For influencing Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy early on. Oh, and the decade-defining 1980s sitcom, The Cosby Show. Here’s a video clip of Bill Cosby (7m 33sec).

17. Steve Martin
For being a “Wild and Crazy Guy”, for doing his own thing with comedy, for abandoning jokes before the punchline, filling stadiums when comedians weren’t supposed to, for delivering bespoke jokes to the wrong crowd, for “getting small” and for walking away when he did. Steve Martin video clip (4m11sec)

18. Jonathan Winters
For being a wonderful improvisational comic and sharing his crazy characters with us all for inspiring Robin Williams (whatever you may think of him) and for bringing us Mearth. For also influencing Jim Carrey, Bill Cosby, George Carlin and others. Here’s a 2m 47sec Jonathan Winters video clip.

19. Alexei Sayle
For being the definition of the new comedy movement “alternative” when it was born kicking and screaming in 1979. For being the angry, radical, surrealist that he was. Alexi Sayle video clip (3m 36sec).

20. Steven Wright
For being a dry, laidback surreal comic with a distinctive voice and style. For having “a pony”. For doing amazing things with a one-liner. Steve Wright video clip (4m 18sec).

21. Bob Hope
For being the laidback, one line king for 50 plus years, for influencing countless generations of comedian that came after him. For entertaining countless service men and women in every war between 1939 and 1991. (Although he became famous through radio and movies, I’m including him here because he started out as a comic and continued to perform live throughout his life). For influencing later comedians like Bob Monkhouse and Woody Allen.

22. Moms Mabley
For being a pioneering character comedian, who through her sassy and cantankerous stage persona, provided sly commentary on racial bigotry to African-American audiences. She was generally known for her folksy humor, and affectionately referred to her audiences as children. here’s a link to a clip from a documentary Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley.

23. Robin Williams
For his zany, man-of-a-thousand-voices improvisations, his ability to start from nothing and run an interview, his brilliant use of social and political satire.  For influencing Conan O’Brien and Frank Caliendo. For giving us Mork. Robin Williams video clip (7m 59sec – may contain offensive language).

24. Mort Sahl
For being a part of a radical generation of satirical comics to start out in the 1950s, for giving us a casual sneaker-wearing persona with newspaper in hand (the opposite of the suit and tie look). For changing the rhythm of jokes by making them more conversational and moving away from “my wife” jokes. For being, in my opinion, the unsung godfather of modern stand-up – Lenny Bruce (and Woody Allen) were both influenced by his style.

25. Andy Kaufman
For blurring the line between reality and the stage, for being inter-gender wrestling champion, for his “performance” of The Great Gatsby, for his Elvis impersonation, for giving us Latka, for leaving us a legacy which made some of us believe that he was still live after he had died tragically young.

26. Victoria Wood
For her combination of stand-up and comedy songs and essentially doing her own thing during a time when everyone was an angry satirist. For writing sketch shows, sitcoms, plays and musicals and succeeding in all of them. Here’s a 5m 13sec Victoria Wood video clip.

27. Lily Tomlin
For her wonderful one woman “solo shows” which provided us an array of characters across the social spectrum, for giving us quotable lines like “if love is the answer could someone please re-phrase the question” and for being, in Richard Pryor’s words, “a goddam national treasure.”

28. Max Miller
For being the original British “cheeky chappy”, for having a white book for clean humour and a blue book for adult humour and asking audiences where they wanted the jokes to come from.

29. Jackie Mason
For his machine-style delivery of politically-driven humour poking fun at the Jewish and American way of life. For having a hand gesture mis-interpreted on the Ed Sullivan show in the 1960s. For moving into different media such as video-blogging.

30. Rodney Dangerfield
For “getting no respect” and his self-depreciating humour, for setting up Dangerfields comedy club which showcased the talents of Roseanne, Chris Rock and Jim Carrey among others. They are amongt a group opf comedians who give credit to Rodney Dangerfield for helping them with their careers early on.

31. Jeff Foxworthy
For giving us his common man, blue collar comedy and launching his own signature joke “you might be a Redneck if…” which became a popular joke formula in the early 1990s.

32. Dick Gregory
For performing for both black and white audiences, for speaking about civil rights and for influencing Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce.

So that’s my list of The 32 Most Influential Comedians of All Time. You may agree with me, or you may disagree and that’s fine.

Addendum – 24th April 2008

I’ve decided to remove the previous number 31 position Ken Dodd because I have been unable to cite any sources for people who he has influenced. This is also the reason why I have not included Tommy Cooper. Obviously if new information comes to light then I’ll amend this post as necessary.

Addendum – 16th December 2008

After careful consideration I have chosen to remove Jim Carrey from this list at position #23. It was prompted by one of my readers and I have had difficulty finding people who were influenced by Jim Carrey’s stand-up. Movies yes, stand-up no. So for now this rubber-faced genius is off the list!

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  1. This list and links therein is a boon, thank you. If I may mention a generic omission;- ventriloquists. A vent is basically a standup comic pretending to be two people and while some entertain with incredible technique (like Arthur Worseley) others wrote incredible scripts: Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Ricky Layne and Velvo, etc.

    Cheers,
    Bob (and Horace)

  2. Hi Bob (and Horace)

    Thanks for dropping by, you make a very valid point. However, I omitted vents for two reasons: the first is that I generally saw them as a double act. The vent often being the straight man and the dummy being the comedic foil. And as I explained at the start of this post I wasn’t going to include double acts. Hence there’s no Laurel & Hardy, Morecombe and Wise, Abbott & Costello and so on. I had to draw a line somewhere.

    Not only that but I always saw vents as being a close cousin of stand-up and not the same as stand-up. Probably because of the double act nature of it.

    The second reason I omitted them was that I’ve never met a comic, or seen one interviewed, who said that they were influenced by a vent. I myself enjoyed watching vents when I was growing up on TV. People like Keith Harris & Orville, Ray Allen & Lord Charles and Ronn Lucas & Scorch, but I have never heard of a comedian being influenced by a vent. I’ve heard of vents being influenced by other vents.

    And the point of my post was to write a subjectove list of the comics who I think have influenced others whether they were stand-ups, character comics, double acts, vents or teams.

    Perhaps this will now change in the future. Especially with vents like David Strassman, Nina Conti, Paul Zerdin and Ken Groves. Who knows? To my knowledge Strassman, Conti and Zerdin have changed the way vents are perceived. I don’t know about Groves as I never seen his stuff.

    Cheers

    • Melissa on April 11, 2008 at 1:57 pm

    Really enjoyed this list, and thrilled about the powerhouse women you’ve included. Your mention of Mel Miller made me think that this isn’t really a very international group- which is understandable considering the origins of Western media and entertainments styles, but now I’m wondering about other nations’ leading comics…?

  3. Hi Melissa

    Thanks for dropping by and adding a comment. Yes, such a list is inconceivable without having those funny females listed. And I agree with you entirely, the list is based upon mainly British and American comics and their influences on others.

    The only non-British comic that leaps to mind is Takeshi “Beat” Kitano, who with his friend Kiyoshi Kaneko (or “Beat” Kiyoshi) became The Two Beats who were huge in Japan in the 1970s. Eventually Kitano moved into acting, writing, directing and producing hard hitting action movies and thrillers like Violent Cop and Hanna-Bi. But as he started as part of a double act “The Two Beats”, he cannot be included in this list.

    Perhaps this list will grow over time to include international comics…?

  4. No Bernard Manning?

  5. and Ronnie Barker??

  6. Hey Jeremy,

    Thanks for dropping by and adding a couple of comments.

    No Bernard Manning because I don’t feel that he’s had as wide-ranging an impact on different comedic performers as say, Richard Pryor. Even though you could both argue they were crude performers, I think we learnt more about Pryor through his routines than we ever learnt about Manning in his. Although I do think that Manning was brilliant with a joke.

    And as for Ronnie Barker, again a brilliant, brilliant performer. One of my favourites. But he wasn’t a stand-up. The list just covered stand-ups as I said at the beginning of my post, therefore he was ineligible.

  7. Tommy Cooper.

  8. Hi again Jeremy,

    I like your staccato comments. I’ll have to have a think about Cooper. In the meantime, if any others leap to mind please feel free to let me know.

    Cheers

  9. Great post. I really enjoyed it. I will have to bookmark this site for later.

  10. Wow, the late, great Lenny Bruce commenting on my blog from beyond the grave? Thanks for stopping by. I had a quick look at your official Lenny Bruce site. It looks good and I’ll have to bookmark it myself.

  11. Jeremy,

    I’ve decided not to include Tommy Cooper on this list as I have been unable to come across any comedians who cite him as an influence. This is the same reason why I have decided to remove Ken Dodd.

    Obviously this is subject to change if further information comes to light. Even though both comics regularly feature in Who’s Who Lists, I’ve found no information saying that they have influenced a specific person.

  12. Most influential Comedian of all time is Johnny Carson.

    1. Gave Stand Up exposure to a wider audience.

    2. Most comedians during that era, credit Carson with starting their careers.

    3. Had the confidence that Leno and Letterman did not have to showcase the new comic. Was fearless in his own standing.

    4. Allowed the comedian to get laughs, Never step, on a punchline.

    • Jason on August 27, 2008 at 3:22 am

    No Don Rickles???? The absolute legend that paved the way for all of the comedians on your list. Best improv stand up comedian of all time. Not only comedy but he was an actor,singer,and dancer. They just dont make em like that anymore…

    • Carlos on August 31, 2008 at 2:40 am

    not to offend – but your list is WAY too American-centric – four MAJOR names which should be at the top of the list and anyone who disagrees with these – do your homework –

    Benny Hill – almost any comedian younger than 40 grew up watching his show and it’s still shown around the world

    Charlie Chaplin – nuff said
    Cantinflas – (Mario Moreno) – who Charlie Chaplin consider the GREATEST comedian in the world – (look up the quote)

    and the grand daddy – OF ALL TIME –

    MOLIERE –

    like his contemporary, Shakespeare – Moliere’s plays and his history has transcended CENTURIES since the 1600s and been produced all over the world – the influence of his comedy can be seen in all the “20th century” comics mentioned on the list. Moliere is not a footnote in comedy history – he is a chapter or a book all unto himself.

    go read or see a play by Moliere & you’ll see – today’s sitcoms, stand-up, etc are all just variations of what Moliere did 4 centuries ago – including most importantly commenting on and ridiculing society and all it’s human foibles.

    the title of this posting said – THE MOST INFLUENTIAL OF ALL TIME – not just the 20th century and people like Leno, Letterman, Johnny Carson, etc, etc – while certainly funny – are not among the greatest of all time – they’re guys who had a good run and nothing more. And guys like Don Rickles ….. yeah right.

    reconsider your “most influential” and look back in the pages of history, not just your childhood or today’s TV guide and consider options outside of the United States, such as Cantinflas – now he was and always will be a legend, not just in Mexico but around the world. When he died – an entire country (and people around the world) mourned – his funeral procession spanned miles of hundreds of thousands of people.

    when people like Carson, Carlin, Pryor, etc passed – it was a news blurb – when Cantinflas died – it was a national day of mourning reported on by countries on every continent.

  13. Hi Tim,

    I agree that Carson helped many comedians begin their careers and also with all of your points. But I have to disagree with him being on this list.

    This is a list of influential comedians. Although he may have started as such, he came into his own on The Tonight Show. The comedians I’ve listed previously have all, in their own way, improved the craft or been innovative in some way. Carson from what I understand what a very solid comic but didn’t break new ground.

    Jason,

    Good name!! Nope, no Don Rickles. Yes, he has been a solid entertainer but I don’t think he had any direct influence on comedians the same way as, say, Jonathan Winters. No Winters, no Robin Williams. So Rickles remains off the list for now.

  14. Hey Carlos

    What a great comment. Thanks for taking the time to write at length. But why the hostility, man? It’s only a list. And there are 10 people on this list not from America.

    In my fourth paragraph at the start of this article I said:

    “I (also) had to limit the list to stand-ups only, otherwise the list would’ve been enormous… the list would’ve then covered sketch comedy, double acts and film comedy so I had to draw a line somewhere”.

    So I drew the line with stand-up comedians.

    Benny Hill, whilst great, was not a stand-up.

    Chaplin was a genius. But not a stand-up either.

    Neither was Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon nor even Cantinflas.

    As for Moliere, well, he was a playwright. Not a stand-up.

    One could argue that his plots came from the Italian theatrical movement the Commedia dell ‘Arte, whose plots, in turn, came from the Greek comic playwright Aristophanes. He was the grandfather of ALL modern comedy, more than 2,000 years ago.

    The Commedia also borrowed plots from Aristophanes’ successor Menander as well as the Roman playwrights Terence and Plautus. So, in turn, did Moliere.

    But none of them were stand-ups.

    And if you consider that prior to the 20th century there was no stand-up comedy as we know it today, then this list does include the most infleuntial of all time.

    Prior to this, as I’m sure you’re aware, there was vaudeville U.S. and, in the U.K., Music Hall. There were some solo character comics such as Moms Mabley back then, but you’ll notice I don’t include character comedians on this list either.

    Not every country even has a stand-up comedy scene. If you take China for example, Hong Kong is the only city to offer a full time comedy club, “The TakeOut Comedy Club, Hong Kong” at the time of writing. Hence the list is more English Language-based

    • Carlos on September 3, 2008 at 5:02 pm

    hey Jason (or anyone reading this)
    no hostility meant – just so you know. I type really fast so thus the length of my message.

    as for the names I mentioned – and yes you’re right about Aristophanes (as far as “known” printed history) – I was actually going to mention him too –

    and you’re totally right – but I think you’re not understanding my point – don’t limit your thinking to “stand-up” comedians – because in reality the names I mentioned – all did begin as “stand-up comedians” not in the modern sense but yes via vaudeville, etc –

    if you’re talking about influential people – give credit where credit is due – all modern “stand-ups” performers are – are typically people who did not grow up with wealth and they’re attempting to become actors seeking a sitcom or big film career but they’re too lazy or not interested in going on auditions (in the traditional actor manner) so instead they take another route to the same goal – but they’re not truly influencing anyone –

    15 – 20 years from now, no one will care who carson or richard pryor were – they’re foot notes. they names I mentioned – they’re influential. I mentioned Cantinflas the other day to a friend who is from Russia – she knew who I was talking about.

    the way I see it is – a comedian is a comedian – making a distinction between “modern” stand-up vs. comedy as method of performance – whatever style it may come – is the more important factor.

    and the names I mentioned all did perform originally in a style of “stand-up” via the stage – they just didn’t have a “micro-phone” in front of them but they did do stand-up – including Moliere & Aristophanes – in it’s truest form – standing on stage with nothing but your wits to propel you from joke to joke – that’s what stand-up is and that’s how they all started.

    again – no hostility meant – and I appreciate opening the idea that there is more than English language comedy. I guess really that’s what I was getting at

    the way try to look at anything in life is always from a multi-cultural and world perspective and I’m never shy to bring this notion forward.

    and as for opening up the list to any forms of comedy performance etc – nothing wrong with that – the names I mentioned still trump virtually any other name – ie. Abbot and Costello while funny do not overshadow Chaplin or Cantinflas. or if you ask average people or a “comedian historian” – who’s the most famous ventriloquist or who is Benny Hill – let’s be honest – people will know who Benny Hill is or at the least recognize his theme music.

    the names I mentioned (and others ofcourse) are the names that should be debated as MOST influential comedians (in my opinion) –
    they are known around the globe as masters of their art – like Picasso or Amadaeus – their legends will survive time

    modern “stand-up” is just a method of delivery – but in reality – it is no different than vaudeville or performing a play 100 years ago –
    you write material or improv something funny and perform infront of an audience trying to get a laugh and then book your next gig …. that’s the basic essence of living the life of a comedian (or performer of any kind) ……

    my two cents …. (and again no hostility meant) 🙂

  15. Hey Carlos

    Welcome back. Thanks for clarifying your stance, I welcome your lack of hostility. it wasn’t the length of the comment (that i appreciate), it was more the statements like “do your homework” that gave me that impression.

    As for Aristophanes all we have is printed history, so right now he’s the “guv’nor”. Who knows, archeologists may find evidence of a proto-playwright who existed before him. But at this stage that’s all we have to go on.

    i had to limit my thinking for the sake of the post, otherwise the list would go on and on and that’s just not practical for this blog.

    when you boil stand-up down to it’s essence what is it? someone stood in front of a group of people making them laugh. the mechanics are the same whether you have a microphone or whether you are delivering a keynote, writing humour in a play or improvising.

    i had to be farily specific with my blog, hence i chose only to focus on those comedians who have used the microphone who came after vaudeville.

    whilst there are a lot of comedians just in it for the chance of a sitcom or a movie, there are some who perform stand-up for the love of the craft. I think that Bill Hicks was one such performer.

    and i dig what you’re saying about looking at the world from a broader, multi-cultural perspective. i’m slightly different to some of my fellow Brits because I’m big on Europe (as well as the U.S.), I dated a German woman for two years and I hope to visit China one day to appease my childhood self who always wanted to go.

    see, i will have to disagree with you about richard pryor. i think his name will continue. it’s been more than 40 years since the death of lenny bruce and we’re still talking about how infleuntial he was. i think pryor has done more than bruce.

    they may even one day be regarded in the same way as the likes of moliere because we have recordings of their performances that we just didn’t have of the likes of moliere.

    granted a lot of people will know benny hill, or as you point out, his music. but i don’t think he can be regarded in the same way as chaplin or keaton. i cannot comment on cantinflas as i do not know his work well enough.

    what you have to remember is that comedy changes over time, many people don’t even think chaplin is funny now. they think he’s too cute or too self-important. many people watch one of Shakespeare’s comedies and do not even raise a titter because they don’t find the situations funny and the language can be quite distancing.

    i’d have to say that, in my exeprience, people like moliere, aristophanes, congreve and so on, are regarded as playwrights or perhaps even actors more than they are regarded as comedians.

    i do agree with you that there are more past masters than i have given recognition to on this blog. however, for the sake of this post alone, i have had to limit my thinking, and the list, to those funny men and women who grab a microphone.

    a lot of other non-english language countries either have a fully established stand-up scene or have one that is only just emerging. so therefore, they do look towards the U.S. and the U.K. for influence. maybe in another 50-60 years they will look within their own countries because they may have had their own comedic legends.

    i may talk about those others in future posts, but right now it’s limited the way it is because i’m a speaker and humorist and a lot of my readers are speakers, or aspiring speakers, and stand-up comedians (with microphones) are our closely related cousins.

    • Justin on December 6, 2008 at 6:45 pm

    Who did Jim Carrey the stand-up comedian influence?

  16. Hey Justin

    Thanks for dropping by. Good question. To my understanding he influenced Damon Wayans (to a degree) on In Living Color. Tom Shadyac, his director on Ace Ventura as well as new young actors Devon Werkheiser and Josh Flitter.

    Granted the influence on Shadyac and the two young actors may have come from the film of Ace Ventura, but Carrey incorporated a lot of his stand-up in the film

    These are mostly from memory, so I have been unable to cite specific sources.

    Update December 16th: – I have decided to remove Jim Carrey. My reasoning is in the actual post above.

  1. […] was one of the pioneers of comedy in the last century, so much so that I included him on my list of The 33 Most Influential Comedians recently. Carlin saw the role of the stand-up as social critic, rebel and commentator. Comedians […]

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