Only thing sadder than Carlin's death is...

I thought about this. Most of my favorite comedians are either dead (Mitch Hedberg, Carlin) or will most likely never do it again (Eddie Murphy, Denis Leary). I can't imagine Dr. Doolittle ever doing anything like Raw or Delirious again.

I watch Comedy Central's half-hour specials every now and then, but haven't heard anyone that really stood out. My other friends who like stand-up don't understand how I don't worship at the shrine of Dane Cook. He's a fucking idiot.

I saw Gabriel Iglesias live, and he's one of my favorites, but I get most of his schtick because I'm a big guy myself. Anyone else on here heard him?

 

I'm a big fan of Demetri Martin and Jim Gaffigan. Of the two, Martin's probably going to have the longer career. He's young, sharp, witty and very creative and original. Gaffigan, while I love his stand-up, has turned into somewhat of a one-note joke with his eating/food. I'll stop the television every time he's on Comedy Central or That 70s Show or a late night talk show because I get a kick out of his material and delivery. But he won't be doing stand-up when he's 70. Few, if any, will.

 

Actually I still feel like stand up gets a pass because, outside of Jeff Foxworthy, the really really successful comedians are the ones who scare the PC police.

And I'm not counting Dane Cook as a comedian...just a shitty face in today's pop culture.

 

The best I've heard recently is Hedberg, and he checked out.

The best among those still kicking include Black, Todd Berry and Ron White... those are who I can remember at least. I'm kind of buzzed.

 

Mitch was great with the one-liners. His observations were so sharp, you didn't quite laugh until he was on his next joke.

My favorite Hedberg story is when I sat my girlfriend down to listen to him. I knew his stand-up front to back, so I just listened for her reaction. And it was the same with mine, my best friend's and the kid next door -- delayed. No one seemed to get him at that second, but two seconds later, he was "a genius."

 

Oh there's no doubt there are some GREAT comedians out there on the circuit. The problem is that you're not going to see these guys in mainstream comedy.

 

I wouldn't rank him up here with Carlin, but I'm a fan of Patton Oswalt. Also a big fan of Lewis Black. Not sure if you can list him as a true stand-up comedian, but Henry Rollins is funny as hell. As far a shitty comedians go, I didn't hate Dane Cook ... at first. I originally caught him on Comedy Central Presents before he got big. Problem is he's one-dimensional. I like him on occasion, but he's definitely not groundbreaking or anything. Worst comedians I've heard are all the Comedy Central roast guys. Greg Giraldo, Colin Quinn, etc. I don's see how Quinn still has a career. He can't speak coherently.

 

I find Jim Gaffigan hilarious, and Ron White's pretty funny, too. Although his show was awful, Rodney Carrington is funnier than White or anybody else on the Blue Coller Comedy Tour.

 

Oh, I love Mitch. Saw him live a long time ago and just latched on to him immediately. My favorite Mitch story is one time my dad and I were taking a trip somewhere and I had just purchased Mitch All Together so I was playing it all the time. My dad, who has a weird sense of humor absolutely loved it. He couldn't get enough of it. Every time we got back into the car, he was like "Put on that comedian again." It was fun to hear the joke, then a few seconds later hear my dad repeat the joke and laugh, the signal that he had finally gotten it.

 

Cosby does do shows. He's played my town twice in the last year, year and a half. Of course, he's basically doing the has-been casino tour now.

 

What happened to George Wallace? I always liked him.

 

Izzard, don't forget him.