Tag Archives: comedy

Funny How? The Stand-Up Comics Meta-List

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I first compiled a meta-list of the Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time back in 2013, and I thought it was time for an update.  I’ve collected nearly 20 lists of Best Stand-Up Comics from all over the Internet.  Here are the results: every stand-up comic on three or more of the original source lists.  They are organized by rank, that is, with the comics on the most lists at the top.

NOTE: These are not my personal opinions.  If they were, then Maria Bamford would definitely have been on here.

On 18 lists
George Carlin (1937-2008)

On 17 lists
Richard Pryor (1940-2005)

On 16 lists
Steve Martin (1945- )

On 15 lists
Eddie Murphy (1961- )

On 14 lists
Lenny Bruce (1925-1966)
Jerry Seinfeld (1954- )

On 13 lists
Bill Hicks (1961-1994)
Chris Rock (1965- )

On 12 lists
Rodney Dangerfield (1921-2004)
Robin Williams (1951-2014)
Louis C.K. (1967- )

On 11 lists
Bill Cosby (1937- )
Dave Chappelle (1973- )

On 9 lists
Don Rickles (1926- )

On 8 lists
Bob Newhart (1929- )
Steven Wright (1955- )
Mitch Hedberg (1968-2005)

On 7 lists
Redd Foxx (1922-1991)
Jonathan Winters (1925-2013)
Woody Allen (1935- )
Sam Kinison (1953-1992)

On 6 lists
Bob Hope (1903-2003)
Phyllis Diller (1917-2012)
Albert Brooks (1957- )
Eddie Izzard (1962- )

On 5 lists
Johnny Carson (1925-2005)
Mort Sahl (1927- )
Billy Connolly (1942- )
Dick Gregory (1946- )
Lewis Black (1948- )
Paula Poundstone (1959- )

On 4 lists
Jack Benny (1894-1974)
George Burns (1896-1996)
Milton Berle (1908-2002)
Joan Rivers (1933-2014)
David Letterman (1947- )
Andy Kaufman (1949-1984)
Garry Shandling (1949-2016)
Jay Leno (1950- )
Freddie Prinze (1954-1977)
Gilbert Gottfried (1955- )
Denis Leary (1957- )
Ray Romano (1957- )
Ellen DeGeneres (1958- )
Jim Carrey (1962- )

On 3 lists
Moms Mabley (1894-1975)
Henny Youngman (1906-1998)
Joey Bishop (1918-2007)
Buddy Hackett (1924-2003)
Alan King (1927-2004)
Jackie Mason (1931- )
Flip Wilson (1933-1998)
David Brenner (1936-2014)
Richard Belzer (1944- )
Richard Lewis (1947- )
Billy Crystal (1948- )
George Wallace (1952- )
Roseanne Barr (1952- )
Dennis Miller (1953- )
Tim Allen (1953- )
Larry Miller (1953- )
Dana Carvey (1955- )
Sandra Bernhard (1955- )
Bill Maher (1956- )
Richard Jeni (1957-2007)
Bernie Mac (1957-2008)
Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay (1958- )
Damon Wayans (1960- )
Jon Stewart (1962- )
D.L. Hughley (1963- )
David Cross (1964- )
Wanda Sykes (1964- )
Martin Lawrence (1965- )
Adam Sandler (1966- )
Patton Oswalt (1969- )
Sarah Silverman (1970- )
Kevin Hart (1979- )

On the Town: Live Performances I’ve Attended

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Although most of the lists on Make Lists, Not War are meta-lists, some are more personal in nature. Most recently I published a list of every place I’ve lived. Other personal lists include: Where Have I Been? (all the states and countries I’ve visited), The Birds (all the birds I’ve ever seen), My Backyard Menagerie (all the creatures I’ve seen near our house), Native Plants I Have Grown and Loved (Part I and Part II) and Concert Log (all the music and comedy performances I’ve been to). I recently revised the Concert Log to add plays and other theatrical performances, so that all the live performances are together in one list. (Note: I’ve omitted performances in which I participated in some way.)  There are significant gaps here – I know there are other plays, concerts and performances I’ve seen that I can’t recall right now, but I think I’ve covered the most significant ones. Here is the revised list: Live Performance Log.

I guess the real question is, why would anyone but me be interested in this list?  I don’t know the answer.  Some people like to look at other people’s experiences because it provides the vicarious pleasure of seeing through another’s eyes (“Oh, I would love to have seen Led Zeppelin live!”).  Others may use it as inspiration to dig into their own pasts (“I’m going to make my own list!”). For others, reading this list would be a complete waste of time.  No problem.  Read it or not, here I come!