Do you have a favorite comedian? Which performers do you find thinking about after the show? What is it that attracts you to them? Do you like them on a "He speaks the truth" level or a "That person is me," kind of way?

Which ones will you watch no matter what they do?

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

Answers

I love Whoopie Goldberg! She is so funny. she has great facial expressions and she is just a riot. I also Love Adam Sandler. He is so funny. I love it when he sings.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

HA! Don't get me started... Oh man, what I wouldn't give to be living the life I was living way back when I started geeking. Heh. One of my first online nics EVER was Pnchlne Chic - because I used to go to the Punchline Comedy Club like EVERY week. I *love* comedy.

Or used to.

I prolly still do, I'm just REALLY out of the loop.

And I don't care how much he can work a crowd - I don't like Chris Rock. Hang me now.

I *do*, however, absolutely *adore* Greg Proops, Ryan Stiles, Tree, Johnny Steele, Henry Cho, Sue Murphy, Greg Durnham(sp?) and Peanut, Jake Johanssen, and Robert Hawkins (I think that was his name - he's local).

I have seriously considered getting cable again JUST for the comedy channel... but in all the times I've watched it at my parents' house in the past year, it really seems like they don't play as many of the comedy specials as they used to. So I don't know if it would even be worth it.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

I always loved Dana Gould's stuff about his girlfriend on the answering machine and him throwing tangerines at some tweeting bird keeping him awake. And Brian Regan's fishing tape thing always cracks me up. I think they both have excellent characterization in those bits which just adds to the inanity of the material.

I've seen Dana Carvey's special about 4001 times. I think that says enough.

I used to like Caroline Rhea's imitations of her mother: "Where'd you get that, Talbot's? Love it!" but now she's a sitcom person and not as funny...

The Bert Fershners are usually funny and I met some of them at a ComedySportz thing, so I have a small attachment there. UCB is great too although my old director used to rave about them a lot and since I hate him, I will always equate them with him.

Of course, my favorite comedians are in my own troupe because I have seen them get better and can work with them al

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

Oh foo... I forgot to mention my undying crush on Marc Maron. I've been enamored with him since he hosted Short Attention Span Theater...

Ok, I promise not to post anymore messages even if I see other people reminding me of other people I like.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

I have a few favorites, but honestly live, Carlos Mencia has rocked my world on several occasions. Every time I see him (thrice at the Latino Laugh Fest in June), I went home with my stomach hurting and my cheeks sore. He just goes on and on and just like Chris Rock, he can abuse the audience and still have it behind him because he speaks the truth and doesn't hold back. That's the key, I think -- supreme confidence that you are funny and that the audience is going to laugh whether they want to or not.

On TV, I really like Rowan Atkinson, Ray Romano (HE'S AWESOME! And he's the opposite -- very self-conscious, but he's been doing it for so many years he's got it down to a science), Larry Miller, Louis CK, John Stewart, old Eddie Murphy, Gilbert Gottfried (am I the only person that likes him?), Norm McDonald, Kevin Meany, Lew Schneider, Jonathan Katz... lots of good stand-ups out there, but most have been doing it for a long time.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

Denis Leary has to be my all time favorite comic. He has a knack for finding exactly how I feel about an issue but am too afraid to say anything about and annouce it to the world. Sure, they're his opinions too, but they so mirror mine that sometimes it's scary.

Then there's Adam Sandler and Pauly Shore. Both are geniuses(sp?) in my mind. My friends think I'm crazy, but I've loved everything they've done.

And then there's Dana Carvey, David Spade, Paula Poundstone, pretty much everyone on "Who's Line is It Anyway?" and Henry Rollins. Granted, Rollins isn't a "comedian", but if you've heard any of his spoken word stuff you'd understand. He's a funny guy!

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

I never made my list. Here's the closest I could get, with some I know I just forgot.

Dana Carvey was the first one I remember watching as a kid. I still giggle at Chopping Broccoli.

Robin Williams. Whoopi Goldberg. Dennis Miller. Dennis Leary. Paula Poundstone. Old Ellen DeGeneres. Bill Hicks. Janeane Garafalo. Margaret Cho. Jerry Seinfeld. Johnathan Katz. David Cross. David Spade. Jake Johansen. Chris Rock. Bill Cosby. Adam Sandler. Billy Connolly. Andy Kaufman. Andy Kindler. Norm MacDonald. Craig Shoemaker. Steven Wright. Brian "Dunky" Dunkleman (that's for you Aspen kids 'in the know'). Larry Miller.

And, you know, Eddie Izzard now.

Stay tuned. In an hour or so I will post my least favorites.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

I want to see your least favorites, Pamie.

I like everyone you mentioned except Adam Sandler. Can't stand him. I'm not a huge Bill Hicks fan, either, but that may be because I've heard his routines ripped off so many times they just sound cliched to me. And there are some people who are hilarious on stage but annoying as hell in movies or sitcoms -- although maybe that's the material, who knows. Jerry Seinfeld goes in that category for me.

In any event, I think you could call all the readers of this page your bitches, and we'd just fall down laughing. We'd beg for more. We'd say, "Yes, Pamie, we're your bitches!"

And I just realized I know Optic, because I knew Pnchline Chic. Wacky.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

My favorite comedians of all time are, in order: Henry Rollins (I consider him to be a comedian, too), Emo Phillips, Steven Wright, and Paula Poundstone.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

I'd have to say Chris Rock is one of my favorite comedians, he makes me laugh til I want to pee myself. Nevermind the fact that he curses like there's no tomorrow, his jokes are the truth, I think that's what makes them so funny. And, he's really talented. I love Andy Kaufman too. A couple months ago, Comedy Central ran some special on him like 12 times a day, it was worth it each time to watch. Amazon.com is selling his "Breakfast with Blassie" tape again. Yesss. I don't find most female comedians funny, at all. However, Janeane Garafalo is probably the exception to the rule. She doesn't make me pee-pee laugh, but she says a lot of shit that's true and she's so honest and sardonic, you can't help but like her. Margaret Cho is ok sometimes. The only thing I really like is how she makes fun of her mom. I was introduced to the wonder that is Bill Hicks when I moved here. It's really sad that such an original funny guy had to die so young. At I Love Video on Guadalupe, one of his tapes has a sticker on the outside that says something like, "why god why? why do all the good ones die young? Vanilla Ice, alive" and it names off all these annoying people that are still alive. I found that amusing. I've seen Louis CK on Conan a bunch of times and he makes me laugh pretty hard each and every time he's on. I've never caught him anywhere else so if anyone knows where else I can find him, let me know.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

I watched Chris Rock all the way through but although I liked some of his lines the show just didn't make me laugh that much.

Ah, but Eddie Izzard... brilliant just brilliant... My son was channel surfing and I came into the living room as he paused on HBO. What the hell has Billy Connolly done to his hair? I wondered for a brief moment before I realized it was not Billy... Izzard was absolutely amazing... You are right about the bit done in French... I have some vague memory of college French many many many years ago but my 14 yr old son only has only had the brief exposure of ten weeks worth of 8th grade French (which he didn't like and didn't study) and he was able to follow the whole thing. I hadn't realized they were still showing it, I'm going to have to check my tv listings because I'd love to see it again (including the ten or fifteen minutes at the beginning that we missed).

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

Okay, least favorites:

Jeff Foxworthy, Sinbad, Wendy Liebman (I think is her name), Laura Kightlinger, Maryellen Hooper, Andrew Dice Clay.

much smaller list. all of these people lose me on personality and personality alone. Well, I just don't think Laura Kightlinger is funny, but that's just me, I'm sure.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

Oh, and does anyone think Bob Hope is funny? Ever? Like ever?

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

I think context is important in how a camedian is able to get laughs. Like the guy in the Andy Rooney slot in the new 60 Minutes II, how he goes off on people complaining about the cost of a letter going up a penny. He ends it on, "...People, it costs $3.50 to rent a porno movie ... or so I've heard! Stone-faced Dan Rather does an interview with Slobodan Milosevic's wife, and this guy ends the show standing next to a mailbox with no audience, on a porno movie joke. I still can't stop laughing.

I guess that's why the truth becomes important in comedy. They need it to distract the audience from the expectation to laugh that they bring with them when they are watching the show, before they make a funny switch to restore perspective. Hell, does this make sense to anyone but me?

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

The one comedian who could make me laugh every time was Emo Philips. A lot of people absolutely hate him, but I think he's brilliant.

Elayne Boosler (sp??) is also one of my favorites. She has the funniest routines and doesn't rely so much on personality. Rita Rudner is personality defined. Her stuff isn't so funny on its own, but I think her delivery is dead-on perfect.

Eddie Izzard instantly became one of my favorites five minutes into his routine. He just plain knows he's good, and relaxes totally into his routine. You don't get that sense of "am I funny? am I funny?" that you do from other comedians.

I also adore Kate Clinton and Georgia Ragsdale, but that may be because I've done stuff with them. (Name dropping!!!!) :)

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

Other than that, does anyone know why I think Norm MacDonald's weiner dog stories are so funny? He'll talk about his weiner dog developing a bloodlust while he's sleeping, and it'll spend the night nibbling on his neck until it gets a hold of a vein, and he'll wake up in the morning and he'll motion knocking the weiner dog away and go, "Aah! get away from me weiner dog!" He's so... what's the word I'm looking for?

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

Also, when Larry Miller first did his Five Stages Of Alcoholism when Johnny Carson was still doing the Tonight Show, I still think it was funniest 10 minutes I ever saw. I don't think he's gotten the performance of that story as good as he did that night.

I like how he says a very wordy line very fast, but you still know what he's saying, like how the character flip-flops on artificial turf as he becomes more drunk, or when people become more and more attractive to him until he sees a waitress with fresh stitches in her head, and you say to yourself, "Someday I'm going to marry that girl!" The more pathetic he becomes, the funnier he is for holding onto his dignity.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

Oh my gosh! I didn't know if anyone else had even heard of Eddie Izzard- my boyfriend and I watched him one night with his mom. I have never laughed so hard, and it was all pretty clean, too. Not too much horrible language (there were a few exceptions, but they were funny because of his British accent!) and no gross talk. He's one of the only comedians I've ever seen who can talk about politics and history (my two least favorite subjects) and make me laugh- hard.

I also like Paula Poundstone- I love when she talks about her cats! It cracks me up...and she's so sarcastic, just like me.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

Larry Miller is a god. I even like it when he's a bit player in movies like "the Nutty Professor" and "10 Things I Hate About You." They show his special on Com. Central all the time and it's one of the funniest half hours I've seen on stand up.

I really don't like Sinbad, Gallagher (YUCK!!! I outgrew him when I was like 9 and they used to show his crap on Showtime), Sandra Bernhardt (is she a comedian? actress? slut? performance artist? what the hell is she supposed to be?), Paula Poundstone (her Tonight Show stuff was REALLY weak), Jeff Foxworthy, that Boston Common jerk or Bill Maher, although I like him as a host on P.I.

Definitely Jake Johansen (Pamie jogged my memory), Conan O' Brien (A GOD, I TELL YOU!), David Cross, old Drew Carey, Garry Shandling and an old Jim Carrey stand up special I saw that was nothing short of brilliant.

Man, makes me wanna go check out some Velveeta Room standup.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

i am a HUGE fan of Janeane Garafalo. her style is raw and rude and she talks like a bitter woman.. i find that hysterical. my next fav would have to be margaret cho.the stuff about her family rolls me. as for the men.. i have to say i love john leguizamo.. for the family stuff as well. i can relate more to his family than margarets though.. i am hispanic :) i must say though in all honesty, i prefer female standups to male ones for their subject matter.. i can relate more. stupid things men do, HAVING pms not just dealing with it, mothers in law, dating.... LOVE IT!!!!

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

I favor the classics, George Carlin, Bill Cosby and Buster Keaton

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

i, as well, loved eddie izzard from the first five minutes of his routine. he's an intelligent man, and to me that is an important quality in a comedian. like when he was talking about the american revolution (or what ever it was, i can't remember... good thing i like smart comedians, since i'm obviously dumb...) and he was like, "you people haven't a fucking clue what i'm talking about, have you?" loved that.

also on the list of favorites: janeane garofolo, chris rock, margaret cho, john leguizamo, molly shannon and the late chris farley.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

I've always at least partially like just about any comedian. It's just a love of the whole concept, I guess. I remember when Comedy Central first came on and they showed stand-up constantly, instead of horribly unfunny movies like Cannonball Run 3 or anything with C. Thomas Howell. Oh, how I miss the simple goodness of it all.

My favorites were always those I considered to be intelligent: Dennis Miller (I used to try to memorize his rants, and then would have to ask my parents to explain most of the references), Dennis Leary, George Carlin. Recently, however, I've come to truly appreciate the genius of idiocy. While watching the Waterboy, I turned to my girlfriend and said "There's just nothing funnier than a raging tard," and I think that's true.

Eddie Izzard is a true genius and an exceptionally talented performer. Chris Rock is just damn funny; although I do have respect for his intelligence as well. Who else could make a joke about guys hiding pornos that then led to my girlfriend and I having a rather frank discussion about masturbation?

What I don't like is comedians who seem to just have one gag that they pull over and over. I think it's Wendy Leibman who will start with a normal statement, then says the "crazy, off-the-wall" line under her breath. That gets to me after a while. When did Margaret Cho reduce her act to just immitating her mother? I'm sure she has more material, but every time I see her on a talk show that's all she does. Then there's prop comics, the bane of the thinking man.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

Ok, for the classics: Danny Kaye, Charles Chaplin. those men could do everything, sing, dance, physical comedy. Of course the Marx Bros.
and for standup I guess I'm a local girl: Steven Wright, Jimmy Tingle. And I agree totally with Katrina -- Henry Rollins is a great standup comedian.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

I remember hearing that Dennis Miller was a 28 year old ice cream truck driver before he ever considered entering a stage. Is that nuts or what?

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

Jimmy Tingle! I think that's the guy on 60 Minutes II

I don't think Chaplin is that funny, but as a storyteller he's influenced everyone who came after him. Like Bob Dylan or James Joyce: I can't stand them, but everyone I like is influenced by them.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

I think Margaret Cho is so funny. She's off-Broadway right now with a new show and word is, it's very funny. She talks about how TV execs were horrible to her and she lost 30 pounds in three weeks and was like a total drunk slut for awhile. I'm sure she makes that funny. I also love Kathy Griffin, for the story about hitting on Hansen alone. I love Dennis Miller and I think that George Wallace guy is hysterical. His act has cobwebs but he's so exuberant.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

I absolutely loved Eddie Izzard. My husband and I caught him one night after watching a gut-wrenching performance of "Peggy Sue Got MarriedTHE MUSICAL." We needed to laugh and Eddie was marvelous. I also enjoy Bill Cosby, Jake Johanson, Dana Gould and Janeane Garofalo. They all are very real and I can relate to everything they talk about. I've had the pleasure of seeing Jake and Dana live and both had me laughing until I cried.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

I just wanted to say, I saw the Eddie Izzard show that pamie is talking about. My husband is the TV Controller - he picks the shows, and if I don't like them, then I don't watch them. Anyway, I came into the living room and he was watching the TV and there was this guy on a stage wearing this absolutely beautiful chinese dress, and then then camera did a close-up shot, and all I could think was:

My. God. That is the ugliest transvestite I've ever seen.

I started watching the show just out of sheer curiosity. But by the time it ended, I didn't care what he looked like anymore, because he was just so damn funny. The French bit was brilliant, though I only understood it because it was a French translation of something he'd done a bit earlier in the show in English. But I think it would have been at least a little funny even if I hadn't known what was going on.

He was a wonderful, fantastic, and for godsake intelligent comedian.

Also, that Chinese dress was beautiful.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

I like most of what you guys have said, but you forgot DAVE CHAPPELLE, DAVE CHAPPELLE, DAVE CHAPPELLE!!! Oh, but he kicks ass. Half Baked was a great movie. He ain't the only one I like, but he is high (get it?) on the list right now. Also, Guillermo Diaz is more of an actor, but he rocks, too.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

Speaking of comedians, the FX channel is rerunning all 13 episodes of the "Ben Stiller Show" that was on Fox back in '92 I think. It starts at 6pm eastern time this sunday (August 1) If you have never watched it, and almost no one did before Fox canned it, you really should. Brilliant sketch comedy, the best thing this side of Kids in the Hall. The cast featured Janeane Garofolo, Andy Dick, Bob Odenkirk, among others.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

Tracy Ullman, Robin Williams, Whoppi, Dana Carvey, those AbFab ladies, John Cleese (Fawlty Towers especially)... Chris Rock, George Carlin, Jonathan Winters, Tim Conway, Lenny Bruce... when I was a kid I was in love with Mort Sahl, of all people. :)

Judy

http://www.judywatt.com

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

Jimmy Tingle is the guy on 60 Minutes II. He endorsed my organization's campaign finance reform bill up in his native Massachusetts and did a bus tour with us. So he's on my list by default.

Favorite comedian? Carrot Top!

Carrot Top...

Thank you! I'll be playing the Sands next week! Thank you and good night!

No really, I like a lot of comedians, but a lot of them wouldn't be around without some key people who changed the face of comedy, so those have to be my all-timers (in no particular order):

1) Groucho Marx

2) Milton Berle

3) Carl Reiner

4) Carol Burnett

5) Lenny Bruce

6) Bill Cosby

7) Andy Kaufman

8) Flip Wilson

and Johnny Carson

There are a ton of others I love, but these guys were innovators.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

Hi Xeney! I knew you knew me, but I didn't know if you'd remember me. (=

Anyway... y'all brought up SO many that I remember now from Back In The Day... how the HELL could I forget

BRIAN REGAN?!?

Oh. My. Buddha.

He is SO freakin' hilarious. I LOVE him. I woke up my parents one night, oh so long ago, because I was watching his HBO Comedy Special and I was literally ROLLING on the ground laughing. I seriously FELL OFF OF THE COUCH. I love his lil' thing he does with grammar. I can't even remember it now, since it's been so long, but I *love* him, and am *dying* to see him again. I think he's the *only* comedian that I have WANTED to see that has NOT come through the punchline here in Sac. Blah.

And y'all mentioned all the oldies too. I love Dana Gould (was live in the front row at the taping of his HBO Comedy Special in SF a few years back. He jumped off the stage and into my lap - *that* was cool. Though, I haven't liked Janene Garafolo (SP?) since the same night. Her special was taped that night too, and BOY did she BOMB! I have never been able to get that image out of my head, so I'm sure I'm not liking her, unfairly.

As for those like Ellen and Adam and Norm - I LOVE their stand-up and wish they still did it purely. One of my pet peeves is when a comedian goes sitcom. I know that's what they're int he business for, but it just bugs me, because I find them SO much more funny as Stand-Up comedians than in sitcoms - or on SNL. The times I laughed the most at Adam Sandler, when he was on SNL, was when he was taking parts from his old Stand-up routine. Like the bit where his grandma won't let him in the door until he proves who he is. Hilarious.

And I grew up listening to Cosby records - seen him in concert. He's a great classic. George Carlin is the best. What about Gallagher? Aside from the "Sledge-o-matic" bit, I find him completely hilarious.

Paula Poundstone, Rita Rudner, Elayne Boosler, Caroline Rhea - love them.

God, the list goes ON and ON the more I think of it. (=

Oh, and least favorites: David Attell.

Saw him once at the Punchline in Sac - HORRIBLE.

OH!! How could I forget?! Oh my god... BARRY SOBEL! I love that man. FINALLY saw him live in SF, he is hilarious - "I'm.... not... the Beastie Boys, or RUN DMC, I'm not Jay Leno or someone named Sheky, I'm just the mother f***in' king of rhymes(?) there is none more funny, if this was las vegas you'd be throwing down money, see here I am, so please understand, that when I kick it up live, I'm in the promise land..."

Oh my god, I can't believe I remembered so much of that... (=

I should really shut up now.

Sorry. I was deemed by Mitch Mullany (not incredibly funny, but a hell of a HOTTIE) to be a Comedy Groupie, and I once proudly lived up to that name! (=

I'm shutting up.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

Barry Sobel! How could I forget his name? And don't worry, i was saying the rap right along with you. They played that bit so many times on television I couldn't help but memorize it. Did you see him on Dr. Katz?

And I do have a soft spot in my heart for Anthony Clark. He won me over with "Eat it, you stupid cow!" and how he takes his little weiner dog out to go to the bathroom-- "Just hold him out the car window and squeeze!"

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

Oh, and I love Ray Romano. Back when he was talking about his kids, "Michael has the scratch... and is a crybaby."

Dr. Katz was the perfect compliment to his material.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

NO! I didn't see him on Dr. Katz. Wah. I have only seen ONE Dr. Katz, and I don't remember who it was. Blah.

Mark Pita!! He is hilarious too! I love his bit about "When you're leaving an event with friends, as you're both walking to your cars, and you're a good distance away, start yelling gibberish to the other person."

I love that bit.

And yes, I do love Mark Maron and how could I forget Rondell Sheridan? I have a soft spot in my heart for ANY comedian that pays ANY amount of attention to me during their shows. (=

And I *used* to like Tom Rhodes... but ever since he cut his hair, he's just not as funny. I swear, I saw him in February, and I nearly fell asleep. It was sad, since I *was* really looking forward to seeing him again. He's a sweetie. (=

I swear to buddha, I will not post again - I don't care who else is brought up!! I am OUT of CONTROL! (=

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

What about John Leguiziamo? Spic-o-Rama is one of my favorite shows. I'm also amazed that no one has mentioned Eddie Murphy, he USED to be very funny, but that was a _long_ time ago in a galaxy far, far away

(lighing a candle for Sammy Kinison...)

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

I think I didn't mention John Leguizamo because I've never really seen him do stand-up. I've seen him do one person shows. They really are two different things. It's very rare for a stand-up to make you get all weepy-eyed about your family or what you want to do with your life or whatever.

Did he do stand-up? Did I miss something? I think he's brilliant, by the way.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

I agree about Leguizamo -- I see him as more a stage performer/actor than stand-up comic.

Ray Romano is fantastic. His show is pretty damned good and I read his book, "Everything and a Kite," which pretty much collects all of his stand-up material. It's not the same reading it, though. He's got such a distinct delivery, it just doesn't translate.

Remember the mastrubating in the shower bit with the fantasy cast of thousands? "You end up with people you don't even want in there, like, how did my mother get in here?!?! Security! Oh god, my mother. My fat mother."

His Dr. Katz bits were classics.
-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

Hey Pamie,

My college roommate is a PA on Everybody Loves Raymond (he's also Peter Boyle's stand-in if you can believe it). He also was one of Ray's groomsmen in that wedding episode way back a couple of seasons. He had the last line of the show when Ray skips his wedding, "Hey, where's Ray?" Anyway, my other roommate who is out in LA as well is dating Ray Romano's assistant, who he met through my other roommate who's at the show.

So, I don't know what good it would do you, but if you have this overwhelming urge to get a hold of Ray Romano, I can do that.

My 2 connections to Hollywood. Peter Boyle's stand-in and Ray Romano's assistant's boyfriend.

-- Anonymous, July 28, 1999

Tell him I think he's cool. Or, rather, tell her to tell him to tell him I think he's cool.

Maybe I'll cash in on your offer on a later date.

thanks!

-- Anonymous, July 28, 1999

oh my god, I love Anthony Clark. "Ellen please put me on that book chat show."

-- Anonymous, July 31, 1999

I can't believe no one on here has mentioned my personal god, Jeff Altman. My brother turned me on to one of his albums -- the one where he does the whole buttsteak thing ("Um, I'll have a salad, a Diet Coke....AND A BUTTSTEAK!!!") -- and I laughed so hard I nearly peed myself. He kills me.

I'm glad someone mentioned Larry Miller -- I've always loved that guy, even though I didn't know his name, nor have I ever seen his standup act. Every little bit part he's ever done has made me hysterical. Now that I know who he is I'll be watching for him!

I don't know too many "new" comedians; Chris Rock is about as new school as I go, but only because I'm so out of touch. I LOVED his latest HBO special -- talk about speaking the truth! I laughed so hard it hurt. I'm dying to see Eddie Izzard's show now; I keep searching on my digital cable and it's not coming up anytime soon, but when it does I'm there. I can't wait to see it. I love many of the comics others have mentioned -- and I'm talking about these people's standup acts, not other stuff they have done (although I probably like that too) -- Steven Wright (a god!), Janeane Garafalo (I want to BE her when I grow up), Elayne Boosler (first person I ever heard mention good/bad hair days), Rita Rudner (yep, it's the delivery), Ellen Degeneres (wish she still did standup), Jerry Seinfeld (hated when they took the standup snippets off his show, because that was the best part), Whoopi Goldberg, Adam Sandler, Dennis Miller, Carrot Top (yes I admit to liking him -- have even seen him twice in concert and he's just damn silly!), Paula Poundstone (although on a talk show she's really boring), and that crazy Judy Tenuta ("This is my plant, Robert. Get it?"). I could go on and on -- plus there are tons of comedic actors who I worship, like John Cleese -- but I'll stop making lists now!

My husband "courted" me when we were first dating (before I let him in my pants!) by playing me comedy albums. We'd lie on his bed (fully clothed) in the dark, listening to Bill Cosby's "Wonderfulness" and "To my Brother, Russell, Whom I Slept With," and Eddie Murphy's "Delirious," and just laugh ourselves silly. No matter how many times I listen to those old Bill Cosby albums -- and even his more recent standup -- I just die. He is a genius. I might not like all of his projects and TV shows or movies, but as a comedian, no one can touch him. And he keeps it clean. I love a good raunchy sex joke or a riff filled with the "f" word too, but I really appreciate when someone can make me laugh that hard by just talking about their kids or something. The man is a god.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 1999

(Um, I just noticed how many times I said someone was a god! Guess you can tell I'm, like, agnostic, or something, huh?!)

-- Anonymous, August 01, 1999

Hey, nobody mentioned Steve Martin! I just saw Bowfinger where he plays an aging Roger Corman wannabe, and gets all of his talentless friends to make his cheesy alien invasion movie. It should make us wonder what it would take for Pamie and her troop to patch together a low budget film, like Clerks, only with better performances.

I remember Martin doing a bit about how his cat would steal his checkbook, and buy $5000 worth of cat toys, but he couldn't return them, because they were covered in cat spit. And he would regularly kill on Letterman (when he was still on NBC). I remember he did a card trick; he would shuffle the deck, then they would show in slow motion the cheesy things he would do, like bend a card, and tear one half way down the middle, and tape a little flag on another one. Very funny dead pan.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 1999

Jerry Seinfeld. Gawd, I miss that show. I can quote from nearly any episode. Luckily my bf loves Seinfeld as much as me.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2000

Hey, I *liked* Wendy Liebman! (Uh, I think...that's her name right? I always get her confused with someone else.) Sure, she always delivers the jokes in that same self-deprecating under-the-breath manner, but that's the delivery. It's not like it's she's repeating the same joke over and over like an SNL sketch or something. Complaining about her delivery, to me, is like complaining about Steven Wright always being depressed. Although I'd admit that more than 10 minutes of Wendy could get quite tiresome. You've all mentioned a lot of ex-SNL alumni, and although I don't know if they ever did stand-up, my favorite two comedic actors from that show have always been Bill Murray and Phil Hartman. I'm a bit surprised they hadn't been mentioned yet (maybe because they didn't do stand-up?).

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2000

OH man, oh man! I loveLaura Kightlinger! She's like, my role model or something! It was all about her, in the first place! I was studying for a math test on a thursday night three years ago, and it was like 10:30, and then, since I'd seen the "Woodie Fairy" episode of Beavis and Butthead, I decided to flip to Comedy Central. Now, up until that point, Comedy Central was purveyor of all things estupeed and/or cheesy, at least as far as I was concerned. It had AbFab, which was absolutely lost on me, and old episodes of SNL from the 70's...and that was about as interesting to me as Bob Hope (that is, not at all). All of a sudden, this show, this "Pulp Comics" comes on. Hrmmm...now, what is this? Is this going to include the f-word, interspersed with gratuituous sex and violence, a la "Pulp Fiction"? No! It didn't! But that did not matter, because it had Laura Kightlinger! La-la-la- laura! Oh, it was an epiphany!

"Always keep your anger bottled up. You might need a bottle of anger some day when friends come by and don't leave."

Is it not ingenious? Yes, it is! More! Yes, more!

I dont need to procreate to feel fulfilled. To feel...like a woman. I can dress up in womens clothing to feel like a woman. And I have.

I asked God what was in store for me today, like I do every morning, and he said, Not so much that you couldnt turn your alarm off another five times. Thank you Lord, thats what I was thinking.

I was trying to buy a house in L.A., and I found that I had to ask myself a lot of adult questions, like, Are there enough outlets? Is there enough closet space? And, in the event of the big one, is this the rubble I really want to be found under?

OK, OK, one more.

Im afraid to give instructions in bed, because Im afraid Im gonna get carried away. OK, pull my hair, then touch me right there. No, to the left. Now, go outside and move my car so I dont get a parking ticket. Yeah, thats it.

See? I mean, it was all about Laura first, and then the Janeane Garofalo's, the Margaret Cho's, the Paula Poundstone's and the Craig Kilborne's (later, Jon Stewart, of course). It was like learning to read! It completely expanded my awareness! All thanks to Laura Kightlinger!

Favorite? Oh, yes, she's my favorite.

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2000

favorite: jon stewert, not only for his comedic talent, but he is one of the few hotties on t.v.-thank you for rescuing the daily show. after him, anyone who makes me laugh- i can't remember everyones name, i love them all. making some one laugh and forget about their daily troubles for a moment is a great thing

oh! carol burnett, gilda radner and gene wilder, steve martin, bill murry, sctv cast, ben stiller and all his friends...

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2000

MY FAVERITE IS THE ONE AND ONLY MITCH MULLANY HE IS A SEXY MAN. SORRY GIRLS HES MINE

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2001

I agree with Heather. MITCH MULLANY is so sexy! I hope I get the opportunity to meet him one day. That day will be a great day for both of us! :-)

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2001