Deathlok's Top 10 List

I was watching these clips today (I couldn't find the scene with the bar) and I started think. . . . Who are the funniest people ever. So I started trying to put a list together in my head.

I categorized the list like this. There are some comedic groups that are funny and although some of their parts are funny, some of the parts are not as good as the whole. In those cases, I just put the group.

There are people that I have laughed at over the years that when I watch them now, I chuckle and the comedic fire is gone. However, there are things that I see that I guffaw at EVER TIME. These are the people listed here. To begin:

Honorable Mention - Paul Lynde - Actually a lot of people who were on the original Hollywood Squares were funny. I recently got a list of Paul Lynde answers from Hollywood Squares and I was surprised at how funny and inappropriate his humor was. It was ahead of its time. And let's be serious, who among us, didn't think the best part of BEWITCHED was Uncle Author. . . .What Aunt Haggatha? Please!

10. Jerry Seinfeld - As for newer comedians, I have to hesitate and think, "Is this guy gonna be funny in 10 years. I have old comedy shows from the 80s that were side splitting whether I was drunk or not. Bob Nelson, Emo Phillips, Jake Johansson . .the list goes on and on. Where are they now? I do think that Billy Connolly is still really funny and he is Scottish, I haven't seen him do much (other than "Il Duce" in Boondock Saints. Seinfeld's show was consistantly funny and some were the tops in television comedy. His recent comedy is still really funny even though it's not a outstanding as it used to be.

9. Stephen Colbert - I love comedy that isn't just standup. The Colbert Report is a very funny show and it's not the jokes, it's the delivery. There are few people that could replace him with the same script and make the show work.

8. Dave Chappelle - Okay, so he went a little wacky. His comedy is great. It's so offensive to everyone that it becomes universally funny. His show was one of the few shows on television that are worth owning. It's a shame that the 3rd season never got off the ground.

7. Eddie Izzard - A guilty pleasure. Being new to the scene (relatively speaking), he may fade into obscurity. But as we speak, I owe all five DVD of his standup and, although some are better than others, I think that he is brilliant. He mixes base humor with extreme intelligence. Similar to Dennis Miller but with a British flare.

6. Don Rickles - I relate to Don Rickles. You see a lot of people today that try to reproduce the obnoxious, acerbic wit of Rickles that just comes across as rude. It's like he had a million insults categorized in his head and he just waited for the right situation to present itself.

5. Warner Brothers Cartoons Characters - It's my list and I can bend the rules to suit my liking. Not all of them obviously. Namely, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Foghorn Leghorn. I've seen these cartoons 100+ each and when I see them, or just play them in my head, I laugh out loud. Personally, I've always been a BIG Daffy fan, of the bunch. To quote Bugs, if you don't like these cartoons "Yoooouu. . .are a men'tal case."

4. The Three Stooges - One of the things that I find unique about The Stooges is that, despite repeated attempts, no one can ever repeat, remake, deuplicate, re-envision, or modernize the Stooges. Despite how funny they are, the comedy doesn't translate. There is a certain magic about it that is timeless and isolated in its humor.

3. Buster Keaton - The clips above are humorous. There are other clips that are fall on the floor funny. Take into account that there was no CGI and most of his stunts involved a chance of death. . . .Amazing. In the clp above, where the house falls on him. He actually had the front of a real house fall on him and using his Engineering knowledge figured out where the window was going to be. One Take! One mistake and he would have been dead. I have similar awe for Lon Chaney in the horror genre.

2. Monty Python - You can't pull these guys apart. I have spent a large portion of my life watching Python and things that have the members of Python in it. When I watched the Flying Circus in the late 70s (Oh. . shut up! . . like some of you aren't that old) I always thought that Cleese and Palin were the best. Years later I got to see Chapman live at the Comedy Factory Outlet in Philadelphia. He told exactly NO jokes. It was the funniest thing that I have ever gone to. He told stories about when he and Keith Moon used to hang out. He talked a little Python. I learned that the Silly Walk Sketch was actually written by Terry Jones and Graham Chapman and that they decided that Cleese would be the funniest to perform it. Based on that, I can't separate the genius that is Monty Python.

1. Groucho Marx - The Marx Brothers are genius. I own most of their movies and although I always enjoy them, I never get tired of Groucho. Groucho had a wit like no other. He is the funniest guy ever.

Everybody still here?? Well, what do you think? Am I missing anyone? Do you disagree with any of these?