That is a shame. Pneumonia at 50? Really?

My throat feels scratchy.

For the funniest guy from the original Kings of Comedy that is a damn shame.

quote:

Originally posted by Kitsune:
I have come to like Stewart Lee. In particular his new stuff.
Political Correctness and Richard Littlejohn
Belligerent Taxi Driver Routine Joe Pasquale Joke

This guy is great!

Stewart Lee produced The Mighty Boosh, too. There were some great comedians at the Latitude Festival this year:

I'd not seen Ross Noble before but he blew me away. Amazing guy.

Rich Hall

and his weird uncle, Otis Lee Crenshaw,

Bill Bailey, of course...

Omid Djalili

Milton Jones

And I can also recommend Miles Jupp and Arnab Chanda.

best,
Chris H

quote:

Originally posted by ArkanGL:
I'm glad to be the first here to list Bill Bailey.

Indeed! His "Das Hokey Kokey" is sublime.

Billy Connolly might be considered passe by some, but a full show of his consistently gets me to the point where I'm having trouble breathing.

I'd seen and enjoyed Rich Hall on QI, but never seen his standup - that was excellent!

quote:

Originally posted by Archie:
Regan is funny, from what I've heard.

Patton Oswalt definitely speaks to the nerd in me.

Patton knows funny...I think what especially impresses me is how his written material has the same effect as his performance stuff.

Nathaniel Buckner, the comedian from 1778, AKA Zach Galifianakis

Slightly off topic, but not really because it's usually hilarious... I'm completely hooked on watching old episodes of QI on YouTube.

Brian Posehn

yeah he's great. I like him more when he's talking about being a nerd than when he's talking about being a pothead.

...but most of all when he's singing with Scott Ian

Steve Martin, because I just finished his latest book. I can’t stand the films he’s making these days (Pink Panther, Cheaper by the Dozen IV or whatever) but I’ve always liked his stand up-comedy. The book, ”Born Standing Up”, is a memoir about his career as a stand-up comedian, from selling magic props at Disneyland as a kid to filling stadiums of 20.000 in the early eighties. A smart, funny and insightful book - highly recommended.

quote:

Originally posted by Boogerhead:
I like Bill Hicks....but I'm weird.

There is none higher!

Mike Birbiglia. Discovered him today, thanks to Mrs AC and This American Life.

Nobody mentioned Tim/FaustusRedux?

I've been racking my brain, trying to remember who the stand up comic wigber was. Thanks, AC.

quote:

Originally posted by Bravus:
Billy Connolly might be considered passe by some, but a full show of his consistently gets me to the point where I'm having trouble breathing.

Fuck 'passe'. Connolly makes me laugh harder than any other comedian I can think of.

Yeah. I get sick of the idea of comedians being stage actors that can't get a job on Broadway.

I was at someone's house, and, god knows why, they had Rove on and some dickhead comedian was up there, trying to be funny.

Later, during the Melbourne Comedy Festival broadcast, the same guy's on, and he's telling the exact same "joke."

Not just the same funny story, but the exact same joke. It was completely identical. Same syntax, pauses, inflection, voice volume, hand gestures, facial expressions. Everything. He was acting from a script.

And that's not right. Billy Connolly is funny, 'cause he improvises, but most everyone else just has funny material and quotes it in front of people.

I think a lot of comedians get like rock bands - people go to see them sing a particular song/tell a particular joke: about two thirds of Bill Bailey's act this year was stuff I'd heard before. Make fun of The Killers by singing "I've got ham but I'm not a hamster?" Check. Sing the song about falling in love using metaphors of deer and ducks? Check. Bit about Glastonbury? Check. It doesn't matter in the slightest, of course, because he's Bill Bailey.

At the other end of the scale, I saw Ross Noble on stage three times over the Latitude Festival, and each routine was different. Each act was improvised from scratch, and you got the distinct impression he could have carried on for hours and hours and hours. And he made it look effortless.

I also caught a stand-up session by the writer A L Kennedy while I was there. She did a strong set full of observational humour about her festival experiences; I enjoyed it a lot. Of course, that got me thinking about the sort of stuff Mr Gibson could bring to stand-up. We know he's funny; if could be a new career for him!

The whole "I'm an actor" schtick can produce epic fails with stand-up audiences over here, though. Hans Teeuwen had to be taken off stage after fifteen minutes to avoid being torn to pieces. There was an eight year old kid at the front shouting "you're really not very good" at him, and that was the only polite heckle he got.

best,
Chris H

quote:

Originally posted by Chris H:
There was an eight year old kid at the front shouting "you're really not very good" at him, and that was the only polite heckle he got.

Ouch.

I guess I appreciate wit more than comedy - wit is more a greater sign of intelligence than does comedy, methinks.

I think a great test of a comedian is when they're put on the spot - on shows like, well, down here, anyway, Spicks and Specks or Good News Week (though there're less comedians on GNW nowadays than bleary-eyed Yank TV actors whose agents got them to do the show and spend the whole thing looking mightily confused.)

Having said that, a man I find hilarious, is the work of Billy "The 12th Man" Birmingham, piss-taking at its finest.

Granted, there're few on the board who'd get it all, but still...here's Billy as Richie Benaud giving us a recap of the previous day's play of a 1989 Australia vs. India cricket test.