After enjoying success in the 1930s and '40s, the Marx brothers experienced a revival among college-aged audiences in the 1960s because of their characters' irreverence and lack of respect for authority. Their chemistry as a comedy team was second to none. From left to right, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Chico Marx, Groucho Marx, and Gummo Marx.
Stan Laurel, right, and Oliver Hardy, left, successfully moved from the silent films of the 1920s to movies with sound in the '30s because their comedy style was so visual.
The popularity of Bud Abbott, left, and Lou Costello, right, propelled them from 1930s burlesque theaters to a national radio show in the '40s, to the movies and TV. Abbott and Costello may be most known by their famous
Already successful as solo performers -- when Bob Hope, left, and Bing Crosby, right, teamed up as a duo they won fans by pretending to be rivals out to get each other. The pairing led to a string of
Husband-and-wife comedy duo George Burns and Gracie Allen rocketed to success on radio, and later, TV. After Allen's death in the 1960s, Burns -- with his trademark cigar -- continued performing as a solo act. He performed in movies and on TV well into his golden years -- making his final film appearance in 1994. Burns died two years later, at age 100.
To say the Three Stooges comedy trio specialized in physical horseplay is an understatement. During their films of the 1930s, '40s and '50s, Curly Howard, left, his brother Moe Howard, center, and Larry Fine, right, artfully slapped themselves silly to make audiences laugh. Another Howard brother, Shemp, replaced Curly Howard after his death. Two other comics also spent time in the Stooges: Joe Besser and Curly Joe DeRita.
Jean Carroll broke the mold for women in comedy when she emerged in the 1940s. Women were expected to appear on the comedy stage with a male counterpart in those days, if they appeared at all. But Carroll didn't play by those rules: She not only went solo, mostly performing material that she wrote herself, but also made spousal jokes -- typical fodder for male comics -- her own.
After sharpening his slapstick skills in vaudeville and radio, comedy heavyweight Milton Berle was more than ready to take over TV when the medium became popular in the late 1940s. His first show,
The first woman to run a production company. The first woman to star in an interracial relationship on TV. One of the first women to show her real pregnancy on TV. Lucille Ball's dynamite influence both on screen and behind the scenes of comedy television reshaped the genre for decades to come, particularly for women.
Moms Mabley was known to black audiences for decades before she was the first female stand-up comedian — could be as raunchy as her younger, male counterparts, but with a slyness that proved her comic genius. ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3343″ width=”2574″ loading=’lazy’/>
The grand dame of self-deprecating stand-up comedy, Phyllis Diller inspired legions of future comedians upon her debut in the 1950s, and forever changed the industry for the funny women who followed her.
Religion, sexuality, race, politics -- good luck finding a subject that Lenny Bruce <em>wasn't </em>comfortable joking about. Bruce kicked open doors for post-1950s comedians by working blue with just about every sensitive subject possible, at one point even getting arrested on obscenity charges and put on trial. But without Bruce, we likely wouldn't have other comic revolutionaries like George Carlin and Richard Pryor, and we'd be culturally poorer for it.
Joan Rivers was a comedy pioneer with her insistence on talking about life as a young woman with an unprecedented honesty. Her rat-a-tat joke-telling and unabashed discussion of single life, sex and womanhood paved the way for her to become the first woman to host her own late night talk show.
It's an eternal debate among comedy fans: Has there ever been a stand-up comedian better than Richard Pryor? Could there ever be? With his unfiltered comedic tales, unmistakable delivery, and incisive observations on race, class and American culture, Pryor challenged comedians to step up their storytelling, and challenged Americans to think in new ways.
George Carlin went from performing as a mild-mannered stand-up comic to a shaggy-haired, bearded social critic who also happened to be damn funny. It was Carlin, of course, who gave us the
If you want to take a master class in using comedy as a powerful form of social critique, pay close attention to Dick Gregory. During the civil rights movement and beyond, Gregory used his skills to tear apart racism in America with expert punchlines.
These two are probably your favorite comedian's favorite comedians. In the 1950s, the improv duo Mike Nichols and Elaine May succeeded on the strength of their incredible improv and sketch comedy skills, the likes of which comedy hadn't seen before. Smart and snappy, theirs is a satire that still resonates today.
Long before Redd Foxx was known as the elder Sanford on the '70s comedy
With
the New York Post wrote in 2015, six decades into Lily Tomlin’s celebrated career. Anyone who’s seen Tomlin’s incredible ability to transform into just about any comedic character, from the nosy telephone operator Ernestine to the mischievous 5-year-old Edith Ann, would agree. ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3000″ width=”2367″ loading=’lazy’/>
The <a href=sexual assault conviction against Bill Cosby this year has, for many, overshadowed his long-standing comedy career. Starting in the 1960s, Cosby brought a new perspective to stand-up that was distinct in both its insight and its style, as witnessed on the celebrated comedy album “To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With.” From the stage Cosby moved on to film and TV, where he created the groundbreaking comedy series about a middle-class African-American family, “The Cosby Show.”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3824″ width=”2538″ loading=’lazy’/>
Tom Smothers (left) and Dick Smothers, right, gained popularity as a standup comedy duo during the 1950s. By the end of the turbulent 1960s, they were hosting a weekly comedy TV show that poked fun at Washington and the controversial politics of the day. The Emmy-winning
The world mourned in 2014 when singular talent Robin Williams committed suicide at the age of 63. The genius of Williams' comedy was in its incredible versatility, timelessness and cross-generational appeal. Comics as disparate as Jimmy Fallon and Louis C.K. all carry hallmarks of Williams' influence.
Woody Allen's career has been shrouded with controversy since 2014, when Dylan Farrow <a href=accused him of sexually assaulting her as a child, an allegation Allen denies. What is clear is that his contributions to the art form and influence on the genre — whether it’s as a stand-up comic, a writer, or filmmaker with iconic titles like “Annie Hall” — can’t be understated. ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3159″ width=”4739″ loading=’lazy’/>
Before late-night guests were participating in lip-syncing contests and hawking their latest movies, Jonathan Winters was cracking up
There have been a number of sketch comedy series on American TV that have all contributed to the way we think about telling jokes; the difference with says producer Michael Saltzman, who is currently at work on a new sitcom that will bring Burnett back to TV. ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1125″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
From
Whether you know him as
Whoopi Goldberg's immense talent can be summed up with four letters: E, G, O and T, which represent the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards she's won as one of comedy's most multifaceted contributors. Goldberg is not only an influential stand-up comedian who could tackle difficult subjects like race and gender discrimination with ease, but she can also hold her own in the dramatic arts.
<a href=One of comedy’s most prestigious honors, the Mark Twain Prize, describes to a “T” what makes Bill Murray so special. Throughout his more than 40-year career, Murray has majorly impacted American society “as a social commentator, satirist, creator of memorable characters … and fearless observer of society.” ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1125″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
He's been Gumby, a Beverly Hills cop, a talking dragon, a Nutty Professor, an African prince, and a pair of New York barbers, playing both at the same time. Who else but Eddie Murphy has displayed such flexibility and devotion to character? He looked up to Richard Pryor as he got his start in stand-up, but now, more than 30 years into his comedic career, it's his work that's being studied as masterful.
With GQ put it in an expansive profile, mentoring comics from Judd Apatow and Ricky Gervais to Sarah Silverman and Adam Sandler.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1080″ width=”1920″ loading=’lazy’/>
If life had gone differently for Billy Crystal, he might have remained a substitute teacher in Long Island, New York -- the gig he held while trying to land work as a stand-up comic. But then came a 1975 appearance on
For a guy who created a show about nothing, Jerry Seinfeld's done incredibly well for himself. After honing his observational humor skills as a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld found massive success with the NBC comedy
Chris Rock has become so synonymous with gut-busting routines that it's hard to see a photo of him without getting the giggles. His unique delivery means you can spot a Chris Rock set without even seeing him, and his honest, pull-no-punches writing style builds on the work of predecessors like Richard Pryor to offer some of the most witty and insightful observations on race in America.
Ellen DeGeneres is currently best known as one of the best -- and nicest! -- things to happen to daytime TV in a very long while. But before she was holding down a talk show Oprah-style, DeGeneres was a stand-up star who took her approachable comedy to TV with the sitcom
An iconoclast as much as an icon, David Letterman's journey in late night has heavily influenced the just-as-famous names who've followed in his footsteps, from Jimmy Kimmel to Conan O'Brien. As <a href=The Atlantic put it when Letterman departed “Late Show” in 2011, he might be “the last true innovator” in the genre. ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1872″ width=”2958″ loading=’lazy’/>
At this point the phrase
The appetite for Dave Chappelle's insightful stand-up and sketch comedy has been so insatiable that for a time it prompted the comedian to take a step back from his career. Within two years of the 2003 debut of the
During his nearly 20 years at the helm of
Rarely is there a voice as distinct and powerful as Margaret Cho's. Comedian, activist, artist and boundary breaker. She brought fresh perspective to comedy clubs as a queer woman of color, and starred in the first Asian-American family sitcom,
Most fixate on the talent in front of the camera, but in comedy Judd Apatow is as famous as the stars whose careers he's helped create. From the game-changing TV series
Even in the pre-Twitter era, Conan O'Brien seemed to speak the language of the Internet comedy that was to come. When he first took over
Stand-up, late night, TV comedies and films -- there's little that George Lopez hasn't made his mark in. While stand-up has always been his bread and butter, Lopez broadened mainstream TV in 2002 when he became one of the few Latinos to star in a primetime comedy program, following behind
Sarah Silverman's resume reads like a greatest hits of TV comedy jobs, between stints on
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele teamed up for

50 people and teams who changed American comedy