 | | Sharp-tongued comedian/actor Kevin Hart was born and raised in Philadelphia, where he cultivated his talent for performing standup. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Sharp, snide, and just about as wicked as they come, standup comedian and television host Daniel Tosh is a master of sardonic material. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Comedian/actor/writer Nick Swardson began playing St. Paul, MN's comedy club circuit when he was only 18. |
 | | The professional reputation of some actors and performers is inextricable from that of a larger ensemble to which they belong. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | Born in Galveston, TX, Bill Engvall was a nightclub DJ in Dallas until the call to comedy became too strong to deny. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Comedian Patton Oswalt translated his acerbic, defiantly absurdist sensibility into surprising mainstream success, enjoying a thriving television and film career without dulling his edge. |
 | | Ask standup comedian Ralphie May why his style sounds so fresh and he'll tell you it's all because of hip-hop. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | The most groundbreaking and daring comic talent since the heyday of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor was also the most controversial. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | Growing up in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, comedian Mike Birbiglia tried many different outlets for his creativity. |
 | | Actor-comedian Eddie Griffin enjoyed a successful stand-up career before turning to television during the mid-1990s as one of the stars of the UPN sitcom Malcolm and Eddie; his debut solo LP, The Message, followed in 1999. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | East Coast native and award-winning comedian Dave Attell practices a raunchy, old-school brand of standup reminiscent of Richard Pryor and Sam Kinison. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | 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. |
 | | High Time magazine's Stoner of the Year for 2006, comedian/actor/filmmaker Doug Benson is known for his pot humor, but he's also been able to put the bong down long enough to appear on VH1's Best Week Ever, NBC's Last Comic Standing, and other less herb-friendly television shows. |
 | | Margaret Cho is one of the more visible Asian-American women of her time. Although probably best remembered for her short-running sitcom All-American Girl, Korean-American comedian Cho has come a long way since then. |
 | | A standup comedian of East Indian descent, Russell Peters built a solid following in his native Canada beginning in 1989. |
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 | | "Brutal" is an adjective usually reserved for death metal bands and horror movies, but thanks to the bitter, trashy, and very funny Doug Stanhope, it's a descriptor found stickered across CDs and DVDs in the comedy section. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | His mom’s actually a nurse and his dad owns a construction company, but if Sarah Silverman and Ben Folds had a teenage son they’d probably sound a lot like comedian, singer, songwriter, and Internet celebrity Bo Burnham. |
 | | Dave Chapelle is a comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He honed his comic skills as a stand-up comedian in New York City’s comedy clubs, and shortly after appeared in his first films (including ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS and UNDERCOVER BLUES), and television shows (HOME IMPROVEMENT and the short-lived BUDDIES). |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | D.L. Hughley's success story is one that runs parallel to many African-American entertainers of the 20th century. |
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