The Comedian's Comedian was a 3 hour programme broadcast on UK's Channel 4 on 1st January 2005. The show listed the top 50 comedians ever, as voted for by fellow comedians and business insiders. This was in contrast to most Channel 4 polls of this kind where the results are voted for by the general public.
Amongst the comedians were three double acts (making a total of 53 comedians), three members of Monty Python, 34 British comedians, 19 Americans, 48 men, 5 women and one transvestite. One surprise was the particularly low position of Spike Milligan, considered by many to have been a godfather of British comedy having broken so much ground, along with Peter Cook (who topped the list) in the 1950s and 60s. Noticeable omissions include Harry Enfield and Ben Elton who are somewhat unpopular in comedy circles.
Here are the results:
- Peter Cook
- John Cleese
- Woody Allen
- Eric Morecambe
- Groucho Marx
- Tommy Cooper
- Laurel and Hardy
- Billy Connolly
- Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer
- Richard Pryor
- Chris Morris
- Tony Hancock
- Bill Hicks
- Peter Sellers
- Steve Martin
- Ronnie Barker
- Steve Coogan
- Charlie Chaplin
- Eddie Izzard
- Paul Merton
- Eric Idle
- Peter Kay
- Larry David
- Rowan Atkinson
- Bob Hope
- Harry Hill
- Victoria Wood
- Spike Milligan
- Christopher Guest
- Michael Palin
- French & Saunders
- Eddie Murphy
- Bob Monkhouse
- Rik Mayall
- Steven Wright
- Ken Dodd
- Les Dawson
- Chic Murray
- Stephen Fry
- Joan Rivers
- Joyce Grenfell
- Phil Silvers
- Jackie Mason
- Eric Sykes
- Robin Williams
- Paul Whitehouse
- Bill Cosby
- Mike Myers
- Ricky Gervais
- Mel Brooks
Last updated: 05-09-2005 13:54:36
