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.

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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!