The definitive list of comedians - latest issue

Re-Revised and now with added ‘previously missed’ names

There are so many threads on the forum on the subject of who's good or funny, and who isn't, that I've had a think about it and put most of them in order.
The names are NOT in any order within their scoring group, this list isn’t that precise. 

Of course it's MY order, and NO-ONE will agree with it, but it should make interesting enough reading.

I think most of the top funny people are in it, dead and alive. I can think of others, but this took long enough. I've given them all a rating from 1/10 up to 10/10 , the higher scores being much harder to attain, and there's a short explanation or memory jogger attached to each name. They could have been scored further, for example 1/10 effectively covers from 1/100 to about 14/100 and so on. Please allow for this.
Also the ratings try to take into consideration how they were 'in their time'.
I am expecting a few 'Grrrr' responses. Although there's really no need for any. No two people would come up with anything like the same order for this many names.

********************** THIS LOT ARE 1/10 ********************************
Dominic Holland  Gets on 50/100 greatest type shows to opine. How? Hugely unfunny.
Justin Lee-Collins Simply dreadful.
Roy Walker crap comic, even worse quiz show shouter, or should that be, host.
Cheech and Chong Lots of smoking drugs.... That's it!
Gregor Fisher can't understand a word he says
Patrick Kielty Very sad about his dad, but it didn't make him as funny as he thinks it did.
Keith Harris and Orville Fancy being upstaged by your own puppet.
Cannon and Ball If only those braces had been tighter.
Dom Joly Pranks on the unsuspecting, just annoying. Not funny.
Ricky Grover being a big, fat and aggressive ex-boxer do not a funny man make.
the Mighty Boosh BBC3. Says it all. Couldn't even smile at these people
Mike and Bernie Winters. EeeeeeeEEEEEEEeeeeeee. And a dog. Does anyone remember ANYTHING else they ever said or did? doubtful
Tony Slattery Smug, and the poorest member of whose line is it anyway.
Little and Large No explanation needed
David Baddiel Lucky man, fairly talentless, but had 2 good partners
Roland Rivron I've met him, he's the same off stage/screen as on it. Thinks holding a glass of wine makes him amusing.
Stewart Lee Must be one of the most over-rated comedians performing today.
Ellen DeGeneres One of a host of proud lesbian comics(?)
Sue Perkins See E DeGeneres
Rhona Cameron See E. DeGeneres
Helen Lederer Only famous because she looks a bit weird.
Stephen K Amos He's black and like many black comedians, he mentions it a lot.
Shappi Korshandi She’s from Iran, you know
Brendan O’Carroll Mrs Brown – A poor, less funny copy of the dated Mother Riley, Unfathomable apparent popularity

Being from Liverpool does NOT mean you're automatically a comedian, quite the opposite in my experience
Tom O'Connor From Liverpool. He refused to tell 'blue' jokes, a mistake
Stan Boardman I saw him once. I asked for my money back. From Liverpool
Jimmy Tarbuck From Liverpool. Is Golf so hilarious? I think not.
Arthur Askey I thang Yew. From Liverpool, not even funny in his day.
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************************ THIS LOT GET 2/10 *******************************
Russell Brand Just not very funny
Bo Selecta The Masks were innovative, the rest OTT.
Lenny Henry Put on a ginger wig when he was 12 and said “Gwapple me Gwapenuts” not much since
Dennis Pennis (Paul Kaye) A bit of a coward really, wouldn't have done what he did any other way. More rude than funny and REALLY irritating in the VC ads (as is VC)
Norman Collier Just ha.ing a br.k.n mi.. phone whilst original, but kept him going for about 82 years.
Simon Amstell How can anyone not be irritated by him? though he has been slightly redeemed by Grandma’s House, but only slightly.
Jennie Eclair loud, brash, northern. Doesn’t really seem much of a basis for an act – and it isn’t.
Les Dennis was in the shadow of Dustin Gee, who sadly died. Still in it. He went from 1/10 to 2/10 on my list thanks to his appearance in Extras.
Norman Lovett[b] Made his name as the 1st Holly, in Red Dwarf
[b]Josie Lawrence Whose line is it anyway, anything else? Has a voice that can shatter milk bottles.
Simon Pegg Writes a bit, acts a bit... Always the same sort of stuff and it's not funny.
Horne and Corden They only get 2/10 because there's 2 of them ? Horne slightly better of the 2. BBC3 again, 
Bob Hope Gets an extra point for longevity. I never laughed at anything he did
Rhod Gilbert Shouts too much, and like so many other ethnic comics, feels the need to establish his welshness
Ken Goodwin Had a few moments in 'The Comedians' but wasn't even the best in that!
Frank Carson Gets a sympathy point bringing him up to 2. That's a cracker.
Mike Yarwood Even at his prime, laughter didn't come easy to his audience. Fair mimic.
Russ Abbott I might have smiled on rare occasions, I can't remember
Max Boyce  Welsh, into Rugby. (Wrongly) Assumes everyone else is the same
Nick Frost A buddy of Simon Pegg, and just as bad, not believable in any role, oh, and not funny
Robert Llewellyn despite writing, and performing for years, only really known for playing Kryton. Which, in fairness, he did quite well
Caroline Aherne Hiding behind 'Mrs Merton' didn't work. W(h)iney.
Charlie Williams Eh oop flower. Likeable, but wouldn't have anyone rolling in the aisles.
Hope and Keen Double act of not very funny Scottish cousins, they worked with Peter Goodwright a lot, (remember him?)
Rod Hull and Emu!!! was English, not Australian as many people think, and extremely limited.
Freddie Starr Was briefly (a mere matter of days) amusing in about 1973. From Liverpool
John Bishop Almost impossible to listen to, Until he came along I thought the Scouse accent was annihilated English. He speaks annihilated Scouse.
Mel Giedroyc Quite good at voice-overs, marginally funnier than the other half of Mel and Sue
Sean Hughes Wasn't very good in 'buzzcocks' wasn't very good in his own show
Phil Jupitus Makes like he's an 'eastender' instead of being from the Isle of Wight, sometimes OK on QI, but not too often
Charlie Chaplin I never saw what was so funny, and he certainly wasn't as good as other silent stars.
Pam Ayres Having a silly accent, and sillier grin was all it took. Or maybe more was needed.
Iain Lee Doesn't make me laugh.
Chris Addison Doesn’t make me laugh – although I feel like he should
Ross Noble Lots of energy, even more bad material, becomes annoying after a while. I thought, "He's funny", then I saw him.
Graham Norton He's gay you know! Grovels and fawns over guests, treats public (who pay him) like dirt. Too camp. As annoying as the character he played in Father Ted.
Sarah Silverman Living proof that trying to be shocking all the time gets boring, and although she has the potential to be funny, she rarely shows it.
Roseanne Barr Can (rarely) be funny, awful screechy voice
Harry Worth Were it not for everyone raising an arm and a leg at shop window corners at the merest mention of his name, he'd be hard pushed to have scored 1.
Stanley Baxter A few self-indulgent production numbers in TV (both senses of TV) shows, that weren't over-imbued with hilarity
Kevin Bishop I barely smiled when I watched his show
Sandi Toksvig Quite talented, with many facets, another proud lesbian, but not overly funny. Was a part of Cambridge footlights revue with some notable others.
Mark Lamarr Too aggressive, tries to be one of the lads and it never looks natural to me, also not funny.
Duncan Norville Come on chase me....  Why?
Jack Whitehall Comes across as a privileged kid who got the breaks because he had some backing.- I don’t know if that’s the case, but he doesn’t make me laugh much
Jimmy Cricket[b] The wellies with L and R written on them get him just into 2/10 territory.
[b]Jim Bowen Had it not been for Bullseye coupled with his ineptitude, we'd barely have heard of him. But it was a classic, so bad he's nearly OK.
.
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************************* THIS LOT ARE 3/10 *****************************
Lee Evans Squeaks, sweats, falls over, and repeats. If you can suffer that there may be one or two moments of humour within. The Bohemian Rhapsody mime raises his score a point
Rufus Hound not hilarious, but I wouldn't walk out
Phil Cool His face made him, but didn't keep him there. Gentle humour.
Alan Carr Really annoying voice, camp, not very funny
Abbott and Costello Whyyyyy, I oughta..... Of their time really, and even then only just.
George Formby Sang a couple of amusing ditties, and was OK on the Ukulele. His films were not funny, OK in the 30's
Jim Tavare Can raise the odd guffaw, looks a bit odd and so is memorable for that.
Jerry Sadowitz Tries to alienate everyone, and succeeds usually. Good magician
Bill Hicks I think he's held in higher regard than his humour warrants
Dennis Leary Sometimes funnyish, chain-smoker, same (incl material) as Bill Hicks
Hinge and Brackett Could be agreeable, but limited. Originally entertainers to the Gay!
Rob Newman infinitely more funny than David Baddiel, but that isn't saying much
Clive Anderson Should let other people talk more, not very funny, very occasional witticisms
Hattie Hayridge Can be amusing, known for being Holly/Hilly in Red Dwarf.
Kelly Monteith Had 6 years on the BBC in the early 80's, unusual for a US comic, (remember Gabrielle Drake?), the show wasn't bad. He never did much, if anything, else.
Jo Caulfield Average stand up, but can raise the odd titter
Michael McIntyre A bit annoying (accent and voice), can (rarely) be humourous though..
Omid Djalilli Only vaguely amusing, another 'ethnic' comic
Ken Dodd From Liverpool, and there aren't many better than him from there, gets a mark this high for being an institution and for sheer quantity.
Lee Hurst Was just about OK on 'They think its all over'. Just about OK as a stand-up, too.
Armando Ianucci Variable, more not funny than funny for me. Including his writings.
Tim Vine Like Ken Dodd, works hard, mostly plays on words. I met him, and wasn't given the impression of innate funniness
Dick Emery He was hilarious at the time, so maybe deserves more than 3, but having seen his show recently, I cannot understand what was funny, even first time around. (the 5th goon too btw)
Dustin Gee Top cabaret act, kept strange company (professionally speaking). Quite funny, and sadly, died young
Peter Serafinowicz Gets about ? in lots of Pegg/Frost things. Average. From Liverpool.
George Burns Very popular, and quite interesting, his double act with Gracie Allen had real chemistry too. Not exactly hilarious though.
Russell Howard Can amuse sporadically, not funny enough to be as regular on TV as he is.
John Sessions Puts the ‘mug’ into Smug. Bright, and quick, but up himself.
Norman Wisdom His films were OK, more amusing than hilarious, but that's it
Victoria Wood Fair pianist, fair writer (tends to give herself nice likeable roles), more appreciated by women than men.
Paul Merton OK when he goes into flights of fantasy on HIGNFY, his show was poor, not as funny as he thinks he is.
Ronnie Corbett OK in Sorry, overshadowed by Ronnie Barker, biggest ever 'Died on his arse' I've ever seen, when he was on Ben Elton's show a few years ago.
Paul O'Grady From Liverpool, passable as Lily Savage, not funny generally.
Dave Spikey Average northern comic
Harry Hill Very hit and miss for me, I wonder if he was a better doctor than he is a comic.
Roy Chubby Brown Just rude, with bits of funny. Was shocking in his early days.
Robin Williams Too manic, often can't make out what he's saying. Clever, but not non-stop funny by any means
League of Gentlemen Acquired taste. You like it or not, or in my case not much.
Rory Bremner OK, but has trouble being himself. Varies between average and not great.
Peter Kay Northern comic whose popularity I can't fathom.
Linda Smith Did loads of panel games, she could be witty, but missed the target a few times too.
Roy Hudd 'Music hall' stylings and Panto. 3/10 is kind.
John Thomson OK, been involved with loads of things, but not hilarious.
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************************* THIS LOT ARE 4/10 ********************************
Hale and Pace They had some moments of funny (We know a song about that don't we Billy?), but were more miss than hit.
Fred MacAuley Witty, good on panel games, not memorable.
Arabella Weir Not bad, the Posh Nosh programme which she wrote was good.
Alexei Sayle Still too radical. From Liverpool. His show in the early 90's was fair.

Jerry Seinfeld American humour, of the newer variety, OK.
Jason Manford Some good material, fair stand-up.
Tim Brooke Taylor The Goodies were unmissable when they started, averagely amusing in panel games.
Steve Coogan Good as Alan Partridge, less so as Paul Calf, Less so again as Saxondale, and even less so as himself.
Alastair McGowan Unfortunately for him, he can never look like the people he is imitating
Steve Punt Less funny than his partner, but still not bad. Does more writing
Griff Rhys Jones Used to be funny with others round him. Isn't now.
Mel Smith Like Griff, and would have been better if he'd licked his lips less. Went down several places when he brought out the Appalling 'Morons from Outer Space'.
WC Fields Some good quotes, but doesn't get me rofl.
Bill Cosby Amusing in places. Better stand-up than show.
Jim Carrey Massive over-actor, annoying facial habits, 40% of his films have funny moments, so 4/10 for him.
Chris Rock Not great, did well as the voice of Marty the Zebra in Madagascar.
Jasper Carrott Has been using the same material for over 30 years, was in just about the worst sitcom ever, but used to be funny.
Mike Reid The best one of 'The Comedians' but no versatility at all. One or 2 average jokes.
Lucy Porter Has her moments
Marx Brothers Mostly for Groucho's one-liners, and some clever slapstick they score 4/10, not much of what was left made me laugh.
David Walliams Whatever character he plays, he's just himself in different clothes.
Sean Lock Okish on panel games. Not a great stand-up.
Rik Mayall Varied stuff, can irritate, good as B'stard, overall passable.
Vic Reeves Sometimes amuses, generally only with his partner.
Angelos Epithemiou (Dan Skinner) Seems quite amusing in Shooting Stars, Was OK in his own show, but may be a bit limited.
Mark Thomas Not really all that funny, but his shows are very interesting, and some of the stuff he campaigns about and discovers is valid.
Shari Lewis (& Lamb Chop) Helped make Sunday afternoons special when I was a kid, and a very good ventriloquist to boot.
Dylan Moran A bit dull for me, good moments, but not consistent.
Nina Conti  A ventriloquist with a good line in working with the audience. I had a lol moment when watching her once.
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*********************** THIS LOT GET 5/10 **************************
Richard Pryor Good in his films. Not as good but acceptable, as stand-up.
Ronnie Ancona Shows talent, better in some guises than others.
Leonard Rossiter One of the best of those from Liverpool, 2 funny roles, Reggie Perrin and Rigsby (possibly ITV's best comedy) yet not hilarious.
Alan Green Average stand-up
Kevin Bloody WilsonDo you feck on 1st dates? Does your dad own a brewery?
Jim Davidson More unfashionable than unfunny, and not popular. Has definitely been funny in his time though
Mike Harding Some of his songs were amusing, and I liked his TV show in the 70's.
Tony Hawks Strikes me as a bit of a laugh, wrote some funny books, could be funny on panel games,
Peter Sellers Good at accents, good in his day, I think he wouldn't stand out so much if he was starting now. A bit over-rated. Being a 'Goon' is a plus
Tracey Ullman Most of her rating is for spawning The Simpsons, she was the funniest in the show with Copperfield and Henry (not hard that!)
Rory McGrath Clever man, says some very funny things, much of it is missed, not got a good image and not as popular as he could be.
Bob Mills In bed with me dinner was very good, (big) plus - he supports Leyton Orient.
Reginald D Hunter Sometimes funny, mumbles too much.
Barry Humphries Was better years ago, but Dame Edna was a brilliant creation, some material good, some not.
Ricky Gervais A bit smug. Always seems to play exactly the same part, even when not acting. Some funny stuff, and some of the Office and Extras were OK.
Andy Kaufman Weird, and occasionally brilliant. Best character in Taxi, which was funny at the time, but isn't now.
Charlie Drake Sort of lovable, and only 5'1”, blew millions gambling. Quite funny. (My boomerang won't come back was produced by George Martin btw)
Andy Parsons If you listen past the silly voice (which is natural, I believe) he can be very funny.
Jackie Mason Original, and was unmissable when he started out, not for long though.
Greg Davies Ex-Teacher who still plays them quite a bit, his stand-up is fair.
Miles Jupp Can be funny, posh and funny
Miranda Hart  I quite like her TV show, it’s harmless and can raise a smile. Good in Not Going Out.
Greg Proops[b/] Whose line is it regular, quite funny.
[b]Colin Mochrie See G. Proops
Mike McShane See G Proops
Ryan Stiles see G Proops – the best of these 4.
Mark Steel Not the best delivery, but very interesting and informative TV shows, amusing too.
Chris Barrie Brittas and Rimmer, good characters, also some good voices for Spitting Image, including Reagan.
Michael Bentine Potty time was good, and a 'Goon' (not that I’ve ever laughed at the Goons), so scores well.
Charlie Higson Looks a bit meek, and like he won't be as funny as he is. Good writer.
Jethro[b/] Of the old school, tells some good jokes
[b]Sacha Baron Cohen Funny at times, cringy too though, very hit and miss.
Jimmy Jones Same old stuff for years, but most of it funny
Matt Lucas Lots of talent, makes you think he is who he's playing, score reduced because of an awful chat show.
Sally Phillips Been in loads of things, but mostly here because I find her strangely attactive
Jo Brand Good stand-up, some good material, not pretentious
John Belushi Was a funny bloke, but not that funny.
Chevy Chase some good films, some good stand-up, some not.
Stephen Fry Mmmmmmmhhhheeeehhhh!
Sarah Millican A bit flavour of the month, can be rude, at least she’s amusing.
Nick Hancock Was good as host of Room 101, unnecessarily reactive at times.
Eddie Murphy I often can't understand what he's saying, with all the mo fo's being hurled about. Some of his films amuse though.
Hattie Jacques Carry on films, Sykes, could be funny. She utilised facial expressions well.
Larry Grayson An institution, if only for ‘Shut that door’, and names like Everard.
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*********************** THIS LOT ARE 6/10 ********************************

Gene Wilder Lots of memorable and funny film roles
Richard Stilgoe Some very funny songs
Catherine Tate Talented, some of her characters are amusing.
Sid James Good with Hancock. Good in 'Carry on' films, other stuff not so good.
Marcus Brigstocke Good material, makes me laugh.
Hugh Laurie Talented, and he'd get a higher score if he'd drop the very, very annoying voice he uses as 'House', Fry and Laurie's sketches never seemed to end properly to me.
Rowan Atkinson OK in Thin blue line. Excellent as Blackadder. Dire as both Mr Bean and Johnny English.
Dorothy Parker Some of the best quotes ever can be attributed to her.
Jon Richardson Quick thinking, good material, Among the best of a very large current crop.
Bob Mortimer Mortimer funnier than Reeves. Shooting stars was moderately watchable
Dave Gorman He’s original and he works hard at his gigs, Googlewhack was very good.
Jake Thackarey Should have been more famous, but was shy. Very clever, very funny songs
Eddie Izzard For someone who was never going to be on TV, he's been on it a lot, sometimes tries too hard.
Alan Davis Best in QI. Quite good stand-up..
Ben Elton Better writer than performer, very good writer.
Kenneth Williams Best in Round the Horne.
Ed Byrne Enjoyable act, smoother comic than many.
Tim Minchin Brilliant Pianist, some of his routines are a bit cerebral/hard to understand
Kathy Burke Talented, good timing, perfect as Waynetta Slob.
Les Dawson The piano playing is one of the funniest things ever, and it isn't easy. I often had trouble understanding what he said.
Dara O'Briain Good stand-up, OK on TV
Simon Evans Cynical stand-up, funny with it. Writes for others as well
Mel Brooks Made some good films, but there were often telegraphed jokes which didn't work.
Johnny Vegas Can make me laugh out loud, unusual act.
Ray Alan (& Lord Charles) ‘You silly arse’. Was the consummate vent act in the 60's/70's
Rich Hall A tiny bit too dead pan, but good enough.
Richard Digance Inventive, some good tunes too, and funny.
Tommy Cooper Just silly, I never quite understood why he was idolised quite so much.
Barry Cryer Top writer, good stand-up.
Rob Brydon Better on stage than TV. On TV too much
Joyce Grenfell Excellent in St Trinians. Was a groundbreaker for women and comedy.
Al Murray Clever, well researched stuff, very good with his audience, shouts too much.
Frank Skinner Would be better if he swore less, average chat show host. Can be funny. The ‘bluest’ stand-up routine I’ve ever seen.
Arthur Smith Good personality, and funny bloke.
Graeme Garden Best of the goodies (though possibly not at the time), laid back and quick.
Jennifer Saunders Good writer, quite funny sketch show, works well with partner.
Mae West Filthy in her day, as well as sharp
Eric Idle Writer of funny songs and a good style.
Milton Jones Silly one liners and a quite good radio show. Makes me laugh
Joan Rivers For an old lady she has lots of energy. Makes me laugh.
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************************ THIS LOT ARE 7/10 **************************
Clement Freud Excellent writer, one of the wittiest ever on panel games.
Eric Sykes His TV series was a classic, but did loads of other funny stuff too.
Andy Hamilton Top writer (Harry's game, Drop the dead donkey), good on QI etc, too.
Tony Hancock So many classic sketches.
Dawn French Excellent as vicar, also in Jam and Jerusalem. Good with Saunders, can be very funny.
Bernard Manning Among those with the best timing ever. Some funny stuff, if not to everyone's taste. I liked him.
Bill Bailey Brilliant musician, and when not being too 'Far out', quite funny.
Max Miller Years ahead of his time. His jokes have been nicked by 100's of comics.
Spike Milligan Funny books, the funniest 'Goon', Funny sketch shows.
Frankie Boyle Clever and quick, but tries too hard sometimes.
Harold Lloyd one of the few silent stars to succeed in talkies
Armstrong and Miller They vary a bit. The Airman, and Flanders and Swann, are funny. Both good in other things
Harry Enfield Many good characters, some not so good. Can be good.
Ardal O'Hanlon Likeable, so good in Father Ted, Funny stage act.
Paul Whitehouse Good at characterisations even if some of them are irritating. Writes well.
Peter Ustinov Brilliant man, interesting background, told stories perfectly.
Joe Pasquale Just silly, but I can't help laughing at him
Jack Dee Holds an audience well. Good quiz host too.
Frankie Howerd Unique and good with the audience.
Woody Allen V Good stand-up, made some good films, but also a few near misses.
Jimmy Carr Can be very rude, but gets away with it. Writes a good routine.
Alan Coren Some of the most amusing written stuff I've seen, was editor of Punch, excellent on the News quiz.
Phil Hammond Funny (real) Doctor. Always makes me chuckle.
Hugh Dennis Witty, very good in Outnumbered, also on panel shows.
Dudley Moore Excellent pianist, great partnership, was good in Arthur.
Bob Newhart Some classic sketches, (Driving instructor, Nutty Walt).
Robert Webb With his partner, very well thought-out comedy.
Michael Palin Not just Python, but good in other films. His travel series are humourous too.
John Cleese The most famous Basil ever?
Lee Mack Good stand-up, not bad on TV panel shows, Not Going Out one of the better recent comedies.
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*********************** THIS LOT ARE 8/10 ************************
Peter Cook A 60's icon, deservedly an 8.
Monty Python Slightly better as the sum of its parts
Victor Borge Unbelievable Pianist, very good on stage, and the voice of Heineken ads.
Benny Hill An institution and one of the best comedy writers ever, he wrote some clever songs. Some of his TV shows were amazing at the time.
Dave Allen Clever bloke, he was master of ‘leave 'em wanting more’, hence never seeing his old shows. Timing superb.
Morecambe and Wise Naturally funny, They never failed to get a laugh, although I think it was 80% Morecambe and 20% Wise
Humphrey Littleton The funniest radio show of all time. He was responsible.
Willie Rushton Very funny, it just came without effort.
Steve Martin Funny actor, dexterous, excellent stand-up at times too
Emo Phillips Unique self-deprecation. Hilarious
David Mitchell Funny on panel games. Works well with Robert Webb – the acting is very good in their sketches and films.
Marty Feldman Looked funny, but wrote and acted funny as well. He had a very good sketch show, with some memorable sketches.
Kenny Everett From Liverpool, and a class apart from all others from there. Inventive, even funnier on radio than on TV.
Billy Connolly Surely the best stand-up ever. The mould into which most other comics have poured themselves. Material hasn’t stood the test of time.   

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 9/10 for these 2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Laurel and Hardy They had chemistry which has been without equal. So many belly laughs. Classic stuff (most of it) which is still funny, other old comedy mostly isn’t
Bob Monkhouse A genius. One of my heroes, he could sing, draw, write comedy, had a top stand-up routine. Shame about some of the quiz shows. Apparently a v nice bloke too.

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * JUST THE ONE 10/10 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ronnie Barker Probably the best comedy actor ever, he became the roles he played. He also wrote (as Gerard Wiley) and was brilliant with wordplay. Genius.