The Stand-Up Comedy Hall of Shame and Green Bananas
Saturday April 17, 2004
Red Skelton, Danny Kaye, Jose Jimenez (Bill Dana), Victor Borge, Brian Regan, Carol Burnett, Jack Paar, Steve Allen, Edgar Bergen, Emo Philips, Ray Stevens, Andy Griffith, Mel Brooks, Senor Wences, Foster Brooks, Allan Sherman, Kevin Meaney, and "Moms" Mabley -- just a few of the many comedians snubbed by Comedy Central's ''100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time,'' which has concluded its countdown of omissions and high profile, self-serving hyperbole for Comedy Central employees. Oh, yeah, Wanda Sykes, #70, and Dave Attel, #68, and Dave Chappelle, #43, and Colin Quinn, #56, oh, my, yes, they're already GREATS! Who be peeing on my leg, huh?
Maybe in a decade or two, if the kids keep performing and growing, but for now, they -- and others on this list -- are green bananas in comparison to scores of beloved talents before and aside them. But be sure to check your Comedy Central listings for these competent amusing people in training. A lot of money is involved. Thank you.
Now, to show you the insanity and the depths of deception surrounding the "100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time" scam, where are the teams? Where are Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, individually or collectively? These men were a stand-up phenomenon before entering movies (which, by the way, almost always stop midstream to present the boys doing ace stand-up routines). Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?" could very well be the most recognized and adored piece of comedy in the English language. I've read the baseball exchange was recited a thousand times or more by the two masters at center stage, standing up.
Where are The Smothers Brothers? Where are Nichols and May? Where are Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks? Where are Martin and Lewis?
Oh, my, here I go. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stopped the culture cold almost overnight when their magical pairing catapulted them to a fame never before seen by comedians. Their outrageous, slap-about stand-up performances grabbed America by the gut and twisted and trampled the country into huge fits of laughter and disbelief. Audiences were bowled over and left gasping at the team's wild physical abandon and adlibbed shenanigans in nightclubs and other venues. Martin and Lewis were the nearest thing to a lightning bolt stand-up comedy has ever witnessed, so much so they quickly parlayed their electricity into becoming major movie and television stars. From 1946 until 1956, Dean and Jerry were not only the biggest thing in stand-up comedy, they towered over everyone in show business. They were THE act, changing performance humor and influencing its direction forever. If that's not greatness, then what is?
Oh, yeah, my bad. I forgot the great Jim Breuer, #91, Robert Schimmel, #76, Red Buttons, #71, Eddie Griffin, #62, Freddie Prinze, #51, Janeane Garofalo, #99, Andrew "Dice" Clay, #95, and others.
Comedy Central never explained its ''research'' process during the broadcast of the series, except to mention they had schmoozed with people in the business. There were a few comments on the program regarding some of the chosen acts not being "pure stand-up," which is supposed to mean, somewhat snobbily, they weren't 100% monologists, I guess, but this criteria was never officially stated, and would certainly rule out the honored Dana Carvey, #90, Andy Kaufman, #33, Albert Brooks, #32, and Steve Martin, #6 -- all of whom were praised for comedy chunks and stylings easily found to be similar to the act Jerry Lewis has been killing audiences with for 60 years, nearly 50 of those as a solo stand-up comedian. The insult to Jerry Lewis and, in transference, to the viewers of Comedy Central, has exposed this entire venture as schlock, as I anticipated, and worthy of our wrath and heckling.
The top 20 of the "100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time" are: Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks, Jonathan Winters, Don Rickles, Ellen DeGeneres, David Letterman, Bob Newhart, Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld, Johnny Carson, Eddie Murphy, Roseanne Barr, Bill Cosby, Rodney Dangerfield, Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Richard Pryor as #1.
Whether we all agree on the 100 Funniest Stand-Ups of All Time is something that will never happen. We all come from different places and different stimuli will make us laugh.
The same holds true for the 100 Best Stand-Ups of All Time, the 100 Most Influential Stand-Ups of All Time, and the 100 Best Stand-Up Writers of All Time. These are different lists requiring different considerations and none of them are necessarily equivalent to determining greatness, although each may be a part.
When it comes to the selection of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time, first, please recognize that "all time" didn't actually begin around 1970 or so. There were prized stand-ups in prehistoric days, too, like Will Rogers, Mark Twain, W.C. Fields, Fred Allen, and Eddie Cantor.
Next, the designated players must be determined by how they affected humor, show business, and the public. How they manipulated and evolved performance art with innovation is important, also. Put all these factors together, weighted heavily on the quality and body of work, and compare career successes and longevity with the adoration of their throngs and peers, without regard to age, sex, race, creed, or death. That's how one determines greatness.
And, of course, the laughs.
Greatness is not determined by whether or not the program will make a nice five-hour promo and skew the desired audience demographics to lead into Richard Pryor's "I Ain't Dead Yet" special on Comedy Central. Then, stay tuned for "Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied." ...
Now, to show you the insanity and the depths of deception surrounding the "100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time" scam, where are the teams? Where are Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, individually or collectively? These men were a stand-up phenomenon before entering movies (which, by the way, almost always stop midstream to present the boys doing ace stand-up routines). Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?" could very well be the most recognized and adored piece of comedy in the English language. I've read the baseball exchange was recited a thousand times or more by the two masters at center stage, standing up.
Where are The Smothers Brothers? Where are Nichols and May? Where are Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks? Where are Martin and Lewis?
Oh, my, here I go. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stopped the culture cold almost overnight when their magical pairing catapulted them to a fame never before seen by comedians. Their outrageous, slap-about stand-up performances grabbed America by the gut and twisted and trampled the country into huge fits of laughter and disbelief. Audiences were bowled over and left gasping at the team's wild physical abandon and adlibbed shenanigans in nightclubs and other venues. Martin and Lewis were the nearest thing to a lightning bolt stand-up comedy has ever witnessed, so much so they quickly parlayed their electricity into becoming major movie and television stars. From 1946 until 1956, Dean and Jerry were not only the biggest thing in stand-up comedy, they towered over everyone in show business. They were THE act, changing performance humor and influencing its direction forever. If that's not greatness, then what is?
Oh, yeah, my bad. I forgot the great Jim Breuer, #91, Robert Schimmel, #76, Red Buttons, #71, Eddie Griffin, #62, Freddie Prinze, #51, Janeane Garofalo, #99, Andrew "Dice" Clay, #95, and others.
Comedy Central never explained its ''research'' process during the broadcast of the series, except to mention they had schmoozed with people in the business. There were a few comments on the program regarding some of the chosen acts not being "pure stand-up," which is supposed to mean, somewhat snobbily, they weren't 100% monologists, I guess, but this criteria was never officially stated, and would certainly rule out the honored Dana Carvey, #90, Andy Kaufman, #33, Albert Brooks, #32, and Steve Martin, #6 -- all of whom were praised for comedy chunks and stylings easily found to be similar to the act Jerry Lewis has been killing audiences with for 60 years, nearly 50 of those as a solo stand-up comedian. The insult to Jerry Lewis and, in transference, to the viewers of Comedy Central, has exposed this entire venture as schlock, as I anticipated, and worthy of our wrath and heckling.
The top 20 of the "100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time" are: Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks, Jonathan Winters, Don Rickles, Ellen DeGeneres, David Letterman, Bob Newhart, Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld, Johnny Carson, Eddie Murphy, Roseanne Barr, Bill Cosby, Rodney Dangerfield, Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Richard Pryor as #1.
Whether we all agree on the 100 Funniest Stand-Ups of All Time is something that will never happen. We all come from different places and different stimuli will make us laugh.
The same holds true for the 100 Best Stand-Ups of All Time, the 100 Most Influential Stand-Ups of All Time, and the 100 Best Stand-Up Writers of All Time. These are different lists requiring different considerations and none of them are necessarily equivalent to determining greatness, although each may be a part.
When it comes to the selection of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time, first, please recognize that "all time" didn't actually begin around 1970 or so. There were prized stand-ups in prehistoric days, too, like Will Rogers, Mark Twain, W.C. Fields, Fred Allen, and Eddie Cantor.
Next, the designated players must be determined by how they affected humor, show business, and the public. How they manipulated and evolved performance art with innovation is important, also. Put all these factors together, weighted heavily on the quality and body of work, and compare career successes and longevity with the adoration of their throngs and peers, without regard to age, sex, race, creed, or death. That's how one determines greatness.
And, of course, the laughs.
Greatness is not determined by whether or not the program will make a nice five-hour promo and skew the desired audience demographics to lead into Richard Pryor's "I Ain't Dead Yet" special on Comedy Central. Then, stay tuned for "Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied." ...
Comments
Bravo, Durrett, well observed and said.
what about jack e. leonard, abbott and costello, jackie gleason. GEORGE CARLIN should have placed number 1. the funnist most brilliant stand up comedian ever. a genius.
i forgot to mention cheech and chong, red skelton and danny kaye. the list seemed to favor a lot of current comics, rather then more classic comics.