Famous Comedians Not Listed on the Comedy Central List of 100 Greatest Comedians
Famous Comedians Not Listed on the Comedy Central List of 100 Greatest Comedians
The writers of Comedy Central have created a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians. [1] Their list is heavily weighted to the very modern era, including numerous 21st century American TV talk-show hosts. Many are not recognizable names. The order demands debate, with Robin Williams, for example, being ranked 13th, behind Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, and Jerry Seinfeld, and Don Rickles, for another, being ranked 17th, behind those and Ellen Degeneres .
Comedy Central misspelled the name of Shelley Berman. They ranked him shockingly at 66, lower than basically unknowns such as Sinbad, Eddie Griffin, Bobcat Goldthwait, Richard Jeni, Colin Quinn, and D. L. Hughley, to name a few. None of them could deliver a joke like Shelley Berman, not to mention create a new style of comedy, the telephone interview. “Can I talk to your mommy?”
The following comedians were not included in the list. The vast majority are Jews. Their exclusion is particularly ironic seeing that four of the American-born entertainment products, the motion picture industry, the Broadway musical, and improvisational theatre, in addition to stand-up comedy, are creations of Jews.
Marty Allen*, the man with the goofy face
Sandy Baron*, also known as the friend of Seinfeld’s parents at Del Boca Vista
Joe Besser*, one of The Three Stooges with Larry Fine and Moe Howard
Victor Borge*, his piano playing was a hallmark of his act
Mel Brooks*, Blazing Saddles, The Producers, and Young Frankenstein are among his classic movies, began as a writer for Sid Caesar’s The Show of Shows, developer with Carl Reiner of The 2000 Year Old Man, “Knew Joan of Arc? I dated her!”
Jack Burns and Avery Schreiber*, performed as Burns and Schreiber, portraying a cab driver (Schreiber) and his fare on albums and numerous TV appearances
Sid Caesar*, perhaps the greatest sketch comedian of all time
Charlie Callas, the comic with a rubbery face and a beak for a nose, he was the master of sound effects and made numerous TV appearances, including almost fifty on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson
Charlie Chaplin (perhaps Jewish), the comic star of silent films, a giant figure of the film industry with world-wide fame, he was one of the most influential and popular comic actors of the early 20th century, father of Geraldine Chaplin
Myron Cohen*, his self-effacing Jewish humor endeared him to millions
Professor Irwin Corey*, the absent-minded, tuxedoed professor
Lou Costello, with Bud Abbott as the straight man of Abbott and Costello, they delighted millions of movie goers with their predicaments such as confronting Frankenstein, the highest paid entertainers in the world during WWII, the writers of the classic “Who’s on First”
Norm Crosby*, the Master of Malapropisms, a favorite of celebrity roasts
Dom De Luise, the TV actor was also a skilled comic
Curly Joe DeRita, one of The Three Stooges with Larry Fine and Moe Howard
Tom Dreesen, second only to George Carlin in Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson appearances
Larry Fine*, one of the two permanent members of The Three Stooges, which performed in film for nearly fifty years
Curly Howard*, one of The Three Stooges with Larry Fine and his brother Moe Howard
Moe Howard*, with Larry Fine one of the two permanent members of the slapstick trio of The Three Stooges, his actual last name, as those of other Stooges Shemp and Curly, was Horwitz
Shemp Howard*, one of The Three Stooges with Larry Fine and his brother Moe Howard
Bob Gould and Ray Eliot, the Bob and Ray duo spun straight interviews into uproarious comedy, the Komodo Dragon
Shecky Greene*, with Wayne Newton and Siegfried and Roy, a top Las Vegas act for decades, a “must-see” show
Stanley Myron Handelman*, the ultimate nerd
George Jessel*, Georgie was a early 20th century favorite
Mickey Katz*, the Yiddish comic was the father of Broadway star Joel Grey
Danny Kaye*, TV, movies, comedy, he did it all
Steve Landesberg*, the comic was a popular comic actor, with the notable role of a police detective on Barney Miller
Jerry Lewis*, the draw of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, he hosted the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon for decades and recorded his own singing album of Al Jolson tunes
Shari Lewis*, with Lambchops, ventriloquist with many Ed Sullivan Show appearances
Marcel Marceau, French mime popularized the genre
Chico Marx*, the Marx Brothers were active through five decades,
Groucho Marx*, also the star of You Bet Your Life with sidekick George Fenneman, “I love my cigar, too, but I take it out every once in a while,” to a couple with many children
Gummo Marx*, the Marx Brothers are widely considered to be among the greatest and most influential comedians of the 20th century.
Harpo Marx*, they performed in vaudeville, Broadway, and TV
Zeppo Marx*, the American Film Institute judged five of their films as the top 100 comedy films, and two, Duck Soup and a Night at the Opera, in the top fifteen.
Jan Murray*, the host of Treasure Hunt was also a celebrity roast regular
Carl Reiner*, a writer and actor on the Sid Caesar show, he is the father of Rob Reiner and co-developer with Mel Brooks of The 2000 Year Old Man
Mark Russell, the political satirist sang and played the piano in frequent TV specials
Allan Sherman*, Chicago-raised Sherman was famous for his comedy albums, “Hello, mother, hello, father”
Dick Smothers, the straight man on The Laugh-in and their own TV show
Tom Smothers, the absent-mind brother
Skip Stephenson, frequent Tonight Show With Johnny Carson guest, presented the cheerleader chant for his high school, Immaculata Conception, “give me an I, gve me an m . . .”
Jerry Stiller* and Anne Meara, the married comedy team of Stiller and Meara frequently appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, the parents of Ben Stiller
Jackie Vernon, made the vacation photo presentation a classic act
Jimmie (J. J.) Walker, star of Good Times on TV, he was a popular TV comic
Senor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist with Johnny, a face drawn on his hand with a toy body, made frequent appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and then later with the Muppets
Paul Winchell*, the ventriloquist with dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff was also one of the top Hollywood voice-over cartoon artists and the inventor of an artificial heart
- Jewish
