Did Woody Allen ever do stand-up? I think Albee Singer's stand up in Annie Hall is really funny.

"I was thrown out of N.Y.U. my freshman year for cheating on my metaphysics final, you know. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me. When I was thrown out, my mother, who was an emotionally high-strung woman, locked herself in the bathroom and took an overdose of Mah-Jongg tiles. I was depressed at that time. I was in analysis. I was suicidal as a matter of fact and would have killed myself, but I was in analysis with a strict Freudian, and, if you kill yourself, they make you pay for the sessions you miss. "

I don't know that much about stand-up, but about half of the people on Comedy Central are pretty funny.

Fuck me, I just googled it and answered my own question.

funniest show of all time......: Strangers with Candy, now i do live in australia so we dont get the same channels as you guys but im pretty sure all the guys, Stephen Colbert's

 

Amy Sedaris and paul dinello are from comedy central, and amy sedaris is one extremely funny person. i think a mention to rich hall, whom i just saw at the comedy festival and margaret cho are awesome comedians and political commentators. even whoopi goldberg in the olden days!

I don't really like watching stand up.

There is a Strangers With Candy movie coming out.

^Yeah I'm pumped....Reno 911 movie too.

Dave Chappelle did a show at my college......so did Tracy Morgan. They were both great....I like Tracy Morgan better though.

Dara O'Briain
Adam Bloom
Lucy Porter
Bill Bailey
Jo Caulfield
Lee Evans
Dominic Holland
Milton Jones
Peter Kay
Andy Parsons

hoe come no one ever mentions british alternative comedians?

ben elton, anyone?

Ben elton sucks sucks sucks


Chris Morris
Steve Coogan
Armando Iannucci
Patrick Marber
Julia Davis
Russell Brand
Dom Joly

Although he did help to give us The Young Ones, so he should never be totally dismissed.


because the behaviour of government - the lies, stealing, corruption and self-serving behaviour of government - has become much worse then any parody could suggest. There is nothing left for alternative comedians to do, and as a result their is no alternaive comedy. When/if we get a semi-reasonable govenment again, with at least some sense of right and wrong, of accountability and honesty, then they will re-appear.

Heard. Most of the time us here in America only have to turn on the news and watch Bush speak to get a great and uproarious laugh.

alexie sayle?

there is a huge catalogue of innovative, counter-culture comedy out there..

Well, by 'alternative' comedy, we (in the UK) would mean 1980's comedy that directly challenged government etc, and their failings.

The proper alternative comedians are either now very mainstream (eg Elton) or have stopped doing comedy (eg Alexei Sayle - very well-selling author now).

Like I say, it's becasue this power-crazed and dishonest, abusive government is beyond parody.

There's some great innovative comedy - but not in the stand-up style, and not with the same aim. We have a comedy series called The Mighty Boosh - unique, bizarre and the funniest thing ever written.

The mighty boosh is mighty.
Jam and The Armando Iannucci show are the funniest comedy shows i've ever seen since i came to Britain.Oh and i'd put Nighty Night on there too!

Has anyone ever watched 'Strangers with candies?'

Bill Hicks - Still my absolute favourite I spent about four years of my live talking solely in Hicks lines, it was probably really annoying - start with Dangerous or Rants in E minor, but pretty much anywhere is good.

Johnny Vegas is a close second

Chris Morris might be the funniest person alive but he's not stand up (Brass Eye is the greatest thing ever made though if only for the line 'I'm talking Nonce Sense').

Others I like:

Mighty Boosh
Dylan Moran
Peter Kay
Bill Bailey
Chris rock
Dave Chappelle
Rich Hall
Stewart Lee
Richard Herring
Alexie Sayle

Alternative Comedy refers to a specific comedy scene in the early eighties (Ben Elton, Alexie Sayle, Ade Edmondon and basically every one associated with the Young Ones and Not the Nine O Clock News) it was more 'anarchic' surreal, confrontational, and stupid than what went before with lots of jokes about Margaret Thatcher, or so I've read. It ended a long time ago. The last major thing as far as I can tell in Comedy was either the Simpsons, or The Day Today.

Stewart Lee
Richard Herring................Why did i forget them?bytheriver do you ever listen to Stewart Lee's radio show on Resonance fm?

No, I dont live in London any more, my little brother used to do a show on Resonance a few years back though. Is it Comedy or Music?
I've been trying to find some recordings of Fist of Fun or Sunday's With Richard not Judy though.

'Thatch' was a frequent target, it's true. t was a dood time for comedy, especially stand-up, but wha it inspired afterwards (and what it's practitioners went on to do) was more sketch (and sometimes sitcom) oriented.

The Young Ones, apart from being one of the all-time top three sitcoms, helped to give birth to so many comedy careers, it defies belief: Smith and Jones, Hale and PAce, Fry and Laurie (hurrah!), French and Saunders, Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondason, Ben Elton, Lenny Henry, Alexei Sayle, and many many more. The number of cameo appearances from people who went on to further success in the comedy world is astonishing.

Micheal Moore

You should try to hunt them down on the internet.I downloaded some old Armando Iannucci shows in mp3 format as well as some Chris Morris's stuff