Stand-up comedy is a comedy performance directed to a live audience in which the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues, and occasionally physical acts. The performance is usually a rhetorical sketch with rehearsed scripts, but many performers also employ varying degrees of live crowd interaction as part of their routine. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, observations or shticks that may incorporate props, music, impressions, magic tricks or ventriloquism.
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish, or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience directly is called a stand-up comedian.
Richard Philip Lewis was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Lewis came to prominence in the 1980s and became known for his dark, neurotic, and self-deprecating humor. As an actor, he was known for starring in the ABC sitcom Anything but Love from 1989 to 1992, and for playing the role of Prince John in the 1993 film Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Lewis also had a recurring role as a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm from 2000 to 2024.
Brian Joseph Regan is an American stand-up comedian who uses observational, sarcastic, and self-deprecating humor. He is known for incorporating body language and facial expressions into his act. His performances are often described as clean as he refrains from profanity as well as taboo subject matter. Regan's material typically covers everyday events, such as shipping a package with UPS, mortgages, and visits to the optometrist. While he does not define himself as youth-oriented, Regan makes frequent references to childhood, including little league baseball, grade school spelling bees, and science projects.
Just for Laughs Gags is a Canadian silent comedy/hidden camera reality television series that is under the Just for Laughs brand created by Pierre Girard and Jacques Chevalier.
Demetri Evan Martin is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, cartoonist and musician. He was a contributor on The Daily Show. In stand-up, he is known for his deadpan delivery, playing his guitar for jokes, and his satirical cartoons. He starred as Ice Bear in Cartoon Network's We Bare Bears.
Norman Gene Macdonald was a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and writer whose style was characterized by deadpan delivery and the use of folksy, old-fashioned turns of phrase. He appeared in many films and was a regular guest on late-night talk shows, where he became known for his chaotic, yet understated style of comedy. Many critics and fellow comedians considered him to be the ultimate talk show guest, while prominent late-night figure David Letterman regarded him as "the best" of stand-up comedians.
Jeffrey Douglas Dunham is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He has six specials that run on Comedy Central: Arguing with Myself, Spark of Insanity, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, Controlled Chaos, Minding the Monsters, and All Over the Map. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series on the network in 2009.
Dan Mintz is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as Bob and Linda's oldest daughter, Tina Belcher, on the animated show Bob's Burgers. As a comedian, he is known for his extremely deadpan delivery, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead and never looking toward the camera or audience due to natural stage fright.
Leopold Rufus "Leo" Allen is an American stand-up comedian and writer from Detroit, Michigan, known as one half of the comedy team Slovin and Allen.
Thomas Papa Jr. is an American comedian, actor, and radio host. He hosts the Sirius XM Satellite Radio show Come to Papa and, in July 2019, he and Fortune Feimster started hosting the Sirius XM show What a Joke with Papa and Fortune. Papa hosted the show Baked on the Food Network and was the head writer and a performer on the radio variety show Live from Here, hosted by Chris Thile, where he delivered the "Out In America" segment.
Important Things with Demetri Martin was a sketch-variety show that aired on Comedy Central starring comedian Demetri Martin. Each episode examined a single theme, the "important thing", such as timing, power, control and money. All sketches, short vignettes, animated segments and stand-up comedy were loosely related to the theme of the episode. The show was produced by Jon Stewart's Busboy Productions, and contained stand-up, prop comedy and musical comedy by Martin, as well as taped sketches. Jon Stewart took an active role in editing the first few episodes. H. Jon Benjamin appeared in eight episodes and had a writing credit on seven as well.
Demetri Martin. Person. is a 2007 Comedy Central special featuring comedian Demetri Martin. It was directed by Jay Karas and filmed at The Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. It first aired on January 14, 2007, and a DVD was released by Paramount Home Video and Comedy Central on September 4, 2007.
Jimmy Brogan, sometimes credited as Jim Brogan, is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He has made numerous standup appearances on the talk show circuit including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman. He was a writer on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for 9 years. As an actor, he starred in the ABC sitcom Out of the Blue.
The Jeselnik Offensive was an American late-night television series that aired on Comedy Central. It was hosted by stand-up comedian Anthony Jeselnik, who extended his onstage character into weekly, topical humor with a sociopathic, dark twist. The show primarily consisted of a monologue and two panelists who joined Jeselnik in adding a humorous take on shocking, lurid news stories. The series premiered February 19, 2013, on Comedy Central and was renewed for a second season on April 26, 2013, and aired July 9, 2013. On November 11, 2013, Comedy Central cancelled The Jeselnik Offensive after two seasons, due to low ratings.
Nishant Tanwar, also known as 'Joke Singh' and more recently as 'Rider OP' is an Indian comedian and actor. He started off his professional career working at NDTV as a Producer, and began doing stand-up in 2009 when he found his passion for the same at an open mic event.
Make Happy is a stand-up comedy routine written and performed by Bo Burnham which he performed live in 2015 and 2016. It was directed by Burnham and Chris Storer and a recording of the show was released on Netflix on June 3, 2016. Similar to Burnham's previous special what., the show is a specifically choreographed performance that combines comedy with music and uses pre-recorded music, stage lighting effects, and sound effects. It has received an overwhelmingly positive critical response, with several critics complimenting Burnham's deconstruction of various types of performances, clever jokes based on misdirection, and his stage persona.
Sticks & Stones is a 2019 American stand-up comedy television special starring comedian Dave Chappelle and directed by Stan Lathan. It was produced by Chappelle and Lathan and distributed by Netflix, the special is detailed as "a provocative perspective on the tidal wave of celebrity scandals, the opioid crisis, and more".
James Acaster: Repertoire is a serialised stand-up comedy special by British comedian James Acaster. All four parts were released on Netflix in 2018. Repertoire was followed by Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999 (2020).
The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up is a 2022 stand-up comedy film honoring four standup comedy legends, George Carlin, Robin Williams, Joan Rivers, and Richard Pryor. They were honored by Jon Stewart, John Mulaney, Chelsea Handler, and Dave Chappelle. Pete Davidson opened the show. The special was a part of Netflix is a Joke Fest comedy festival which was recorded live on May 1, 2022, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.
