 | | A knack for firing off cutting-edge, observational humor at a hyper pace took Dane Cook from small comedy clubs to the forefront of modern-day standup comedy in the 2000s. |
 | | Born September 9, 1966, in Brooklyn, Adam Sandler was raised in Manchester, New Hampshire. At the age of 17, his brother dared him to take the stage at a Boston comedy club's amateur night and was surprised at how well Adam performed. |
 | | A dry and clever standup comedian who's hateful toward Hot Pockets and proud to be pale, Jim Gaffigan is a regular on the late-night talk show circuit and an in-demand actor as well. |
 | | Chris Rock is a standup comedian who first rose to national stardom when he appeared on Saturday Night Live in the late '80s and early '90s. |
 | | Sharp, snide, and just about as wicked as they come, standup comedian and television host Daniel Tosh is a master of sardonic material. |
 | | The multipurpose standup comic/actor first rose to fame as the delightful Mork from Ork on the TV show Mork and Mindy, and he rode that show to fame on cable TV specials and several films, including The World According to Garp, Good Morning, Vietnam, Hook, and Mrs. |
 | | Jerry Seinfeld is the most successful and influential comedian of his generation. His brilliant observational riffs on the minutiae of everyday life formed the basis of the television classic Seinfeld, the quintessential sitcom of the 1990s and one of the most beloved series in the history of the medium. |
 | | Comedian Mitch Hedberg was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesotta, but started his comedy career in Florida, not because it's a particularly humorous state but because it's warm. |
 | | Rarely seen without a drink in one hand and a smoke in the other, comedian Ron White has had a career that has taken him from the cassette racks of truck stops to the world of stadiums and feature films -- but all the while they've called him "Tater Salad. |
 | | Satirist and standup comic Lewis Black rose to prominence in the late '90s with regular appearances as a commentator on the Comedy Central cable network's The Daily Show. |
 | | Born in Galveston, TX, Bill Engvall was a nightclub DJ in Dallas until the call to comedy became too strong to deny. |
 | | Comedian and actress Sarah Silverman got her professional start on the cast of Saturday Night Live during the early '90s and later as a featured performer on the groundbreaking show Mr. |
 | | Like Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor before him, Eddie Murphy was the preeminent African-American comic of his era; in fact, Murphy was arguably the preeminent comic of the 1980s, period -- at his peak, no other performer, regardless of race, was a bigger star or a more audacious talent. |
 | | Demetri Martin is not your average standup comedian. In the style of contemporaries like Eugene Mirman and Zach Galifianakis, Martin stretches the boundaries of the form into something resembling a form of Borscht Belt performance art, as if Laurie Anderson's primary influences had been Steven Wright and Peter Sellers. |
 | | Known for his clean act that delves into the simple but comical aspects of human behavior, both adult and child, Brian Regan the comedian almost never was. |
 | | A muttering, slovenly, and acerbic standup comedian, actor, and writer known for his high-profile firing from Saturday Night Live, Norm MacDonald is a love-him-or-hate-him character. |
 | | Jeff Foxworthy's wry Southern humor made him one of the most popular standup comedians of the '90s. Foxworthy grew up in Atlanta and was working for IBM when he tried standup on a dare. |
 | | Comedian/actor/writer Nick Swardson began playing St. Paul, MN's comedy club circuit when he was only 18. |
 | | The in-your-face comedian Denis Leary was born in Worcester, MA in 1957. While attending Boston's Emerson College, he became a charter member of the school's Comedy Workshop, and spent five years teaching at the institution following graduation. |
 | | Comedian George Lopez was born on April 23, 1961. A native of Los Angeles, he grew up in the San Fernando Valley's Mission Hills, experiencing an economically poor upbringing. |
 | | Famed for his landmark "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine, George Carlin filled the void created by the death of Lenny Bruce, honing a provocative, scathing comic style that bravely explored the limits of free speech and good taste. |
 | | The man who added the catch phrases "Git-R-Done" and "Lord, I Apologize" to the American lexicon and drew fans by the pickup truckload to his shows proved to be one of the most successful comics of the early 2000s. |
 | | During the 1970s, Steve Martin was the most successful standup comedian in America, earning the level of commercial success -- sold-out arena performances, platinum records, hit singles, and delirious fan adulation -- usually reserved for rock stars. |
 | | Growing up in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, comedian Mike Birbiglia tried many different outlets for his creativity. |
 | | One of the darkest comedians to ever land a television sitcom, Christopher Titus blurs the line between standup and monologues with his edgy yet accessible act. |
 | | Frank Caliendo is an impressionist loved by David Letterman, Bob & Tom, and many other television hosts, although John Madden is definitely not on the list. |
 | | Comedian Patton Oswalt translated his acerbic, defiantly absurdist sensibility into surprising mainstream success, enjoying a thriving television and film career without dulling his edge. |
 | | Best known for hosting television's extreme reality game show Fear Factor, Joe Rogan is equally at home in the standup arena, where his comic persona shifts into the edgier, angrier territory of Sam Kinison and Bill Hicks. |
 | | East Coast native and award-winning comedian Dave Attell practices a raunchy, old-school brand of standup reminiscent of Richard Pryor and Sam Kinison. |
 | | Born in 1967, Louis C.K. got his start in comedy after moving to New York City in 1989 and appearing on as many of the numerous televised comedy programs being shot in the city as possible. |
 | | A comedian with various ties to the music industry, Zach Galifianakis was raised in North Carolina before striking out for New York City in 1992. |
 | | Ask standup comedian Ralphie May why his style sounds so fresh and he'll tell you it's all because of hip-hop. |
 | | Known for his intense delivery and intense material, standup comedian Greg Giraldo became famous thanks to his regular appearances on The Howard Stern Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, and the Comedy Central television network's series of celebrity roasts. |
 | | Actress-comedienne Ellen DeGeneres broke new ground for women in the world of comedy: one of the most successful female standups of her generation, she parlayed her club success into television, movies, records, books, and a talk show, later making history for her portrayal of TV's first openly gay lead character. |
 | | Although African-American comedians had long been a staple of the standup circuit prior to the emergence of Bill Cosby, none had come even remotely close to reaching the same heights of commercial success or universal acceptance. |
 | | The brash and brassy Wanda Sykes had a decade of standup comedy experience behind her when her big break came in 1997, the year Chris Rock asked her to sign on with his new HBO vehicle. |
 | | Comedian David Cross channeled his rage and frustration with the state of post-9/11 America into some of the most potent and profane standup of the Bush era. |
 | | Latino comedian Carlos Mencia grew up in East Los Angeles. An amateur performance at the Laugh Factory led him to give up his job in an insurance company and leave college, where he had been studying electrical engineering, to become a standup comic. |
 | | If Don Rickles were a woman with a slight weight problem and a well-documented fondness for having sex with African-American men, he'd sound an awful lot like comedienne Lisa Lampanelli. |
 | | An outrageous comedian who clearly pulls from such influences as Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor -- but somehow ups the irreverence quotient many times over -- standup comic-turned-actor Katt Williams built a career vulgarly riffing on such subjects as Michael Jackson, middle-American evangelism, the incarceration of Martha Stewart, and the ironies of race in America (a favorite topic that found him making fervent use of incendiary epithets), to name only a few touchstones -- all of which gave him a widespread and loyal following, particularly among young African-American males. |
 | | Singer/songwriter and comedian Stephen Lynch has an uncanny wit and a mysterious comical side to him, and his performance resumé includes shared gigs with Jeff Foxworthy, Bobcat Goldthwait, Anthony Clark, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. |
 | | By combining off-the-wall humor with dry, deadpan wit, Michael Ian Black (born Michael Schwartz) rose through the ranks of comedy following his debut on MTV's The State. |
 | | Even though he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson's couch way back in 1990, ventriloquist and standup comedian Jeff Dunham didn't truly break through until 2006 when his first special aired on the Comedy Central network. |
 | | Actor, comedian, and rancher Henry Cho is a Korean-American born and raised in Tennessee. This rare hodgepodge is at the center of Cho's standup act, a family-friendly act that got him invited onto Amy Grant and Vince Gill's annual Christmas tour in both 2003 and 2004. |
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 | | The most groundbreaking and daring comic talent since the heyday of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor was also the most controversial. |
 | | A bone-dry observer of everyday absurdities, laidback comic Steven Wright might be the '90s heir apparent to Bob Newhart. |
 | | Beginning in early 2000 and continuing through the next year, the Blue Collar Comedy Tour featured Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Ron White, and Larry the Cable Guy. |
 | | For someone who claims that he doesn't get any respect, Rodney Dangerfield (born: Jacob Cohen) is one of the most respected entertainers. |
 | | A native of Longview, TX, country comedian Rodney Carrington built a cult following through his regular exposure on syndicated morning radio shows, at the same time relentlessly touring the nation's comedy club circuit. |
