The history of comedy
The people, clubs, shows, specials and moments that shaped stand-up and comedy. Every fact is checked against at least two independent, reputable sources (newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, official sites), written in our own words and footnoted. Wikipedia is used only to find those sources.
- Borscht Belt: The Borscht Belt was a resort area in Sullivan and Ulster Counties whose resorts served mostly Jewish New Yorkers.
- Andy Kaufman: Andy Kaufman was a comedian whose life spanned 1949 to 1984.
- Bill Hicks: Bill Hicks was an American comedian.
- Bob Hope: Bob Hope (1903–2003) was a world-famous comedian.
- Bob Newhart: Bob Newhart, born George Robert Newhart, was a comedy writer and performer from Oak Park, Illinois, who also acted in television and film.
- Carol Burnett: Carol Burnett is an entertainer known for The Carol Burnett Show, a television program that aired on CBS.
- Chris Rock: Chris Rock is a comedian who also works as an actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.
- David Letterman: David Letterman hosted NBC's Late Night with David Letterman, a show that later moved to CBS as the Late Show.
- Dick Gregory: Dick Gregory, a St. Louis, Missouri native who entered the world on October 12, 1932, built a career in comedy and writing while advocating for civil rights, and he later died in Washington, D.C.
- Don Rickles: Don Rickles was a comedian who was born in New York City.
- Eddie Murphy: Eddie Murphy is a Hollywood comedian and actor whose film work includes Beverly Hills Cop and Nutty Professor.
- Ellen DeGeneres: Ellen DeGeneres is a comedian, born in 1958 in Metairie, Louisiana.
- Freddie Prinze: Freddie Prinze was a comedian. Born in New York in 1954, he had Puerto Rican and Hungarian roots.
- Garry Shandling: Garry Shandling, a stand-up comedian, earned his greatest fame through The Larry Sanders Show and It's Garry Shandling's Show.
- George Burns: George Burns was a vaudeville performer who also found success with his wife, Gracie Allen, in a popular act on radio and television.
- George Carlin: George Carlin, whose full name was George Denis Patrick Carlin, was a comedian born on May 12, 1937.
- Jack Benny: Jack Benny was an American comedian who entertained audiences on radio and later on television.
- Jackie Mason: Jackie Mason was a comedian and former rabbi who gave up his religious post for a career in comedy.
- Jay Leno: Jay Leno, born on April 28, 1950, is a comedian and a former host of NBC's The Tonight Show.
- Jerry Seinfeld: Jerry Seinfeld is the co-creator, along with Larry David, of the sitcom Seinfeld, which premiered in 1989.
- Joan Rivers: Joan Rivers was a comedienne who at one time served as guest host of The Tonight Show, and she lived from 1933 to 2014.
- Johnny Carson: Johnny Carson was a television host who hosted NBC's The Tonight Show from 1962 until he left television in 1992.
- Jonathan Winters: Jonathan Winters (1925–2013) was a legendary comedian.
- Lenny Bruce: Lenny Bruce, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, was a comedian.
- Lily Tomlin: Lily Tomlin, born Mary Jean Tomlin, is a performer who appeared on the television program Laugh-In.
- Lucille Ball: Lucille Ball (1911–1989) is associated with the TV series I Love Lucy, on which she portrayed the fictional character Lucy Ricardo.
- Mel Brooks: Mel Brooks, born Melvin James Kaminsky in 1926 in Brooklyn, New York, is a World War II veteran and comedy writer whose career grew to include acting, directing and producing.
- Milton Berle: Milton Berle (1908–2002) was an American comedian and actor.
- Mitch Hedberg: Mitch Hedberg was a stand-up comedian from St. Paul, Minnesota.
- Moms Mabley: Moms Mabley was an African-American comedian and entertainer from Brevard, North Carolina.
- Mort Sahl: Mort Sahl, born Morton Lyon Sahl, was a performer whose comedy targeted both the political Right and the Left.
- Phyllis Diller: Phyllis Diller was a comedian whose career of almost five decades took in stage, film and television work.
- Redd Foxx: Redd Foxx was a comedian.
- Richard Pryor: Richard Pryor was a groundbreaking black comedian whose full name was Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III.
- Robin Williams: Robin Williams was a comedian.
- Rodney Dangerfield: Rodney Dangerfield, born Jacob Cohen, was a stand-up comedian who became a film star in the 1980s.
- Sam Kinison: Sam Kinison was a comedian whose career took off after a 1984 HBO special.
- Steve Martin: Steve Martin is a comedian, actor, writer, and musician.
- Whoopi Goldberg: Whoopi Goldberg is a comedian, actress and host of television talk shows.
- Eddie Murphy Delirious: Eddie Murphy Delirious is a stand-up comedy film by Eddie Murphy, who was 22 years old when he performed it.
- Eddie Murphy Raw: Eddie Murphy Raw is a comedy concert film released in 1987.
- In Living Color: In Living Color was a television show that aired on Fox Broadcasting Co.'s network.
- Monty Python's Flying Circus: Monty Python's Flying Circus is one of the BBC's comedy programs.
- Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was a classic sketch-comedy television program broadcast on NBC.
- Saturday Night Live: Saturday Night Live (SNL) is an NBC late-night program that debuted in 1975.
- Second City Television: Second City Television, commonly called SCTV, was a sketch comedy program from Canada.
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Johnny Carson hosted his own edition of The Tonight Show, known as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, for thirty years, spanning 1962 to 1992.
- The Comedy Store: The Comedy Store is a comedy club in Los Angeles that has been called iconic.
- The Second City: The Second City is a theater company and comedy enterprise that began in Chicago in December 1959.
- FCC v. Pacifica Foundation: FCC v. Pacifica Foundation is a U.S. Supreme Court case over George Carlin's comedy routine Filthy Words.
Updated November 12, 2026.