Current Events > Stand-up comedy Mount Rushmore. Who would you put on yours?

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As amusing as they are, comedians don't deserve to be carved into big ass mountains.

Sephiroth_C_Ryu posted...

As amusing as they are, comedians don't deserve to be carved into big ass mountains.

But slave owners do?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


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Going alphabetically:

George Carlin
Richard Pryor
Chris Rock
Robin Williams

Ill give you one and four

I would say the brit and Bo need to be replaced

feel I should say Pryor but I prefer Murphy.

then fuck it, though he probably doesnt deserve it Lewis black

Rodney Dangerfield

George Carlin
Richard Pryor
Robin Williams
Bill Burr

Margaret Cho
George Carlin
Patrice O'Neal
Mae Martin

The whole "Mount Rushmore of..." is as ridiculous as the actual Mount Rushmore, but if you were to ask about four stand-up comedians who changed the game and paved the way for generations of successors to thrive at the form, I'd go with:

Redd Foxx, Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Richard Pryor

Lots of deserving others (Mort Sahl, Bernie Mac, Rodney Dangerfield, Eddie Murphy, etc) but those have always been the giants who made it "a thing" in my estimation, though none of them were the first to be well regarded for doing so.

Norm Macdonald
Don Rickles
Rodney Dangerfield
Richard Pryor

Evolician posted...

Bill Cosby

Real talk, as a comedian, he unquestionably belongs.

But the whole package matters and while the guys that I mentioned all had flawed personal lives, there's just nothing remotely comparable to Cosby's downfall and therefore I would personally refrain from celebrating him, even though he's one of the most important pioneers in the form. I hold OJ Simpson and Woody Allen in similar regard: brilliant but too scummy to revere.

Norm
Pryor
Izzard
Burr

Stewart Lee
Frankie Boyle
Fern Brady
Bill Bailey

Matsumoto Hitoshi
Hamada Masatoshi
Tanaka Naoki
Tsukitei Hosei
(And Shozo Endo for a 5th)

Hannibal Buress
Bill Burr
Patrice O'Neal
Richard Pryor

Dave Attell
Mitch Hedberg
Dave Chappelle
Bill Burr
Adam Swardson

Lenny Bruce
George Carlin
Mitch Hedberg
Richard Pryor

Lenny Bruce
Richard Pryor
Rodney Dangerfield
Andy Kaufman

I feel like that covers a lot of the "genres" of stand-up that those four either pioneered or were singular voices in. If I could add a fifth it would be Joan Rivers.

Hicks, Carlin, Foxx, Chappelle, Murphy, Rickles, and a few others could certainly have a place there, of course.

Ricky Gervais
Lee Evans
Mickey Flannigan
Jimmy Carr

Mount Rushmore is different than my personal top 4. I feel like its two different discussions and people tend to answer just with their personal top 4.

For example I love Eddie Murphy. Growing up his specials and albums were better to me than Richard Pryor. I liked Richard in movies and standup but liked Eddie more. But I would never put Eddie on Mount Rushmore before Richard. Richard inspired Eddie and absolutely goes on Mount Rushmore.

Lenny Bruce belongs on Mount Rushmore but wouldnt be on my personal list. Bill Cosby belongs in there but even without what we know about him now he wouldnt be on my personal list but especially with what we know now. The only one who I think is on Mount Rushmore and is also on my personal list is George Carlin.

Rodney Dangerfield
Redd Foxx
Carrot Top
Gallagher

Richard Pryor
Sam Kinison
Brian Regan
Steven Wright

Chappelle
Murphy
Pryor
Cedric the entertainer

How the hell does George Carlin and Richard Pryor not get on by default? The real question is who the other two are.

Lenny Bruce, Rodney Dangerfield, George Carlin and Richard Pryor

Bill Burr
Neil Hamburger
Norm Macdonald
Joan Rivers

George Carlin, Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, Rodney Dangerfield

Kisai posted...

How the hell does George Carlin and Richard Pryor not get on by default? The real question is who the other two are.

I feel like Carlin gets passed over a lot because the last chunk of his career was less stand-up and more monologuing about society, people forget how influential his early work actually was.

Honestly there's too many good ones to limit it to just 4

Dave Chappelle
Ellen DeGeneres
Jerry Seinfeld
Louis C.K.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

He's the one who decided to take his ball and fuck off home for a good decade because his work was being used for bigotry.

And then he came back to make money off being a shitass bigot.

Fuck his legacy, he's the one who killed it.

George Carlin
Lenny Bruce
Richard Pryor
Jerry Seinfeld

Four Fluffys

Rodney Dangerfield
Richard Pryor
George Carlin
Chris Rock

I can lock in are Bill Hicks, Mitch Hedberg, Bob Newhart. I really do have a strong love for Mike Birbiglia.

That said, I realize there's a difference between a Mount Rushmore and my personal favorites.

The ones that most people would Rushmore are people I don't really care for.

I'll name the comedians and the acts they would have to chisel into this mountain.

Abbot and Costello - Who's On First?
George Carlin - The Seven Words You Can't Say on TV
Monty Python - The Ministry of Silly Walks
Bob Newhart - Driving Mrs. Web

George Carlin
David Cross
Dana Carvey
Dave Chappelle

DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC posted...

Going alphabetically:

George Carlin
Richard Pryor
Chris Rock
Robin Williams

Mine's the same except I put Rodney Dangerfield in George's place.

DrizztLink posted...

He's the one who decided to take his ball and fuck off home for a good decade because his work was being used for bigotry.

And then he came back to make money off being a shitass bigot.

Fuck his legacy, he's the one who killed it.

Killing 'Em Softly will always be one of the greatest comedy specials. And even if that decade-long break was permanent, he woulda gone down in history as one of the biggest "what could have been" talents ever.

Then he came back, and while it his return was promising, once he went down that anti-trans road it tainted his legacy forever.

Yet another example of "coulda died a hero, but lived long enough to be a villain"

I know I already commented earlier about the difference between Mount Rushmore and personal favorites but speaking of just great specials and a guy I love and I rarely see mentioned I think Christopher Titus is absolutely hilarious, and he really taps into really dark personal family history but with a nice comedic edge to it.

One of the best standups ever in contention with all the greats is Norman Rockwell is Bleeding by Christopher Titus. Absolutely amazing.

And I loved that the Topic Creator has a love for Eddie Izzard as I do too. The special Dressed to Kill is amazing as is the special Glorious. My kind of comedy.

George Carlin
Richard Pryor
Rodney Dangerfield
Eddie Murphy

George Carlin
Richard Pryor
Dave Chapelle
Mitch Hedberg