 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Comedian Patton Oswalt translated his acerbic, defiantly absurdist sensibility into surprising mainstream success, enjoying a thriving television and film career without dulling his edge. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | The professional reputation of some actors and performers is inextricable from that of a larger ensemble to which they belong. |
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 | | Comedian/actor/writer Nick Swardson began playing St. Paul, MN's comedy club circuit when he was only 18. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | East Coast native and award-winning comedian Dave Attell practices a raunchy, old-school brand of standup reminiscent of Richard Pryor and Sam Kinison. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Ask standup comedian Ralphie May why his style sounds so fresh and he'll tell you it's all because of hip-hop. |
 | | Sharp-tongued comedian/actor Kevin Hart was born and raised in Philadelphia, where he cultivated his talent for performing standup. |
 | | Sharp, snide, and just about as wicked as they come, standup comedian and television host Daniel Tosh is a master of sardonic material. |
 | | A standup comedian of East Indian descent, Russell Peters built a solid following in his native Canada beginning in 1989. |
 | | "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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Born in Galveston, TX, Bill Engvall was a nightclub DJ in Dallas until the call to comedy became too strong to deny. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Standup comedian Christian Finnegan came up through the very happening New York City "indie" comic scene, but his style is more traditional and influenced by the comedy albums of his youth. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Finding it hard to apply his B.A. in English to his previous jobs -- VD clinic clerk and drummer -- the deadpan, sometimes doe-eyed Todd Barry accepted his fate and turned to standup comedy in 1987. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | The London Sunday Times has called him "the greatest British standup comedian of his generation", and the entity of Eddie Izzard is worthy of such praise. |
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 | | 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. |
 | | Self-professed nerd and heavy metal addict, comedian, writer, and actor Brian Posehn became a cult favorite courtesy of the HBO series Mr. |
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 | | 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. |
 | | 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 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | In just ten years, Kathleen Madigan went from working as a waitress and local newspaper reporter in St. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | The most groundbreaking and daring comic talent since the heyday of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor was also the most controversial. |
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 | | Bill Hicks was the last great social satirist, the true descendent of comedians like Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and Mort Sahl. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
