On Humour – Attachments

Attachment #1: Early History of Satire and Comedy

Attachment #2: Jesters, the Circus, Clowns, and Tricksters

Attachment #3: Different ages – different humour

Attachment #4: Kinds of comedy/humour; skills and tools

Attachment #5: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Attachment #6: Important Stage and Screen Personalities and Radio/TV Venues in the Comedic World of the Recent Past

Attachment #7: Comedy/Humour Writers

Attachment #8: Influential Cartoonists

Attachment #1: Early History of Satire and Comedy

Ancient Greece

The word “comedy” originated in Ancient Greece. In Athenian democracy the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theatres. Satire and political satire use comedy to portray persons or social institutions as ridiculous or corrupt, thus alienating their audience from the object of their humour. Parody subverts popular genres and forms, critiquing those forms without necessarily condemning them. 

Aristophanes (446 – 386 BC) was a comic playwright and satirical author of the Ancient Greek Theatre where the three dramatic genres emerged, tragedy (late 500 BC), comedy (490 BC), and the satyr play. He wrote 40 comedies, 11 of which survive. (Interestingly, all actors in classical Athens – 480–323 BC – wore masks, In tragedy and New Comedy these identified stereotypical characters, but in Old Comedy the masks were often caricatures of real people.) 

Aristophanes developed his type of comedy from the earlier satyr plays, which were often highly obscene. The remarkable feature of the satyr play is the chorus of satyrs, with their costumes that focus on the phallus, and with their language, which uses wordplay, sexual innuendos, references to breasts, farting, erections, and other observations that do not occur in tragedy. In his comedic play, Lysistrata, the main character Lysistrata concocted a radical plan to end the Peloponnesian War. She persuaded her fellow women to refuse carnal encounters with their husbands until peace was achieved. Comedic scenarios hinged on the prolonged state of arousal of the male characters.

Plato (424 – 348 BC) taught that comedy is a destruction to the self. He believed that it produces an emotion that overrides rational self-control and learning. In The Republic, he says that the guardians of the state should avoid laughter, “for ordinarily when one abandons himself to violent laughter, his condition provokes a violent reaction.” Plato says comedy should be tightly controlled if one wants to achieve the ideal state.

Aristotle (384–322 BC): around 335 BCE, in his work Poetics, Aristotle defined comedy as one of the original four genres of literature. The other three genres are tragedy, epic poetry and lyric poetry. He stated that comedy originated in phallic processions and the light treatment of the otherwise base and ugly. In a famous passage in Chapter 4 of the Poetics, Aristotle formulated the hypothesis that the earliest forms of comedy originated and evolved from “those who lead off the phallic processions”, which were still common in many towns at his time.

Aristotle taught that comedy was generally positive for society, since it brings forth happiness, which for Aristotle was the ideal state, the final goal in any activity. A comedy for him did not need to involve sexual humour. A comedy is about the fortunate rise of a sympathetic character. 

Aristotle divides comedy into three categories or subgenres: farce (which is a comedy that seeks to entertain the audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable), romantic comedy (a funny play and in todays media, movie or television program about a love story that ends happily), and satire (whose greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society).

The genre of comedy is defined by a certain pattern according to Aristotle’s definition. Comedies begin with low or base characters seeking insignificant aims and end with some accomplishment of the aims which either lightens the initial baseness or reveals the insignificance of the aims. 

Humour in the Bible

Humour does not translate well from culture to culture or from language to language. Finding humour in the Bible requires a broad eclectic definition of humour and some awareness of literary types of humour such as satire, farce, parody, irony and so on. The vast majority of Bible interpreters over the last 1,500 years have not only not detected humour in the Bible, they have often discounted or even disdained the possibility. 

On the other hand, Howard R. Macy, a professor of religion, says the Bible authors use dark humour, satire, a great deal of wit, and are particularly fond of the dry humour that goes with exaggeration. “The humour of the Bible is deadpan. It sneaks up on you.” When discussing biblical humour, scholars generally agree humour is often in the situation itself. Macy says “mischievous exploits, names and name changes, literary plays on words, exaggeration, and the unexpected: a surprising word, an unexpected phrase, or an abrupt change of direction are what the Bible uses to convey wit and humour.”

Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Elizabethan audiences expected certain things when they went to the theatre. They wanted violence, they wanted a love story somewhere in the play, and above all they wanted to be entertained with humour. Shakespeare was a wonderful comedic writer. He would often use malapropisms and puns and slapstick. 

Years ago when I was at boarding school we mounted A Midsummer Night’s Dream. There was a scene where Bottom produced a stream of funny exchanges based, mainly on the contrast between his view of himself as a handsome romantic lover and the reality that the audience sees – that he is quite literally nothing more than an ass. It’s the Bard doing his funny bit, as he does in so many plays. As fifteen year olds, we would laugh hysterically at the incongruity of it all – the elusive Puck transforming Bottom’s head into that of a donkey, etc.

In Twelfth Night Shakespeare uses several different types of humour to make Malvolio appear foolish –  slapstick, puns, dramatic irony, comedy of manners, and ridicule. He is exposed as being pretentious and snobbish. Shakespeare encourages the audience to laugh at Malvolio’s ignorance. In Hamlet, as the gravediggers dig Ophelia’s grave, they generate a funny scene, bantering with each other, using puns and riddles, about death. In this scene Shakespeare makes us laugh about death. 

The Restoration period (1660-1710) 

During this period a comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical  comedy that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a greatly sophisticated, artificial society. The satire of fashion, manners, and outlook on life of the social classes, is realized with stock characters such as the fop and the rake of English Restoration comedy. 

The clever plot of a comedy of manners (usually a scandal) is secondary to the social commentary thematically presented through the witty dialogue of the characters. For example, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde in 1895, which satirizes the sexual hypocrisies of Victorian morality. 

Romantic comedy became a popular genre that depicts burgeoning romance in humorous terms and focuses on the foibles of those who are falling in love.

Jesters, clowns and the circus

This theme is expanded upon in Attachment #2: Jesters, the Circus, Clowns, and Tricksters

Attachment #2: Jesters, the Circus, Clowns, and Tricksters

Jesters, clowns and tricksters are a cultural phenomena that has a long history in many countries and cultures across the world. The most ancient clowns have been found in the Fifth dynasty of Egypt, around 2,400 BC. Early jesters were popular in Ancient Egypt, and entertained Egyptian pharaohs. 

The ancient Romans had a tradition of professional jesters, called balatrones. Balatrones were paid for their jests, and the tables of the wealthy were generally open to them for the sake of the amusement they afforded. Jesters were popular with the Aztec people in the 14th to 16th centuries

Jesters (or court jesters or fools) were entertainers during the medieval and renaissance eras. They were members of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town markets.

Then came the exhilarating days of the circus in the late 1700s as another venue for comedy. Unlike court jesters, clowns have traditionally served a socio-religious and psychological role, and traditionally the role of priest and clown have been held by the same person.

Phillip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus. In 1770, he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and a clown to fill in the pauses between equestrian demonstrations and thus chanced on the format which was later named a “circus”. The traditional format, in which a ringmaster introduces a variety of choreographed acts set to music, developed in the latter part of the 19th century and remained the dominant format until the 1970s. The traditional large tents commonly known as “big tops” were introduced in the mid-19th century as touring circuses superseded static venues. The clown role is strongly associated with and developed out of earlier comedic roles in theatre or Varieté shows during the 19th to mid 20th centuries.

In the early 1800s, the first mainstream clown role was portrayed by Joseph Grimaldi. He expanded the role of Clown in the harlequinade (that part of a pantomime in which the harlequin and clown play the principal parts) that formed part of British pantomimes. He became so dominant on the London comic stage that harlequinade Clowns became known as “Joey”, and both the nickname and Grimaldi’s whiteface make-up design are still used by other clowns.

The comedy that clowns perform is usually in the role of a fool whose everyday actions and tasks become extraordinary – and for whom the ridiculous, for a short while, becomes ordinary. This style of comedy has a long history in many countries and cultures across the world. Some philosophers have argued that due to the widespread use of such comedy and its long history it is a need that is part of the human condition.

The tradition of the circus clown is a long honoured one. ”Bozo, The World’s Most Famous Clown“, is a clown character created for children’s entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946 and later appeared in franchised TV programs. The character became a common franchise across the United States, with local television stations producing their own Bozo shows featuring the character.

Sociologist Peter Berger said “It seems plausible that folly and fools, like religion and magic, meet some deeply rooted needs in human society.”For this reason, clowning is often considered an important part of training as a physical performance discipline, partly because tricky subject matter can be dealt with, but also because it requires a high level of risk and play in the performer.

The trickster in Native American culture too is unique. In their mythology, the Trickster channels the spirit of the Coyote and becomes a sacred Clown character. A Heyoka is an individual in Native cultures who lives outside the constraints of normal cultural roles. The Heyoka plays the role of a backwards clown, doing everything in reverse. Many cultures have tales of the trickster, a crafty being who uses cunning to get food, steal precious possessions, or simply cause mischief. The trickster is a term used for a non performing ‘trick maker’; they may have many motives behind their intention but those motives are not in public view. The clown on the other hand displays their actions in public intentionally for an audience.

Humour has been an important survival tool to get through the past 500 years that has seen colonization, residential school, the sixties scoop, racism, marginalization, poor health care, substandard housing, and poverty descend upon First Nations; it’s known as “survivor humour”. As such, First Nation humour can be ironic, politically incorrect, caustic, and self-deprecating. There is often a fine line between fake news and the satire that First Nation people use. As an oral society, telling stories and jokes is an integral part of the culture for many First Nation people. 

Attachment #3: Different ages – different humour

There are natural, predictable stages of development in children. Parents figure out what’s likely to amuse children at different stages, i.e.

– babies: don’t really understand humour, but they do know when a person is smiling and happy. When funny noises or faces and then laughs or smiles occur, a baby is likely to sense joy and imitate the initiator. He or she is also highly responsive to physical stimuli, like tickling

– toddlers: appreciate physical humour, especially the kind with an element of surprise (like peek-a-boo or an unexpected tickle). As kids develop language skills, they’ll find rhymes and nonsense words funny – and this will continue well into the preschool years. It’s around this time that many kids start trying to make their parents laugh

– preschooler: is more likely to find humour in a picture with something out of whack (a car with square wheels) than a joke or pun. Incongruity between pictures and sounds (a horse that says moo) is also funny. And as they become more aware of bodily functions and of what gets a parent’s goat, preschoolers often start delighting in bathroom humour

– school-age kids: as kids move into kindergarten and beyond, basic wordplay, exaggeration, and slapstick will all be increasingly funny. They may discover the pleasure of telling simple jokes (it’s fun to be the one who knows the punchline!) and will repeat the same jokes over and over

– older grade-schoolers: have a better grasp of what words mean and are able to play with them – they like puns, riddles, and other forms of wordplay. They’ll also start making fun of any deviation from what they perceive as “normal” forms of behaviour or dress; gross-out jokes related to bodily functions are a hit too. But kids this age are also developing more subtle understandings of humour, including the ability to use wit or sarcasm and to handle adverse situations using humour

(Note: information source: KidsHealth.org from Nemours Children’s Health. The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth®)

Attachment #4: Kinds of comedy/humour; skills and tools

Kinds of comedy/humour

• observational comedy: is a form of humour based on the commonplace aspects of everyday life. It is one of the main types of humour in stand-up comedy. In an observational comedy act, the comedian “makes an observation about something from the backwaters of life, an everyday phenomenon that is rarely noticed or discussed.”The humour is based on the premise of “Have you ever noticed?”(or “Did you ever notice?”), which has become a comedy cliche. According to Sam Friedman, University of Edinburgh, ”Observational humour usually takes the form of long monologues of personal narrative; the punchline is either hard to predict or never came.”

• sketch comedy: comprises a series of short scenes or vignettes, called “sketches”, commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio or visual medium such as radio and TV. Often sketches are first improvised by the actors and sketched down based on the outcome of these improv sessions; however, such improvisation is not necessarily involved in sketch comedy. Sketch comedians routinely differentiate their product from a “skit”, maintaining that a skit is a (single) dramatized joke (or “bit”)while a sketch is a comedic exploration of a concept, character, or situation

• stand-up comedy: where a comedian communicates to a live audience, speaking directly to them (usually through a microphone). Stand-up comedy is a dialogic (where dialogue explores the meaning of something) monologue, or a grouping of humorous, stories, jokes and one-liners, typically called a shtick, routine, act, or set.Stand-ups may fuse props, music, magic tricks, or ventriloquism. Stand-up comedians perform quasi-autobiographical and fictionalized extensions of their offstage selves. George Carlin was a master at this

• improvisation: is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found.  Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. Some of the more famous improv theatres and training centres in the world include: iO (formerly ImprovOlympic) in Chicago and Los Angeles, The Second City in Chicago and Toronto, The Players Workshop in Chicago, National Comedy Theatre in San Diego, New York

• novelty songs: a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humour, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humour. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. They are often a parody or humour song, and may apply to a current event such as a holiday or a fad such as a dance or TV programme. Many use unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be musical. (An example would be the 1958 novelty rock song “Splish Splash” performed and co-written by Bobby Darin or Tom Lehrer’s famous ditty,  “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park”)

• satire: is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts in which vices, follies, abuses and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement.  Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. A feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm – “in satire, irony is militant”, according to literary critic Northrup Frye. But parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This “militant” irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to question

• parody (also called a spoof, a take-off, a lampoon, or a caricature): is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or make fun of its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it – theme/content, author, style, etc. But a parody can also be about a real-life person (e.g. a politician), event, or movement. The writer and critic John Gross observes in his Oxford Book of Parodies (he also authored The Oxford Book of Comic Verse), that parody seems to flourish on territory somewhere between pastiche (“a composition in another artist’s manner, without satirical intent”) and burlesque (which “fools around with the material of high literature and adapts it to low ends”)

• practical jokes/pranks: are generally lighthearted and without lasting effect; they aim to make the victim feel humbled or foolish, but not victimized or humiliated. Most practical jokes are affectionate gestures of humour and designed to encourage laughter. A practical joke is “practical” because it consists of someone doing something that is physical, in contrast to a verbal or written joke. Some countries in Western culture traditionally emphasize the carrying out of practical jokes on April Fools’ Day

• self-deprecating humour: self-deprecating jokes represent a brand of humour that has been around for ages. But thanks to the Internet and social media, it has gained a lot more visibility in recent times. It is engaging in funny talks with friends or publicly about things you do not like in you. It could be about your appearance, behaviours, habits, etc. For a self-deprecating joke to work, it must be genuine and not fabricated. Some level of exaggeration is, however, okay. It can be used as tension release. In traditional British-English culture, self-deprecation is considered to be an element of modesty. Philosophers of Stoicism recommended using self-deprecation as a befitting response to insults or a backhanded compliment. In other words, instead of growing defensive to slurs pointed at you, join in and insult yourself even more. According to the proponents of this theory, self-deprecation would help make the insults feel less offensive or may not hurt at all. It can be found in Jerry Lewis, Larry David, David Letterman, Woody Allen, Joan Rivers

• surreal humour (also known as absurdist humour or surreal comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Constructions of surreal humour tend to involve bizarre juxtapositions, incongruity, non-sequiturs, irrational or absurd situations and expressions of nonsense. The humour arises from a subversion of audience expectations, so that amusement is founded on unpredictability, separate from a logical analysis of the situation

• black humour (dark humour,dark comedy, morbid humour, orgallows humour):is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discuss. Writers and comedians often use it as a tool for exploring vulgar issues by provoking discomfort, serious thought, and amusement for their audience. Thus, in fiction, for example, the term black comedy can also refer to a genre in which dark humour is a core component. Popular themes of the genre include death, violence, discrimination, disease, and human sexuality

• blue comedy (or ribaldry): is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to gross indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as “bawdiness” or being “bawdy”. Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at the foibles and weaknesses that manifest themselves in human sexuality. Like any humour, ribaldry may be read as conventional or subversive. Ribaldry typically depends on a shared background of sexual conventions and values, and its comedy generally depends on seeing those conventions broken

• insult comedy: a genre in which the act consists mainly of offensive insults directed at the performer’s audience or other performers (see Don Rickles). The style can be distinguished from an act based on satire, or political humour. Insult comedy is often used to deflect or silence hecklers even when the rest of the show is not focused around it

• bodily function humour: particularly fart jokes; farts are funny but why? Flatulence humour apparently is timeless. Shakespeare resorts to a flatulence pun in The Comedy of Errors, where Dromio of Ephesus declares, “A man may break a word with you, sir; and words are but wind; Ay, and break it in your face, so he break it not behind.” Even Jonathan Swift was tempted; he wrote an entire book on the subject entitled The Benefit of Farting Explained!

• political or topical humour: relies on headlining/important news and current affairs; it dates quickly, but is a popular form for late-night talk-variety shows. (“Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.” A. J. Liebling)

• humour from kids: kids say the darnedest things. The joy associated with kids humour may very well be related to their innocence, to their naivety, their ingenuousness

A further analysis of these comic genres, along with a parallel list examples of comedians utilizing the genres can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedic_genres#:~:text=Comedic%20genres%20%20%20%20Genre%20%20,John%20Th%20…%20%2013%20more%20rows%20

Skills and tools

These can be used both in performance humour as well as writing and cartooning.

• comic timing: emerges from a performer’s joke delivery; they interact with an audience (through inflection, rhythm, cadence, tempo, and pausing) to guide the audience’s laughter, which then guides the comedic narrative. The pacing of the delivery of a joke can have a strong impact on its comedic effect, even altering its meaning; the same can also be true of more physical comedy such as slapstick. Jack Benny, for example, was known for his cleverly timed pauses

• wit: as to wit over humour, J.B. Morton wrote: “The English are very fond of humour, but they are afraid of wit. For wit is like a sword, and humour is like a jester’s bladder.” Witticism or intelligent humour occurs where some things are written or said that are clever and usually funny; they can come out as repartee (the wit of the quick answer and capping comment: the snappy comeback and neat retort. They can be quips or even wisecracks but with common sense not pretentious. Shakespeare admonished pretension with the phrase “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit”

• word play: a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms (unconscious word play), obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, double entendres, and telling character names (such as in the play The Importance of Being Earnest, Ernest being a given name that sounds exactly like the adjective earnest)

• sarcasm: the presence of wit or sarcasm tends to distinguish non-poetic epigrams from aphorisms and adages, which tend to lack those qualities 

• puns: a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophonic, homographic, metonymic, or figurative language. (“How do you make holy water? You boil the hell out of it.” “A cross-eyed teacher couldn’t control his pupils.” “What is a thesaurus’s favourite dessert? Synonym buns!)

• epigrams: brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statements

• double entendre: a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially awkward, sexually suggestive, or offensive to state directly. A double entendre may exploit puns or word play to convey the second meaning. Double entendres generally rely on multiple meanings of words, or different interpretations of the same primary meaning 

• one-liner: a joke that is delivered in a single line. A good one-liner is said to be pithy – concise and meaningful (“Take my wife … please.” (Henry Youngman); “I thought my razor was dull and then I heard his speech.” (Groucho Marx)

Attachment #5: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The different styles of humour that each of the Myers-Briggs Type possesses can be found at: https://personalitygrowth.com/the-sense-of-humor-that-each-personality-type-possesses/

As an example for an ENTJ – which stands for Extraversion (vs Introversion), Intuition (N) (vs Sensing); Thinking (vs Feeling); Judging (vs Perceiving). 

Humour for this group is defined as follows: “ENTJs can have a somewhat outrageous sense of humour. They enjoy pushing the envelope to gauge the different reactions they will receive from others. They aren’t afraid of being seen as ridiculous, so they often push the limits of what others may perceive as funny. They enjoy shock humour, and have a way of surprising their friends that often makes them enjoy being around the ENTJ. They are often very quick with wit and can respond to people before they even realize a joke is coming. They may have a somewhat crude sense of humour that might offend some people who cannot appreciate it.”

Attachment #6: Important Stage and Screen Personalities and Radio/TV Venues in the Comedic World of the Recent Past

Selecting personalities for the following list has its dangers, as it will miss important names. However, it’s the Gestalt that matters – the growth of comedy as the years move forward has been enormous, along with influential radio and TV venues. The  listings are somewhat chronological, and relate to their impact on the public scene.

On the British/Irish side, some of the personalities and venues include:

• Music hall: this was a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. (The variety format made its way from Victorian era stage to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s.) Music hall involved a mixture of popular songs, comedy, specialty acts and variety entertainment. In North America, vaudeville was in some ways analogous to British music hall, featuring rousing songs and comic acts

• George Formby (1904-1961): an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he sang light, comical songs, usually playing the ukulele, and became the UK’s highest-paid entertainer. He was considered Britain’s first properly home-grown screen comedian. He was an influence on future comedians – particularly Charlie Drake (remembered for his opening catchphrase “Hello, my darlings!” – the catchphrase came about because he was short, and so his eyes would often be naturally directly level with a lady’s bosom) and Norman Wisdom (Chaplin once referred to Wisdom as his “favourite clown”) and, culturally, on entertainers such as the Beatles, who referred to him in their music

• Edinburgh Festival Fringe (started in 1947): is the world’s largest arts festival, which in 2018 spanned 25 days and featured more than 55,000 performances of 3,548 different shows in 317 venues. It takes place annually in Edinburgh, Scotland in the month of August. It has become a world-leading celebration of arts and culture, surpassed only by the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in terms of global ticketed events. Comedy is the largest section, making up over one-third of the programme and the one that in modern times has the highest public profile, due in part to the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 

• Edinburgh Comedy Awards (established in 1981): are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. They are the most prestigious comedy prize in the UK. The main prize, which was for many years the only prize, and is now known as the Best Comedy Show, is awarded “for the funniest, most outstanding, up-and-coming comic / comedy show / act” at the Fringe. The winner receives a cash prize of £10,000 and an invitation to perform at the Montreal, Toronto and Chicago Just For Laughs Comedy Festivals. The Best Newcomer Award category was introduced in 1992, and is given to the best “performer or act who is performing their first full-length show (50 minutes or more)” 

• The Goon Show (1951-1960): a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by BBC. The show’s chief creator and main writer was Spike Milligan. The scripts mixed ludicrous plots with surreal humour, puns, catchphrases and an array of bizarre sound effects. Many elements of the show satirized contemporary life in Britain, parodying aspects of show business, commerce, industry, art, politics, diplomacy, the police, the military, education, class structure, literature and film. Subversive and absurdist, The Goon Show exercised a considerable influence on the development of British and American comedy and popular culture. It was cited as a major influence by the Beatles, the American comedy troupe the Firesign Theatre, and the British comedy troupe Monty Python 

• Spike Milligan (1918-2002): was the co-creator, main writer and a principal cast member of The Goon Show, performing a range of roles. He was the earliest-born and last surviving member of the Goons. Milligan parlayed success with the Goon Show into television with Q5 (which ran from 1969 to 1982 on BBC2), a surreal sketch show credited as a major influence on the members of Monty Python’s Flying Circus 

• Harry Secombe (1921-2001): a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. He was a member of The Goon Show, playing many characters, but most notably, Neddie Seagoon. He would go on to star in his own sketch comedy television show, The Harry Secombe Show (1968-1973) 

• Michael Bentine (1922-1996): a British comedian, comic actor and founding member of Goons. He specialized in off-the-wall humour, often involving cartoons and other types of animation. His acts included giving lectures in an invented language called Slobodian

• Tony Hancock (1924-1968): an English comedian and actor. High profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series Hancock’s Half Hour, first broadcast on radio from 1954, then on TV from 1956. During the run of his BBC radio and TV series, he became an enormous star in Britain. Like few others, he was able to clear the streets while families gathered together to listen to the eagerly awaited episodes

• Benny Hill (1924-1992): an English comedian, actor, writer, best remembered for his television programme The Benny Hill Show, an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque, and double entendre in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment. He was a prominent figure in British culture for nearly four decades. His show proved to be one of the great success stories of TV comedy and was among the most-watched programs in the UK, with the audience peaking at more than 21 million in 1971. The Benny Hill Show was also exported to half the countries around the world

• Peter Sellers (1925-1980): he performed in The Goon Show, featured on a number of hit comic songs and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther series of films. He developed mimicry and improvisational skills. The bulk of his work was comedic, often parodying characters of authority such as military officers or policemen. Sellers’ versatility enabled him to portray a wide range of comic characters using different accents and guises, and he would often assume multiple roles within the same film, frequently with contrasting temperaments and styles. Satire and black humour were major features of many of his films, and his performances had a strong influence on a number of later comedians. English filmmakers the Boulting Brothers (known for their satirical comedies) described Sellers as “the greatest comic genius this country has produced since Charlie Chaplin.” 

• Beyond the Fringe (early 1960s): a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Dudley Moore, Peter Cook, Alan Bennett (1934-2019) and Jonathan Miller (1934-2019). It played in London’s West End and then in America, both on tour and on Broadway. Hugely successful, it is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satirical comedy in 1960s Britain

• Dudley Moore (1935-2002): Moore was a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s and in particular through the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe. Moore went on to Holywood and did films, e.g. Foul Play and Arthur

• Peter Cook (1937-1995): an English satirist and comedic actor. He was associated with the anti-establishment comedic movement that emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s and a leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He created the comedy stage revue Beyond the Fringe, beginning a long-running partnership with Dudley Moore. In 1961, Cook opened the comedy club The Establishment in London. Referred to as “the father of modern satire” by The Guardian in 2005, Cook was ranked number one in the Comedians’ Comedian, a poll of more than 300 comics, comedy writers, producers, and directors throughout the English-speaking world 

• British television in the 1960s/1970s: mounted such shows as Fawlty Towers (named the “greatest ever British TV sitcom” by a panel of comedy experts compiled by the Radio Times), Dad’s Army (a BBC sitcom about the British militia called the Home Guard during WWII; it ran from 1968 to 1977), Blackadder (voted the second-best British sitcom of all time and from which emerged the comedian Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder) and The Office (a British TV mockumentary sitcom which has become one of the most successful of all British comedy exports) and certainly Monty Python

• Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969-1974): the British comedy troupe, Monty Python, created the sketch comedy TV show Monty Python’s Flying Circus. (The Pythons’ influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles’ influence on music.) Regarded as an enduring icon of 1970s pop culture, their sketch show has been referred to as being “an important moment in the evolution of television comedy”. It was an innovative, stream-of-consciousness approach and pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content. Certainly scenes and lines from the Python movies – Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983) – infiltrate my brain more often than I would like to admit!

• The Pythons are relevant to me for another reason: my sons were able to replicate selected dialogue, along with the appropriate English accent, of many of the (it seemed the most outrageous) scenes. They would do the Dead Parrot sketch word for word that came out of the mouths of comedians John Cleese and Michael Palin (No no he’s not dead, he’s, he’s restin’! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, idn’it, ay? Beautiful plumage!.)

• John Cleese (born 1939): he co-founded Monty Python in the late 1960s, and in the mid-1970s he co-wrote the sitcom Fawlty Towers, and he starred in it as Basil Fawlty. (Basil was ranked second on its list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.) Cleese specializes in satire, black comedy, sketch comedy and surreal humour

• Dave Allen (1936-2005): an Irish observational comedian and satirist. Initially becoming known in Australia during 1963–64, Allen made regular TV appearances in the UK from the later 1960s and until the mid-1980s. The BBC aired his Dave Allen Show 1971–1986, which was also exported to several other European countries. He had a major resurgence during the late 1980s and early 1990s. At the height of his career he was Ireland’s most controversial comedian, regularly provoking indignation by highlighting political hypocrisy and showing disdain for religious authority. As he grew older, he brought a rueful awareness of aging to his material. His television shows were broadcast in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Yugoslavia, Australia and New Zealand. (“I’m an atheist, thank God”.)

• David Frost (1939-2013): he rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962, and his success on this show led to work as a host on American television. He became known for his television interviews with senior political figures, among them the Nixon interviews in 1977

• Rowan Atkinson (born 1955): an English actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his work on the sitcoms Blackadder (1983–1989) and Mr. Bean (1990-1995). Atkinson first came to prominence in the BBC sketch comedy show Not the Nine O’Clock News (1979-1982). Atkinson was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy in 2007 and among the top 50 comedians ever, in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians. Best known for his use of physical comedy in his Mr. Bean persona; Atkinson’s other characters rely more on language. Atkinson often plays authority figures (especially priests or vicars) speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan delivery. He does things in eccentric ways; he displays dramatic situations rather that jokes. His often visually based style has been compared to that of Buster Keaton. He finds what’s funny about things and situations is the truth in them

• Brendan O’Carroll (born 1955): an Irish actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for portraying foul-mouthed matriarch Agnes Brown on stage, and in the BBC TV sitcom, and quite rude at times, Mrs. Brown’s Boys

• Whose Line Is It Anyway?: a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a popular British radio programme, before moving to British TV in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, they began airing an American version, which ran until 2007. The show consists of a panel of four performers who create characters, scenes, and songs on the spot, in the style of short-form improvisation games. The format was adapted in many countries/languages (in the US it was called Sponk and was aimed at a younger audience; in French Canada there were two versions, L’audition and Kamikaze)

• Rainer Hersch (born 1962): a British conductor, actor, writer and comedian known for his comical take on classical music. His work has established him as an original comic voice in the classical music theme. He tours the world presenting his one-man shows or as guest conductor in comedy concerts. He wrote and presents a stand-up show All Classical Music Explained (ACME) which is billed as “a simple and stupid guide to questions like ‘why is organ music so boring?’; ‘what does a conductor actually do?’ and ‘how to clap in the wrong place and mean it’”. ACME has been performed over 300 times in four continents

• Sacha Baron Cohen (born 1971): best known for his creation and portrayal of fictional satirical characters, two of which were Ali G and Borat Sagdiyev (the latter supposedly a Kazakh television journalist and the main protagonist of the mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan). He adopts a variety of accents and guises for his characters, and interacts with unsuspecting subjects who do not realize they have been set up. His humour arises from his espousal of outrageous sociocultural viewpoints, his violation of social taboos, and his use of vulgar language and behaviour in inappropriate settings 

• James Corden (born 1978): an English comedian and TV host. In the US, he is known as the host of The Late Late Show with James Corden – since 2015. In the UK, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey (which won the BAFTA TV award for Best Comedy Performance.) I saw him perform the lead in the comedy play One Man, Two Guvnors on Broadway in 2012 (in which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.)

• Other contemporary Irish comedians that have/are making their mark: Aisling Bea (born 1984; won Gilded Balloon So You Think You’re Funny award at Edinburgh Festival Fringe); Des Bishop (born 1975); Jason Byrne (born 1972); Ed Byrne (born 1972; “I thought about giving up smoking but decided not to…I’m not a quitter.”); Oliver Callan (born 1967); Frank Carson (1926-2012); Risheard Cooper (born 1969); Brendan Courtney (born 1937); Claire Cullen (born 1988; stage name Clisare); Neil Delamere (born 1979); Tara Flynn; Foil Arms and Hog (a three man Irish sketch comedy group formed in 2008; big in You Tube); P. J. Gallagher (born 1975; Naked Camera); Brendan Grace (1951-2019); Maeve Higgins (born 1981); Ian Macpherson; Kevin McAleer (born 1956); Patrick McDonnell (born 1967); Dylan Moran (born 1971; youngest winner of Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe); Dermot Morgan (1952-1998; Father Ted); Graham Norton (born 1963); Dara O’Briain (born 1972; “Stop taking it literally. It’s only the bible, it’s not gospel.”); David O’Doherty (born 1975); Chris O’Dowd (born 1979); Ardal O’Hanlon (born 1965); Ardal O’Harrison (born 1965); Dermot O’Leary (born 1973); Hal Roach (1927-2012; “King of Blarney.”); Joe Rooney (born 1963); Maria Rosenstock (born 1971); Pat Shortt (born 1967); Michael Smiley (born 1963); Tommy Tiernan (born 1969); Paul Tylak; Terry Wogan (1938-2016); Dusty Young (“I was born in Dublin because I wanted to be near my mother.”); Sminky Shorts (a series of animated YouTube videos of wild animals with Irish accents)

On the American side:

• Vaudeville (the early 1880s until the early 1930s): a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation. It was a dramatic composition or light poetry, interspersed with songs or ballets. The idea of vaudeville’s theatre changed radically from its French antecedent. In some ways it was analogous to the music hall from Victorian Britain

• Ziegfeld Follies (ran from 1907 to 1931): a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway, something between later Broadway shows and the more elaborate high class vaudeville and variety show. Inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris, they were conceived and mounted by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Many of the top entertainers appeared, including comedians W. C. Fields, Bob Hope, Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor (“Banjo Eyes”), Bert Williams, Eva Tanguay, Will Rogers, Ed Wynn (noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character)

• Will Rogers (1879-1935): a stage and film actor, vaudeville performer, cowboy, humorist, newspaper columnist, and social commentator. His vaudeville rope act led to success in the Ziegfeld Follies. He made 71 films (50 silent films and 21 “talkies”), and wrote more than 4,000 newspaper columns. By the mid-1930s, he was hugely popular in the United States for his leading political wit and was the highest paid of Hollywood film stars. (His aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, were widely quoted: “I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat.”)

• W. C. Fields (1880-1946);: comedian, actor, juggler, and writer, Fields’ comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egoist who remained a sympathetic character despite his supposed contempt for children and dogs. (“Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.” *“I never drink water because of the disgusting things fish do in it.”)

• Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977): considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry. While English, he rose to fame in the era of silent film in America, and then ultimately became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, The Tramp. His career spanned more than 75 years, from his childhood in the Victorian era until his death. His films were characterized by slapstick combined with pathos, typified in the Tramp’s struggles against adversity 

• Sophie Tucker (1886-1966): known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the more popular entertainers in the US during the first half of the 20th century. She was known by the nickname “The Last of the Red Hot Mamas”

• Groucho Marx (1890-1977): Jewish; generally considered to have been a master of quick wit and one of America’s greatest comedians. He made 13 feature films as a team with his siblings the Marx Brothers (Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo and Zeppo). Groucho’s distinctive appearance, carried over from his days in vaudeville, included quirks such as an exaggerated stooped posture, spectacles, cigar, a thick greasepaint moustache, and eyebrows. (“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But I’m afraid this wasn’t it.”)

• Fanny Brice (1891-1950): American comedienne known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series The Baby Snooks Show. Was portrayed on the Broadway stage by Barbara Streisand in the 1964 musical Funny Girl

• Bert Williams (1894-1922): one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. Williams was a key figure in the development of African-American entertainment. In an age when racial inequality and stereotyping were commonplace, he became the first black American to take a lead role on the Broadway stage, and did much to push back racial barriers during his three-decade-long career. W. C. Fields, who appeared in productions with Williams, described him as “the funniest man I ever saw – and the saddest man I ever knew.”

• Laurel and Hardy (Englishman Stan Laurel 1890-1965 and American Oliver Hardy, 1892-1957): were a comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema (between the 1910s and the 1960s). From the late 1920s to the mid-1940s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy’s pompous bully.Their signature theme song, known as “The Cuckoo Song”, “Ku-Ku”, was heard over their films’ opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats

• Buster Keaton (1895-1966): best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression that earned him the nickname “The Great Stone Face”. Critic Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton’s “extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929” when he “worked without interruption” on a series of films that made him “the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies”. The film The General is widely viewed as his masterpiece: Orson Wells considered it “the greatest comedy ever made…and perhaps the greatest film ever made.”

• Fred Allen (1894-1956): his absurdist, topically pointed radio program The Fred Allen Show (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American radio. His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny

• Burns and Allen duo: Gracie Allen (1895-1964): became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns (1896-1996), her straight man. She exhibited traits of naiveté, zaniness, and total innocence. Burns, Jewish, was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyebrow and cigar-smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three-quarters of a century. They started off in vaudeville and then in the early 1930s graduated to radio. They changed the show’s format in the fall of 1941 into the situation comedy vehicle for which they are best remembered: a working show business married couple negotiating ordinary problems caused by Gracie’s “illogical logic,” usually with the help of neighbours Harry and Blanche Morton

• Mae West (1893-1980): she bucked the system by making comedy out of conventional mores, and the depression-era audience admired her for it. She was known for her breezy sexual independence, and her lighthearted bawdy double entendres, often delivered in a husky contralto voice. In 1927 she was prosecuted on morals charges while she was acting in a play she wrote, and was sentenced to 10 days for “corrupting the morals of youth”. Though West could have paid a fine and been let off, she chose the jail sentence for the publicity it would garner. It worked. West flirted with Charlie McCarthy, Bergen’s dummy, using her usual brand of wit and risqué sexual references. She referred to Charlie as “all wood and a yard long” and commented, “Charles, I remember our last date, and have the splinters to prove it!” She had a unique comic character that was timeless, in the same way Charlie Chaplin did. (She loved bawdy double entendres: ”I feel like a million tonight – but only one at a time”.)

• Jimmy Durante (1893-1980): his distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and prominent nose helped make him one of America’s most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s. He often referred to his nose as the schnozzola. In the mid-1920s, Durante had become a vaudeville star and radio personality. On radio he teamed with Garry Moore (1915-1993) for The Durante-Moore Show in 1943. The duo was one of the nation’s favourites for the rest of the decade. He had a half-hour variety show, the Jimmy Durante Show from 1954-56 

• Jack Benny (1894-1974): Jewish; known for his comic timing and the ability to cause laughter with a pregnant pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated “Well! “. Benny often portrayed his character as a miser who obliviously played his violin badly and ridiculously claimed to be 39 years of age, regardless of his actual age. (Near the end of his life, he recounted how he had been introduced to Stephen Leacock’s writing by Groucho Marx when they were both young vaudville comedians. Benny acknowledged Leacock’s influence and, fifty years after first reading him, still considered Leacock one of his favorite comic writers. He was puzzled as to why Leacock’s work was no longer well known in the US.)

• The Jack Benny Program (1932-1955): this radio-TV comedy series ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy

• George Jessel (1898-1981): was famous in his lifetime as a multitalented comedic entertainer, achieving a level of recognition that transcended his limited roles in movies. His most famous comedy skit was called “Hello Mama” or “Phone Call from Mama,” which portrayed a one-sided telephone conversation. In the early 1950s, he performed on the radio in The George Jessel Show, which became a TV series from 1953 to 1954. He was Jewish

• Bob Hope (1903-2003): began his career in show business in the early 1920s, initially as a comedian and dancer on the vaudeville circuit. Hope began appearing on radio and in films starting in 1934, a career that spanned nearly 80 years. He appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 54 feature films with Hope as star. He was praised for his comedic timing, specializing in one-liners and rapid-fire delivery of jokes that were often self-deprecating. He helped establish modern American stand-up comedy. *(“I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap.”)

• Abbott and Costello (1940s and early 1950s): an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott (1897-1974) (Groucho Marx declared Abbott “the greatest straight man ever.”) and Lou Costello (1906-1959), whose work with radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and early 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in the world during World War II. Their patter routine “Who’s on First?” is considered one of the best-known comedy routines of all time.Their popularity waned in the early 1950s due to overexposure and changing tastes in comedy

• The Three Stooges (active from 1922 to 1970): their act began as part of a vaudeville comedy act billed as “Ted Healy and His Stooges“, consisting originally of Ted Healey (chiefly remembered as the creator of the act) and Moe Howard (1897-1975), then Larry Fine (1902-1975) and others over their 50 year period. After Ted left, Moe, Larry and Curly Howard (1903-1952) produced over 90 short films from 1934 to 1946. It was during this period that the three were at their peak popularity. All were Jewish. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick

• Edgar Bergen (1903-1978): was an actor, comedian, vaudevillian and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Charlie McCarthy (his alter ego) and Mortimer Snerd. (He himself was taught by Harry Lester – The Great Lester (1878-1956), the “Grandfather of Modern-Day Ventriloquism”). Bergen and McCarthy were given top billing in several films. Although his regular series never made the transition to TV, Bergen made numerous appearances on the medium during his career 

• Henny Youngman (1906-1998): a Jewish English-American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the “one-liner”. His routine consisted of telling simple one-liner jokes, occasionally with interludes of violin playing. These depicted simple, cartoon-like situations, eliminating lengthy build-ups and going straight to the punch line 

• Milton Berle (1908-2002): Jewish; his career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. From 1948-1955 he was the host of NBC’s Texaco Star Theatre (television set sales more than doubled after it’s debut, reaching two million in 1949!). He was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as “Uncle Miltie” and “Mr. Television” during the first Golden Age of TV – the era of live television production (roughly from the late 1940s through the late 1950s). His highly visual style, characterized by vaudeville slapstick and outlandish costumes, proved ideal for the new TV medium 

• Danny Kaye (1911-1987): Jewish; his performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. In 1948, he “roused the Royal family to laughter and was the first of many performers who have turned British variety into an American preserve.” I was particularly amused by his 1950 song “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts” (and can still sing part of it today). In the 1960s and 1970s, he regularly conducted world-famous orchestras.  Kaye’s style was occasionally accompanied by unpredictable antics (he once traded the baton for a fly swatter to conduct “The Flight of the Bumblebee”)

• Phil Silvers (1911-1985): Jewish; known as “The King of Chutzpah”. His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popularity when he starred in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a US Army post in which he played Master Sergeant Ernest (Ernie) Bilko. He starred in various television specials and talk shows

• Spike Jones (1911-1965): an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells and outlandish and comedic vocals. Jones and his band recorded under the title Spike Jones and His City Slickers from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s, and toured the United States and Canada as The Musical Depreciation Revue

• Red Skelton (1913-1997): best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He believed that his life’s work was to make people laugh; he wanted to be known as a clown because he defined it as being able to do everything. He had a 70-year-long career as a performer and entertained three generations of Americans

• Judy Canova (1913-1983): an American comedian, actress, and radio personality.She appeared on Broadway and in films. She hosted her own self-titled network radio program, a popular series broadcast from 1943 to 1955. Her cast included voicemaster Mel Blanc as Pedro (using the accented voice he later gave the cartoon character Speedy Gonzales) and Sylvester (using the voice that later became associated with the Looney Toons character 

• Henry Morgan (1915-1994): became familiar to radio audiences in the 1930s and 1940s as a barbed but often self-deprecating satirist. In the 1950s and later, he was a regular and cantankerous panelist on the game show I’ve Got a Secret. Radio historian Gerald Nachman said he was radio’s “first true rebel because – like many comics who go for the jugular, from Lenny Bruce to Roseanne Barr – he didn’t know when to quit.”

• Garry Moore (1915-1993): was a radio host and then moved on to television. He hosted several daytime and prime time programs titled The Garry Moore Show, and the game shows I’ve Got a Secret and To Tell the Truth. He was instrumental in furthering the career of comedic actress Carol Burnett. He became known for his bow ties and his crew cut fashion early in his career

• Jan Murray (1916-2006): a Jewish American stand-up comedian, actor, and game show host who originally made his name on the Borscht Belt (summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains – popular vacation spots for New York City Jews from the 1920s through the 1960s) and later was known for his frequent television appearances over several decades

• Red Buttons (1919-2006): a nationally recognizable comedian, and his “Never Got A Dinner” routine was a standard of The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast for many years. He made numerous appearances at Friars Club roasts and Chabad telethons, where he was often brought on and off stage to the tune of “Hava Nagila”. (He once told an interviewer, “I’m a Jew who is doing comedy, not a ‘Jewish comic’.)

• Kathleen Freeman (1919-2001): her career spanned more than 50 years. She portrayed quite a range of characters, all almost invariably to comic effect. In film she is perhaps best remembered for appearing in 11 Jerry Lewis comedies in the 1950s and 60s

• Betty White: (1922-2021):an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early TV, with a career spanning over seven decades, White was noted for her vast work in the entertainment industry and being one of the first women to work both in front of and behind the camera. She was the first woman to produce a sitcom (Life With Elizabeth) in the US. White is often referred to as the “First Lady of Television”, a title used for a 2018 documentary detailing her life and career. White worked longer in television than anyone else in that medium, earning her a Guinness World Record in 2018. She received eight Emmy Awards in various categories (one for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, for the first season of The Golden Girls), three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award

• Jack Carter (1922-2015): a Jewish American comedian, actor and television presenter. He had a long-running comedy act similar to fellow rapid-paced contemporaries Milton Berle and Morey Amsterdam 

• Allan Sherman (1924-1973): became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer (1962), became the fastest-selling record album up to that time.His biggest hit single was “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”, a comic novelty in which a boy describes his summer camp experiences. His first two LPs were mainly reworkings of old folk songs to infuse them with Jewish humour. His later albums grew more pointedly satirical and less light-hearted 

• Shelly Berman (1925-2017): in his comedic career, he was awarded three gold records and he won the first Grammy Award for a spoken comedy recording in 1959. In the mid-1950s, he became a member of Chicago’s, Compass Players, which later evolved into The Second City. While performing improvised sketches with Compass, he began to develop solo pieces, often employing an imaginary telephone to take the place of an onstage partner. He taught humour writing at the University of Southern California for more than 20 years. He was also a teacher for the Improv Olympics program. He was Jewish

• Jack Lemmon (1925-2001): known for many high humour moments, some with Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962) in three comedies (one of them Operation Mad Ball) and Walter Matthau (1920-2000) with whom he made the comedy The Fortune Cookie plus they did The Odd Couple and Grumpy Old Men movies and their sequels. He played in the gender-bending comedy Some Like It Hot with Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe, where his role required him to perform 80% in drag; a critic said he was “demoniacally funny”. He made over 60 films, but got unfairly labelled as just a light comedian

• Martin and Lewis (1946-1956): an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They were the hottest act in America during the early ’50s, as well as the highest paid act in show business. In the Martin and Lewis duo, Lewis’ comedic persona was viewed as effeminate, weak, and inexperienced, which in turn made the Martin persona look masculine, strong, and experienced

• Dean Martin (1917-1996): had his own TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974. The theme song to the series was his 1964 hit “Everybody Loves Somebody”. Martin believed that an important key to his popularity was that he did not put on airs. His act was that of a drunken, work-shy playboy. The show was heavy on physical comedy rather than just quips 

• Jerry Lewis (1926-2017): nicknamed “The King of Comedy”, he was a comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, and Jewish, who appeared in over 60 films and other media, from the days of Martin and Lewis to his solo era. Teaming up with singer Dean Martin, they gained attention as a double act with Martin serving as the straight man to Lewis’ zany antics. Lewis “single-handedly created a style of humour that was half anarchy, half excruciation”. “Even comics who never took a pratfall in their careers owe something to the self-deprecation Lewis introduced into American show business.” (L.A.Times) He was known especially for his distinctive voice, facial expressions, pratfalls, and physical stunts. His improvisations and ad-libbing were revolutionary among performers

• Shecky Greene (born 1926): an American comedian. Jewish. He is known for his nightclub performances in Las Vegas, where he became a headliner in the 1950s and ‘60s. He has appeared in several films. In television, he has guest-starred on such television shows as Love, American Style and Combat!, and later Laverne & Shirley and Mad About You

• Buddy Hackett (1924-2003): he became known to a wider audience when he appeared on television in the 1950s and ’60s as a frequent guest on variety talk shows hosted by Jack Paar and Arthur Godfrey, telling brash, often off-colour jokes, and mugging at the camera. He starred as the title character on NBC-TV’s Stanley, a 1956–57 situation comedy. The series also featured a young Carol Burnett

• The Colgate Comedy Hour (from 1950 to 1955): an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars

• Matinee with Bob and Ray (1946-1960s): this was a comedy duo of Bob Elliott (1923-2016) and Ray Goulding (1922-1990) whose career spanned five decades. Their format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, such as conducting interviews, with off-the-wall dialogue presented in a generally deadpan style as though it were a serious broadcast. Their shows were completely impromptu and always irreverent, demonstrating how very alert and quick-witted Bob and Ray were. They would follow any comic thread for a few minutes, and then just as suddenly abandon it to move on to another topic

• Sid Caesar (1922-2014): with a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: Your Show of Shows (1950-1954), which was a 90 minute weekly show watched by 60 million people and its successor, Caesar’s Hour (1954-1957), both of which influenced later generations of comedians. Caesar was considered a “sketch comic” and actor, as opposed to a stand-up comedian. He also relied more on body language, accents, and facial contortions than simply dialogue. Unlike the slapstick comedy which was standard on TV, his style was considered “avant garde” in the 1950s.” Sid’s was the show to which all comedy writers aspired. It was the place to be,” said Steve Allen. Jewish

• Imogene Coca (1908-2001): an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows. She possessed a rubbery face capable of the broadest expressions – Life magazine compared her to Beatrice Lillie and Charlie Chaplin and described her characterizations as taking “people or situations suspended in their own precarious balance between dignity and absurdity, and push(ing) them over the cliff with one single, pointed gesture.”

• Monitor radio program (1955-1975):was an American MNBC weekend radio program offering a magazine-of-the-air mix of news, sports, comedy, variety, music, celebrity interviews. Many comedy talents appeared through the years including Woody Allen, Cosby, Diller, Hope, Kovacs, Newhart, Bob and Ray, In the mid-1950s, Monitor began broadcasting reruns of the British Goon Show with Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, and Michael Bentine. The American comedy troupe the Firesign Theatre cited these broadcasts as a major influence on their style of comedy

• Nichols and May (late ‘50s-1961): made up of Elaine May (born 1932) and Mike Nichols (1931-2014). In Chicago they became founding member of the Compass Group (predecessor of The Second City), an improvisational theatre group. Many comedians have cited them as key influences in modern comedy. Woody Allen declared, “Individually, each one is a genius, and when they worked together, the sum was even greater than the combination of the parts.” Comedy historian Gerald Nachman describes the effect on American comedy of their break-up in 1961, “They are perhaps the most ardently missed of all the satirical comedians of their era. They left no imitators, no descendants, no blueprints or footprints to follow. No one could touch them.”

• Firesign Theatre (1966 to mid 70’s): the Goons’ influence spread to this American surreal comedy radio and recording troupe. Entertainment Weekly ranked the Firesign Theatre among the “Thirty Greatest Comedy Acts of All Time”

• Lucille Ball (1911-1989): actress, comedian, studio executive, and producer. As one of Hollywood’s greatest icons, and arguably the most iconic female entertainer of all time, she was the star and producer of sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here’s Lucy, as well as comedy television specials aired under the title The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. She was also the first female head of a major Hollywood studio, Desilu Productions, which she also owned

• Jackie Gleason (1916-1987): was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy, exemplified by his city-bus-driver Ralph Kramden character in the television series The Honeymooners. He also developed The Jackie Gleason Show, which maintained high ratings from the mid-1950s through 1970. He would follow a routine which included a dance performance, then an opening monologue, then he would shuffle toward the wings, clapping his hands and shouting, “And awaaay we go!” The phrase became one of his trademarks, along with “How sweet it is!”

• Art Carney (1918-2003): was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the sitcom The Honeymooners. Early in his career he was a comic singer with an orchestra, which was heard often on radio during the 1930s

• Joey Bishop (1918-2007): appeared on television as early as 1948 (in variety programs in the early days of television) and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk/variety show host, then later hosted a late night talk show with Regis Philbin as his young sidekick on ABC. He began his career as part of a stand-up comedy act with his elder brother, Maury. Jewish

• Phyllis Diller (1917-2012): this stand-up comedian, actress and author, was best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humour, wild hair and clothes, and exaggerated, cackling laugh. Diller was one of the first female comics to become a household name in the US. (“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.”“The best way to get rid of kitchen odours: eat out.” “Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance.”)

• Andy Rooney (1919-2011): Rooney typically offered satire on trivial everyday issues, such as the cost of groceries, annoying relatives, or faulty Christmas presents. Rooney’s appearances on “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney” often included whimsical lists, such as types of milk, bottled water brands,car brands,and sports mascots. In later years, his segments became more political. Despite being best known for his TV presence on 60 Minutes, Rooney always considered himself a writer. (“If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.”)

• Rodney Dangerfield (1921-2005): a stand-up comedian, Jewish, actor, producer, and author. He was known for his self-deprecating one-liner humour, his catchphrase “I get no respect!”and his monologues on that theme. One of Dangerfield’s more memorable performances was in the 1980 golf comedy Caddyshack, in which he played an obnoxious nouveau riche property developer who was a guest at a golf club, where he clashed with the uptight Judge Elihu Smails

• Don Adams (1923-2005): an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) in the television situation comedy Get Smart (1965-70; 1995) 

• Don Knotts (1924-2006): an American actor and comedian. He was widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, a 1960s sitcom. He starred in multiple comedic films

• Don Rickles (1926-2017): He was known especially for his insult comedy. Rickles earned the nicknames “The Merchant of Venom” and “Mr. Warmth”for his poking fun at people of all ethnicities and all walks of life. Jewish

• Tom Lehrer (born 1928): singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician. He is best known for the pithy and humorous songs that he recorded in the 1950s and 1960s. His early musical work typically dealt with non-topical subject matter and was noted for its black humour in songs such as “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park”. (Any one growing up in this era can sing this one!). In the 1960s, he produced a number of songs that dealt with social and political issues of the day, particularly when he wrote for the US version of the television show That Was the Week That Was. One of my favourites is his song “The Elements”, in which he set the names of the chemical elements to a tune from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance

• Jackie Mason (1931-2021):  a Jewish rabbi turned comedian, known for his delivery and voice, as well as his use of innuendo and pun. His often culturally grounded humour has been described as irreverent and sometimes politically incorrect. A Catskill comic, who believed the message and the joke were the same thing. He had a Talmudic outlook on life. A longtime friend said of him that “whatever you would say to him he would start an argument with you”. A critic for Time wrote that he spoke to audiences: “with the Yiddish locutions of an immigrant who just completed a course in English. By mail.” He also said “Mason is a true satirist in the mold of …Mark Twain”. He has written most of his own material. Samples: his commentary on doctors: “That’s a great profession, a doctor. Where else can you ask a woman to get undressed and then send the bill to her husband?”And his commentary on what is important in life: “Money is not important. Love is important. Fortunately, I love money.”

• Carol Burnett (born 1933): her career spans seven decades of television. She is best known for her groundbreaking comedy variety show, The Carol Burnett Show (from 1967-1978). It was one of the first of its kind to be hosted by a woman. She had some very funny actors with her on the show: Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner. She has achieved success on stage, television and film in varying genres including dramatic and comedic roles. I remember her habit at the close of each episode, of tugging her ear. This silent message was meant for her grandmother, who raised her

• Harvey Korman (1927-2008): while appearing on The Carol Burnett Show, Korman gained further fame by appearing as the villainous Hedley Lamarr in the 1974 film Blazing Saddles 

• Tim Conway (1933-2019): a regular on the Carol Burnett Show with some memorable characters. One of his characters, The Oldest Man, was known for his signature shuffle, created by his absurdly slow movements. Conway wears a rumpled white wig, typically along with a suit, and speaks in a slurred, droning voice

• Lenny Bruce (1925-1966): Jewish, a stand-up comedian, social critic and satirist renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. Bruce paved the way for counterculture era comedians. His 1964 trial for obscenity is seen as a landmark for freedom of speech in America. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind disciples Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. He wrote a semi-fictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People

• George Carlin (1937-2008): regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comics of all time, he was dubbed “the dean of counterculture comedians”.He was known for his dark comedy and reflections on politics, the English language, psychology, religion, and  taboo subjects. He said all humour was based on surprise and that, plus energy and excess were the keys. His “seven dirty words” routine was central to the 1978 US Supreme Court case, in which a 5–4 decision affirmed the government’s power to censor indecent material on the public airwaves. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him second (behind Richard Pryor) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comedians of all time

• Richard Pryor (1940-2005): he reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential stand-up comedians of all time. He briefly had his own variety show, The Richard Pryor Show, which premiered in 1977. The show was cancelled after only four episodes probably because television audiences did not respond well to his show’s controversial subject matter, and Pryor was unwilling to alter his material for network censors

• Joan Rivers (1933-2014): was noted for her often controversial comedic persona – heavily self-deprecating and sharply acerbic, especially towards celebrities and politicians. She is considered a pioneer of women in comedy by many critics and journalists. In 1968, The New York Times television critic Jack Gould called Rivers “quite possibly the most intuitively funny woman alive”. (“You know you’ve reached middle age when you’re cautioned to slow down by your doctor, instead of by the police.”“It’s been so long since I’ve had sex, I’ve forgotten who ties up whom.”) (See also Talk Show section.)

• Peter Schickele (born 1935): an American composer, musical educator, and parodist, best known for comedy albums featuring his music, but which he presents as being composed by the fictional P. D. Q. Bach. He also hosted a long-running weekly radio program called Schickele Mix.The humorous aspect of Schickele’s musical career came from his early interest in the music of Spike Jones, whose musical ensemble lampooned popular music in the 1940s and 1950s

• Woody Allen (born 1935): began his career as a comedy writer on Sid Caesar’s comedy variety program. He developed a monologue style (rather than traditional jokes), and the persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish. He is Jewish. He has had a career as a film director, writer, actor, and comedian that spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films

• Jack Nicholson (born 1937): his career has spanned more than 60 years. He has played a wide range of starring and supporting roles, including comic characters, romantic leads, anti-heroes and villains. In many of his films, he played the “eternal outsider, the sardonic drifter”, someone who rebels against the social structure. One of his greatest successes came in 1975, with his role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest where he improvised with his comic dialogue

• Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967-1969): the brothers’ trademark double act was performing folk songs with Tommy (born 1937) on acoustic guitar, Dick (born 1939) on string base, which usually led to arguments between the siblings. Tommy’s signature line was “Mom always liked you best!”. The show became one of the most controversial American TV programs of the Vietnam War era. Despite popular success, the brothers’ penchant for material that was critical of the political mainstream and sympathetic to the emerging counterculture led to their firing in 1969. The evolution of the Comedy Hour was unique to a medium that was fearful of change

• Bill Cosby (born 1937): had an active stand-up comedian career for over six decades before being convicted of a number of sex offences in 2018. He had his own sitcom The Bill Cosby Show, which ran for two seasons from 1969 to 1971. In 1972, using the Fat Albert character developed during his stand-up routines, he created, produced, and hosted the animated comedy television series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, which ran until 1985. Beginning in the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in the television sitcom The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992 and was rated as the number one show in America from 1985 through 1989. The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an affluent African-American family

• Steve Martin (born 1945): an American actor and comedian. He was a writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later as a frequent host on Saturday Night Live. In the 1970s, Martin performed his offbeat, absurdist comedy routines before packed houses on national tours. He has received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Martin at sixth place in a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics

• Laugh-In, Rowan and Martin’s (from 1968-1973): an American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan (1922-1987) and Dick Martin (1922-2008) characterized by a rapid-fire series of gags and sketches, many of which conveyed sexual innuendo or were politically charged. The title of the show was a play on the 1960s hippie culture “love-ins” or the counterculture “be-ins”, terms that were derived from “sit-ins” that were common in protests associated with civil rights and antiwar demonstrations of the time

• Arte Johnson (1929-2019): he played many characters on Laugh-in, including “Wolfgang,” a cigarette-smoking German soldier oblivious to the fact that World War II was long over, as he skulked while hidden behind a potted plant. He would then invariably comment on a preceding gag with the catchphrase “Very interesting …”. I was always amused by his character in a yellow raincoat and hat, riding a tricycle and then falling over. His other character, the white-haired, trench-coat wearing “dirty old man”, repeatedly sought to seduce Ruth Buzzi’s character, ”Gladys”. He would sit next to her and ask her a question, and regardless of the answer, turn it into a double entendre. She would then start hitting him with her purse and he would fall off the bench, sometimes with a plea for help

• Ruth Buzzi (born 1936): her most famous character on Laugh-in was dowdy spinster Gladys Ormphby, clad in drab brown with her bun hairdo covered by a visible hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead. In most sketches, she used her purse as a weapon, with which she would flail away vigorously at anyone who incurred her wrath. She most often was the unwilling object of the advances of Arte Johnson’s “dirty old man” character Tyrone F. Horneigh. In a typical exchange, Tyrone accosts Gladys and asks, “Do you believe in the hereafter?” “Of course I do!” Gladys retorts defensively. Delighted, Tyrone shoots back: “Then you know what I’m here after!”

• Lilly Tomlin (1939): also a regular on Laugh-in, she played many roles. One of my favourites was her as Ernestine, a brash, tough and uncompromising telephone operator who generally treated customers with little sympathy. Ernestine often snorted when she let loose a barbed response or heard something salacious. She also wore her hair in a 1940s hairstyle with a hairnet, although the character was contemporary. Her opening lines were often the comical “one ringy dingy… two ringy dingy”, and, “Have I reached the party to whom I am speaking?”

• Goldie Hawn (born 1945): rose to fame on the sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. She was a talented comedian and actress. On the show, she would appear as a dumb blonde and often break out into high-pitched giggles in the middle of a joke, then deliver a polished performance a moment after

• Cheech & Chong (in the 1970s and 1980s): a comedy duo consisting of Cheech Marin (born 1946) and Tommy Chong (a Canadian, born 1938). The duo found success with their stand-up routines and feature films, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially drug and counterculture movements, and most notably their love for cannabis

• M*A*S*H (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) was an American war comedy-drama TV series from 1972 to 1983. While the show is traditionally viewed as a comedy, many episodes had a more serious tone. Early seasons aired on network prime time while the Vietnam War was still going on; the show was forced to walk the fine line of commenting on that war while at the same time not seeming to protest against it. For this reason, the show’s discourse, under the cover of comedy, often questioned, mocked, and grappled with America’s role in the Cold War

• Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978): comedian Bob Newhart (born 1929) portrays a psychologist whose interactions with his wife, friends, patients, and colleagues lead to humorous situations and dialogue. A frequent running gag on the show is an extension of Newhart’s stand-up comedy routines, where he played one side of a telephone conversation. Newhart was known for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery style. He came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, became a bestseller and reached number one on the Billboard pop album chart; it remains the 20th-best selling comedy album in history

• Whoopi Goldberg (born 1955): in 1992, she starred in the comedy Sister Act, which she reprised in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), and became the highest-paid actress at the time. She performed in a Broadway one-woman show that produced a comedy album that earned her a Grammy Award 

• Saturday Night Live (started 1975 and still going): the show’s comedy sketches, which often parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”, properly beginning the show. One of the longest-running network TV programs in the US 

• Chevy Chase (born 1943): a key cast member in the first season of Saturday Night Live, where his recurring Weekend Update segment became a staple of the show

• Gilda Radner (1946-1989): an American actress and comedian, who was one of the seven original cast members for Saturday Night Live. In her routines, Radner specialized in parodies of television stereotypes, such as advice specialists and news anchors. In 1978, she won an Emmy for her performances on the show. She also portrayed those characters in her highly successful one-woman show. In 2012, author Yael Kohen stated “There is hardly a female sketch comic today who does not claim Radner as an inspiration for her comedy career.”

• Bill Murray (born 1950): known for his deadpan delivery,he first rose to fame on Saturday Night Live

• Al Franken (born 1951): an American comedian, politician, media personality, who served as a US senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He became well known in the 1970s and 1980s as a staff writer and performer on Saturday Night Live. After decades as a comedic actor and writer, he became a prominent liberal political activist, hosting The Al Franken Show on Air America Radio

• Eddie Murphy (born 1961: rose to fame on Saturday Night Live, for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. In 2015, Murphy was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

• Tina Fey (born 1970): she broke into comedy as a featured player in The Second City. She is best known for her work on Saturday Night Live  (1997–2006) and for creating the comedy series 30 Rock (2006–2013). She was co-anchor in the SNL Weekend Update segment and, later, developing a satirical portrayal of 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In 2010, Fey was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for America Humor, becoming the youngest recipient of the award

• Bob Einstein (1942-2019): created and performed the goofy, satirical stuntman character Super Dave Osborne. It ran from 1987 to 1991 on Showtime in the US and Global TV in Canada. Super Dave’s signature was to perform outrageous daredevil stunts which invariably went awry and resulted in his grievous injury

• Lewis Black (born 1948): an American actor and stand-up comedian. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil and makes regular appearances on The Daily Show delivering his “Black in Black” commentary segment

• Seinfeld (1989-1998): a TV sitcom set mostly in an apartment building in Manhattan’s Upper West Side in New York City. It has been described as “a show about nothing,” often focusing on the minutiae of daily life. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms of all time. It has been ranked among the best television shows of all time

• Jerry Seinfeld (born 1954): best known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom Seinfeld, which he created and wrote with Larry David. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy

• Larry David (born 1947): he and Jerry Seinfeld created the television series Seinfeld, of which David was the head writer and executive producer for the first seven seasons. Formerly a comedian, David went into TV comedy, writing and starring in ABC’s Fridays, as well as writing briefly for Saturday Night Live

• Robin Williams (1951-2014): actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedies alike. He is often regarded as one of the best comedians of all time.Williams began performing stand-up comedy in San Francisco and Los Angeles during the mid-1970s,and rose to fame playing the alien Mork in the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy (1978–1982). His biographer, Emily Herbert, described his “intense, utterly manic style of stand-up (which sometimes) defies analysis … (going) beyond energetic, beyond frenetic … (and sometimes) dangerous … because of what it said about the creator’s own mental state.” (“See, the problem is that God gives man a brain and a penis and only enough blood to run one at a time.”)

• Roseanne Barr (born 1952): a stand-up comedian. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she gained fame through her role in Roseanne and other performances

• Elayne Boosler (born 1952): In 1986, Boosler became the first woman to get her own one-hour comedy special on cable when Showtime aired Party of One

• Rita Rudner (born 1953): she noticed the lack of female comedians in New York City and turned to stand-up comedy where she has flourished for over three decades. Her performance on a variety of HBO specials and numerous appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, helped establish Rudner as one of the premier comics to emerge from the comedy boom of the 1980s. Since 2001, Rudner has performed almost exclusively in Las Vegas,becoming the longest-running solo comedy show in the city

• Bill Maher (born 1956): an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show Real Time with Bill Maher (2003-present) and the similar late-night show called Politically Incorrect (1993–2002), originally on Comedy Central  and later on ABC. He is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary. He targets many topics including religion, political correctness and the mass media (and consequently is regularly getting into trouble with those with opposing views). His critical views of religion were the basis for the 2008 documentary film Religulous 

• Ellen DeGeneres (born 1958): her career started in the early 1980s performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffee houses and included a 1986 appearance on The Tonight Show. In 1984 she was named Showtime’s funniest person in America. She starred in the sitcom Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and has hosted her television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003

• Drew Carey (born 1958): an American actor, comedian, and game show host. After serving in the marine corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, The Drew Cary Show and as host of the US version of the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?

• Ryan Stiles (born 1959): an American-Canadian comedian whose work is often associated with improvisational comedy. He is best known for his work on the original British series and American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and for his role as Lewis Kiniski on The Drew Carey Show. He also played Herb Melnick on the CBS comedy Two and a Half Men

• Alfred Matthew “Weird Al” Yankovic (born 1959): an American singer, musician, record producer who is known for humorous songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. He also performs original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts, as well as polka medleys of several popular songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion

•  Kathleen Madigan (born 1965): an American comedian and TV personality. She worked for the Funny Bone, a nationwide chain of comedy clubs. She won “Funniest Female Stand-up Comic at the American Comedy Awards. She produced a CD/DVD “Bothering Jesus”

• Bill Barr (born 1968): an American stand-up comedian and podcaster. He created and starred in the Netflix animated sitcom F is for Family (2015-present). He co-founded The All Things Comedy network and since 2007 has hosted the comedy podcast titled Monday Morning Podcast. He has been referred to as a “comedian’s comedian” by observers of the American stand-up comedy circuit. Rolling Stones called him “the undisputed heavyweight champ of rage-fuelled humor.”

• Amy Poehler (born 1971): an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. In the early 1990s, she co-founded the improvisational-comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade. In 2001 she joined Saturday Night Live. She became co-anchor of SNL‘s Weekend Update in 2004 until she left the series in 2008

• Wayne Brady (born 1972): an American actor, comedian, game show host, and TV personality. He is a regular on the American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He was the host of the daytime talk show The Wayne Brady Show, was the original host of Fox’s Don’t Forget the Lyrics!, and has hosted Let’s Make a Deal since its 2009 revival 

• The Simpsons (1989 and still going): is an American animated sitcom. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in a fictional town and parodies American culture and society, television, and the human condition. It is the longest-running American animated series, sitcom and scripted primetime TV series, both in terms of seasons and number of episodes

• The Improv: a comedy club franchise. Originally, it was a single venue founded in 1963. It then became a successful chain. In 1982, the L.A. Improv became the original site for the A&E Network television series An Evening at the Improv, running from 1982 until 1996. Nearly every big name in comedy has played The Improv 

• Comedy Central/The Comedy Channel (launched 1989 to present): an American basic cable channel owned by ViacomCBS. It carries comedy programming in the form of both original, licensed, and syndicated series, stand-up comedy specials, and feature films. It is available to approximately 87 million households in the US

• Yogi Berra (1925-2015): no list of American humorists would be complete without a nod to this famous NY Yankees Hall of Fame catcher. He was known for his impromptu seemingly unintentional witticisms, known as “Yogi-isms”, malapropisms as well as pithy and paradoxical statements, such as “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”. They often took the form of either an apparent contradiction, but often with an underlying and powerful message that offered not just humour, but also wisdom.”When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” “Ninety percent of the game is half mental.” “If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”

On the Canadian side:

• Eva Tanguay (1878-1947): a Canadian singer and entertainer who billed herself as “the girl who made vaudeville famous”. She was known as “The Queen of Vaudeville” during the height of her popularity from the early 1900s until the early 1920s. Tanguay also appeared in films, and was the first performer to achieve national mass-media celebrity, with publicists and newspapers covering her tours from coast-to-coast. Gaining free publicity with outrageous behaviour was one of her strengths – she has been described by PR pro, Edward Bernays, as “our first symbol of emergence from the Victorian age.” She starred in two film comedies which used the screen to capture her lusty stage vitality (Energetic Eva and The Wild Girl)

• Beatrice Lilly (1894-1989): a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedic performer. She has an exquisite sense of the absurd. One of her comedy routines earned her the frequently used sobriquet of “Funniest Woman in the World”. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography said that “Lillie’s great talents were the arched eyebrow, the curled lip, the fluttering eyelid, the tilted chin, the ability to suggest, even in apparently innocent material, the possible double entendre”

• Wayne and Shuster: a comedy duo active professionally from the early 1940s until the late 1980s (Johnny Wayne, 1918-1990, and Frank Shuster, 1916-2002). They started as a live act, then on radio, then as part of The Army Show during WWII, then on both Canadian and American TV. They were Ed Sullivan’s most frequently recurring guests, appearing a record 67 times. Their writing was “a cross between a more erudite British sense of humour and the more American vaudevillian sense of humour. They treated their audiences with respect.”

• Mort Sahl (born 1927): a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, and social satirist, considered the first modern stand-up comedian since Will Roger. He pioneered a style of social satire which pokes fun at political and current event topics using improvised monologues and only a newspaper as a prop. TV host Steve Allen claimed that Sahl was “the only real political philosopher we have in modern comedy.” His social satire performances broke new ground in live entertainment, as a stand-up comic talking about the real world of politics at that time was considered “revolutionary.” It inspired many later comics to become stage comedians

• Royal Canadian Air Farce: a comedy troupe active from 1973 to 2019, on radio first to 1997, then CBC TV to 2008, then New Year’s Eve specials to 2019. (Initially the lineup included Roger Abbott, Luba Goy, John Morgan, Dave Broadfoot and Martin Bronstein, with Don Ferguson as a writer then later as performer. After 2005 Alan Park and Craig Lauzon were added to the cast.) They featured political and cultural satire. Recuring characters on the TV series included the slow Albertan Mike, angry Scot Jock McBile, self-righteous movie critic Gilbert Smith Bite-Me, and chain-smoking bingo player Brenda. The show also featured frequent sketches with politicians, who were portrayed as various extreme caricatures of their most infamous personality quirks

• Rich Little (born 1938): a Canadian born impressionist. He has been nicknamed “The Man of a Thousand Voices”. In the 1960s, he took his act to Toronto where he performed at coffee houses. He would impersonate figures well-known to a Canadian audience such as Diefenbaker and Lester Pearson. One of his best-known impressions is of US President Richard Nixon (reprising the role of Nixon as an ideal sperm donor)

• Martin Short (born 1950): a Canadian-American actor, comedian (as an excellent impressionist), and writer. He is known for his work on the television programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live. “Short’s appearance on SNL helped to revive the show’s fanbase, which had flagged after the departure of Eddie Murphy, and in turn, would launch his successful career in films and television.” Short has had three television shows called The Martin Short Show (in 1994, 1995 & 1999/2000). He has starred in many comedy films

• Second City Television, commonly shortened to SCTV: a Canadian TV sketch comedy showthat ran intermittently between 1976 and 1984. It is an example of a Canadian show that moved successfully to American TV, where it aired for three years on two different networks. (The Second City Theatre opened 1959, and has since become one of the most influential and prolific comedy theatres in the world. It has been a notable starting point for many comedians, award-winning actors, and others in show business including Murray, Radner, Candy, Belushi, Aykroyd, Del Close (a comedy coach), O’Hara, Myers, Fey, and many others.)

• Eugene Levy (born 1946): from 1976 until 1984, he appeared in SCTV. He is also well known for works such as the American Pie series of movies and the Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek. He often plays flustered and unconventional figures

• John Candy (1950-1994): a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its Second City TV series and through his appearances in comedy films

• Dan Aykroyd (born 1952): a Canadian comic; was an original member of the “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) that presented comedy sketches over four decades which often parodied contemporary culture and politics. He performed with his friend American comedian John Belushi (who died at age 33 from a drug overdose) in a musical sketch on SNL, the Blues Brothers

• Rick Moranis (born 1953): a Canadian comedian and producer. He appeared in Second City Television (SCTV) in the 1980s and several Hollywood films, including Strange Brew, Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. His fame was enhanced by his role as Bob, one of two dim-witted beer-swilling brothers (the other Dave Thomas as Doug) wearing heavy winter clothing and toques

• Dave Thomas (born 1949): best known for being one half of the duo Bob and Doug McKenzie (with Rick Moranis as Bob and Dave as Doug). They play a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted “Great White North“, a sketch which was introduced on SCTV then moved to CBC TV in 1980. The sketch was created originally as filler to both satisfy and mock network Canadian network content demands, the duo became a pop culture phenomenon in both Canada and the US

• Catherine O’Hara (born 1954): a Canadian-American actress, comedian, and writer. In 1974 she was a member of The Second City comedy troupe in Toronto. Her first significant television role starring opposite John Candy and Dan Aykroyd in the main cast of the sitcom Coming Up Rosie on Second City TV (1976-1984). Has won five consecutive Canadian Screen Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

• Mike MacDonald (1954-2018): a Canadian stand-up comedian. He wrote and appeared in several films, including Mr. Nice Guy. He appeared in such TV shows as the Late Show with David Letterman and The Arsenio Hall Show, Just for Laughs, Showtime’s Comedy Club All-Star Show, A&E’s An Evening at the Improv, and Comedy Central’s The A List

• Howie Mandel (born 1955): a Canadian comedian, actor, director, game show host, and author. He hosted the CNBC game show Deal or No Deal. His signature stunt as a stand-up comedian (besides his Bobby alter-ego from an animated comedy children’s TV series) was stretching a latex glove over his head and inflating it with his nostrils, filling it until it suddenly propelled itself off his head. He is Jewish

• Colin Mochrie (born 1957): a Scottish-born Canadian actor, writer, and improvisational comedian, best known for his appearances on the British and US versions of the improvisational TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway? Appeared for two years on 22 Minutes. Was named Canadian Comedy Person of the Year at the 2013 Canadian Comedy Awards

•  Norm Macdonald (1959-2021): a cast member on Saturday Night Live for five years, including anchoring the Weekend Uodate segment for three seasons,during which time he also made guest appearances on shows such as The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio. After leaving SNL, he starred in the 1998 film Dirty Work and in his own sitcom, The Norm Show, from 1999 to 2001. Throughout his career, Macdonald appeared in numerous movies and was a guest on talk shows such as Conan, Late Night with David Letterman, and the Howard Stern Show. He also worked as a voice actor, notably on the animated show Mike Tyson Mysteries. 

• Jim Carrey (born 1962): born near Toronto, he moved to Hollywood where he began regularly performing at The Comedy Store (a comedy club in Hollywood). He made his fame as an animal detective in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, a 1994 comedy film

• Jann Arden (born 1962): a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and comedian. She received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019, for her appearances as Jane Carlson in Workin’ Moms. In 2019 CTV premiered Jann, a comedy television series based on a “fictionalized version” of her own life with Jann as the lead. The series is Canada’s most popular comedy TV series, drawing more than one million viewers per episode. In 2020, she received a nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. She is famous for her signature ballads, “Could I be Your Girl” and “Insensitive”, which is her biggest hit to date

• Mike Meyers (born 1963): known for his run from 1989 to 1995 as a performer on SNL and for playing the title roles in Wayne’s World, Austin Powers (films that poke fun at the outrageous plots, rampant sexual innuendo, and two dimensional stock characters associated with 1960s spy films, as well as the cliché of the ultra suave super spy), and Shrek

• CODCO: a Canadian comedy troupe from Newfoundland, best known for a sketch comedy series which aired on CBC from 1988 to 1993. It drew on the province’s cultural history of self-deprecating “Neufie” humour, frequently focusing on the cod fishing industry. The troupe’s name was an abbreviation of “Cod Company”

• This Hour Has 22 Minutes (or just 22 Minutes): a weekly Canadian CBC TV comedy.Launched in 1993, the show focuses on Canadian politics with a combination of news, parody, sketch comedy and satirical editorials. Originally featuring Mary Walsh, Rick Mercer, Cathy Jones (who plays many unique characters on the show, and is known for playing both men and women often at the extreme edges of gender identity) and Greg Thomey (who created many memorable characters such as Jerry Boyle of the Newfoundland Separation Federation)

• Mary Walsh (born 1953): a Canadian (from Newfoundland) actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her work on CODCO and 22 Minutes. Her character Marg Delahunty became famous for buttonholing politicians and submitting them to satirical interviews. Usually Marg would recite a scripted piece intended to humiliate the politician, often by providing criticism and “grandmotherly” advice

• Samantha Bee (born 1969): a Canadian-American comedienne, writer, political commentator, actress, and television host. She rose to fame as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where she became the longest-serving regular correspondent.  In 2015, she departed the show after 12 years to start her own show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, becoming the first woman to host a late-night satire show

• Stuart McLean (1948-2017): a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist, monologist, and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program The Vinyl Cafe (which ran from 1995-2015). Often described as a “story-telling comic” although his stories addressed both humorous and serious themes, he was known for fiction and non-fiction work which celebrated the decency and dignity of ordinary people, through stories which often highlighted the ability of their subjects, whether real or fictional, to persevere with grace and humour through embarrassing or challenging situations. The “Dave and Morley Stories” were the show’s most famous segment (they described the many misadventures of Dave, his wife Morley, their children and pets, as well as friends and neighbours.)

• Rick Mercer (born 1969): a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist and author. He is best known for his work on 22 Minutes and The Rick Mercer Report (2004-2018). On each RMR program Mercer travels to one or more different parts of Canada, often to communities that are currently in the news or celebrating some event, and collects opinions, reactions, and quotes from people on the street 

• Mark Critch (born 1974): a Canadian comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on 22 Minutes, initially as a writer and then as a regular cast member beginning in 2013

• The Debaters (2006-now): a Canadian radio comedy show hosted by Steve Patterson. During each episode, two debates take place between two sets of two contestants. The topics are deliberately comedic. The winner is chosen by audience reaction at the end of the debate. It began on CBC TV in 2011

• Steve Patterson (born 1990): a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, writer, TV and radio host, known for his satire and observational comedy. Has appeared numerous times on Just For Laughs, the annual comedy festival held in Montreal 

• Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020) a Canadian television sitcom that has received critical acclaim and garnered a cult following, particularly for its writing, humour and acting. It is the first Canadian comedy series to be nominated for a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Comedy Series. At the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards, the series’ final season swept all seven major comedy awards. It was the first time for a comedy or drama series to receive all seven awards

• Laugh out Loud radio program (started in 2016): CBC Radio’s home for comedy. Every week it features the best and funniest comics in the business. Recorded at festivals and comedy clubs across the country 

• Stewart Reynolds, known as Brittlestar (born 2002): a Canadian whose comedic and family-friendly videos have been seen more than 500 million times on various platforms.  His recent KFC video campaign was the most popular branded video content in the world on Facebook for the summer of 2017. Along with Brittlestar’s two teenage sons and wife, Shannon (co-star of their successful The Morning Show Thing live stream on Facebook), he has created viral videos for a variety of brands and organizations such as Disney, ESPN, Subway, CBC, Walmart, and others 

• Other comedians of note or on the horizon: Nic Kardalos, Don Novella, Jim Gaffigan, Maria Bamford, Joe Pera, John Mulaney, Eric Andre, Nathan Fielder, James Corden, Mindy Kaling, Hasan Minhaj, Jorden Klepper, Ziwe Fumudoh, John Mulaney, Derrick Beckles, Julie Klausner, Billy Eichner, Aidy Bryant

Other international figures

• André Deed (1879-1940): a French actor who was one of the first named actors in cinema. He appeared in vaudeville theatre and cabaret, including at the Folies Bergère. He was best known for his Foolshead comedies, produced in the 1900s and 1910s

• Grock (1880-1959): a Swiss clown and musician. Called “the king of clowns”and “the greatest of Europe’s clowns”, Grock was once the most highly paid entertainer in the world

• Victor Borg (1909-2000): in the early 1940s, Borge escaped the Nazi menace in Denmark, travelled to America, and started performing his now-famous routines. One of those skits is called Phonetic Punctuation, where Borge creates different silly sounds for the punctuation that he encounters as he reads a romantic story. I was also always amused by his (supposed) inability to bring a great classical piece to an end, with endless musical gestures of seeming closure

• Marcel Marceau (1923-2007): a French actor and mime artist most famous for his stage persona, “Bip the Clown“. He referred to mime as the “art of silence” and he performed professionally worldwide for over 60 years

• Coluche (1944-1986); this popular French stage comedian (real name Michael Colucci) had an often Rabelaisian and even scatological style. He would dress in his well-known outfit of white tennis shoes, blue striped overalls, a bright yellow T-shirt and round glasses. Known for his irreverent attitude towards politics and the establishment; he incorporated this into much of his material. He was one of the first major comedians to regularly use profanities as a source of humour on French television. He announced his candidacy for the 1980 French presidential election; he was not taken seriously until the Sunday newspaper published a poll showing Coluche supported by 16% of potential voters

• Barry Humphries (born 1934): the Aussies have this wonderful satirist, whose comic creations include the housewife and “gigastar” Dame Edna Everage. The character has been used to satirize the cult of celebrity, class snobbery, and prudishness and is often used by Humphries to poke fun at the political leaders and fashions of the times. For his delivery of dadaist and absurdist humour to millions, he was described by biographer Anne Pender in 2010 as not only “the most significant theatrical figure of our time … (but) the most significant comedian to emerge since Charlie Chaplin.” 

• Paul Hogan (born 1939): this Australian comedian is famous for his role of Mick “Crocodile” Dundee in the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee

• Ella Al-Shamahi (born 1983): an explorer, paleoanthropologist, evolutionary biologist and stand-up comic. She specializes in the study of Neanderthals. She grew up in Birmingham, UK and has Yemeni and Syrian ancestry. She is a stand-up comic and performed three shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

• Rose Matafeo (born 1992): a New Zealand comedian, actress, and TV presenter. She was a writer and performer on the NZ late-night comedy sketch show Funny Girls. In 2018 she became the first person of colour to win Best Comedy Show in the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for a solo show, and the first New Zealander to win the award

Late night talk shows produced many fine comedians:

• Steve Allen (1921-2000): in 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and first host of The Tonight Show, which was the first late night television talk show. After, he went on to host numerous game and variety shows, including his own The Steve Allen Show and I’ve Got a Secret. He was a regular panel member on What’s My Line?

• Jack Paar (1918-2004): was the popular second host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962. Time magazine’s obituary of Paar reported wryly, “His fans would remember him as the fellow who split talk show history into two eras: Before Paar and Below Paar”

• Johnny Carson (1925-2005): best known as the host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992). He adopted a casual, conversational approach with extensive interaction with guests. (One of his classic skits was the Copper Clapper Caper with Jack Webb of Dragnet fame where in 1968 both of them deadpanned their way through a very funny alliteration skit; see it on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRfuTTd09vo)

• Joan Rivers (1933-2004): in 1986, with her own rival program opposite Johnny Carson, The Late Show with Joan Rivers, she became the first woman to host a late night network television talk show

• Dick Cavett (born 1936): an American television personality, comedian and former talk show host (The Dick Cavett Show) notable for his conversational style and in-depth discussions. He appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the US for five decades, from the 1960s through the 2000s

• Merv Griffin (1925-2007); his idea of the perfect show was to have as many diverse guests as possible. For over a quarter of a century, more than 25,000 guests appeared on The Merv Griffin Show including numerous significant cultural, political, social and musical icons of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s

• Jay Leno (born 1950): an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from 1992 to 2009 and from 2010-2014. He has an active schedule as a touring stand-up comedian appearing in, on average, 200 live performances a year in venues across the US and Canadaas well as charity events and USO tours

• David Letterman (born 1947): hosted 6,080 episodes of Late Night and Late Show, surpassing his friend and mentor Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late night talk show host in American television history. (His first episode appeared February 1982.) The show was seen as edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). Letterman’s reputation as an acerbic interviewer was borne out in verbal sparring matches. Letterman credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most

Several late-night hosts have cited Letterman’s influence, including O’Brien (his successor on Late Night), Colbert (his successor on The Late Show), Fallon, Kimmel and Meyers.

• Conan O’Brien (born 1963): an American television host, comedian, podcaster, and producer. He is best known for hosting the talk shows Late Night with Conan O’Brien (which he took over from Letterman in 1993), The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and since 2010, Conan on the cable channel TBS. Prior to his hosting career, he was a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. Known for his spontaneous hosting style, which has been characterized as “awkward, self-deprecating humor”, O’Brien’s late-night programs combine the “lewd and wacky with more elegant, narrative-driven short films (remotes)” 

• Stephen Colbert (born 1964): an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014 and the CBS talk program The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2015 succeeding Letterman. He would make generous use of humorous fallacies of logic in explaining his point of view on any topic. He played the role so well of a satirical conservative pundit that it would lead to confusing some whether Colbert was in character making light of the likes of Bill O’Reilly or whether he was, in fact, authentic

• The Daily Show (1996-present): an American late-night talk and news satire TV program on Comedy Central. Describing itself as a fake news program, The Daily Show draws its comedy and satire from recent news stories, political figures, media organizations, and often uses self-referential humour as well. First hosted by Craig Kilborn until 1998. Jon Stewart then took over as the host (1999-2015), making the show more strongly focused on political satire and news satire, in contrast with the pop culture focus during Kilborn’s tenure. Stewart was succeeded by Trevor Noah, whose tenure premiered 2015. Under the different hosts, the show has been formally known as The Daily Show with Craig Kilborn from 1996 to 1998, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1999 until 2015, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah since 2015. The Daily Show is the longest-running program on Comedy Central (counting all three tenures)

• Jon Stewart (born 1962): an American comedian, filmmaker, political commentator, and TV host. He hosted The Daily Show from 1999 to 2015. He is known as an outspoken, humorous critic of personality-driven media shows, in particular, those of the US media broadcast networks such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. Senator John McCain described Stewart as “a modern-day Will Rogers and Mark Twain”

• Trevor Noah (born 1984): a South African comedian, TV host, and political commentator. He is the host of The Daily Show as of 2015, succeeding Jon Stewart. Noah’s mixed-race ancestry, his experiences growing up in Soweto, and his observations about race and ethnicity are leading themes in his comedy

• Jimmy Kimmel (born 1967): the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a late night talk show that premiered 2003. Before that he was the co-host of Comedy Central’s The Man Show. Kimmel has served as the Honorary Mayor of Dildo, Newfoundland since August 2019 

• Seth Meyers (born 1973): an American comedian and television host. He hosts an NBC a late-night talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers. Prior to that, he was a cast member and head writer for Saturday Night Live (2001–2014)

• Jimmy Fallon (born 1974): an American comedian, television host, and producer. He is known for his work on Saturday Night Live and as host of the late-night talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He became the sixth permanent host of the long-running The Tonight Show in 2014. In addition to his television work, Fallon has released two comedy albums

• John Oliver (born 1977): a British-Americancomedian, writer, television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention for his work in the United States on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart as its senior British correspondent from 2006 to 2013 

Attachment #7: Comedy/Humour Writers

This is also an impossible list to present as there are so many. Even so, I’ll note some English writing candidates that appeal to me, and note a few reasonably current favourites.

• Philogelos (Ancient Greek for “Love of Laughter”) is the oldest existing collection of jokes; the language used indicates that it may have been written in the fourth century AD during the time of the Roman Empire

• Edward Lear (1812-1888): an English writer and poet known for his limericks, a form which he popularized. (There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, ‘It is just as I feared! Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard!’)

• Mark Twain (1835-1910): lauded as the “greatest humorist the United States has produced”. He is certainly known for his clever aphorisms: “Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.” “Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.” “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” ”I didn’t attend the funeral but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.”

• Stephen Leacock (1869-1944): was a Canadian teacher, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humorist in the world. (He influenced many comedians, notable Jack Benny.) He is known for his light humour along with criticisms of people’s follies. It was said in 1911 that more people had heard of Stephen Leacock than had heard of Canada. He is considered today by some a complicated and controversial historical figure for his views and writings. His works can be described as a balancing act between cutting satire and sheer absurdity. Since 1947 there exists the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. It is a prestigious honour awarded for the best at Canadian humour writing

• P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975): an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. He wrote comic fiction, creating several regular characters who became familiar to the public over the years. They include the wealthy, feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious and highly competent valet, Jeeves. Most of Wodehouse’s fiction is set in his native United Kingdom, although he spent much of his life in the US and used New York and Hollywood as settings for some of his novels. His prose style has been compared to comic poetry and musical comedy. A great line from Wodehouse was his description of a vicar in a very rural English parish. He said, “He gave the impression that he had been stuffed by an incompetent taxidermist.”

• Paul Hiebert (1892-1987): a Canadian humorist and professor. He won enduring national recognition and affection in 1947 with the publication of Sarah Binks, a book which has immortalized the fictional poetic exploits of Sarah – Hiebert’s “Sweet Songstress of Saskatchewan” – for generations of Canadians. Hiebert extended the range of his warm but wryly hyperbolic commentary on Canadiana (and Binksiana) with Willows Revisited (1967) and For the Birds (1980). He won the Leacock Medal for Humour in 1947 for Sarah Binks. (Charley Gordon, who I will list shortly, told me that Sarah Binks in his opinion, “is the funniest Canadian book ever”.)

• E. B. White (1899-1985): an American writer and contributing editor to The New Yorker magazine, (and also a co-author of the English language style guide The Elements of Style). During his career he frequently provided what the magazine calls “Newsbreaks” – short, witty comments on oddly worded printed items from many sources

• Stephen Potter (1900-1969): a British author best known for his parodies of self-help books, and their film and television derivatives. His series of humorous books on how to secure an unfair advantage began in 1947 with Gamesmanship, purporting to show how poor players can beat better ones by subtle psychological ploys. This sold prodigiously and led to a series of sequels covering other aspects of life (One-Upmanship in 1952, Supermanship in 1958). The books were adapted for the cinema in the 1960s and for television in the 1970s. His perceptive, humorous discussions of manoeuvres, or “ploys”, in everyday social situations had wide influence

• Ogden Nash (1902-1971): an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared the country’s best-known producer of humorous poetry. When Nash was not writing poems, he made guest appearances on comedy and radio shows. It was he who penned “Progress is a fine thing, but it’s gone on long enough” or “Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker” or “Senescence begins, and middle-age ends, the day your descendants outnumber your friends.”

• Sidney Joseph “S.J.” Perelman (1904-1979): an American humorist and screenwriter. He is highly regarded for his humorous short pieces that he published in magazines in the 1930s and 1940s, most often in The New Yorker. For these, he is considered the first surrealist humour  writer of the US. In these numerous brief sketches he pioneered a new and unique style, using parody to “wring every drop of false feeling or slovenly thinking”. They were infused with a sense of ridicule, irony, and wryness and frequently used his own misadventures as their theme. He occasionally used a form of word play that was, apparently, unique to him. He would take a common word or phrase and change its meaning completely within the context of what he was writing, generally in the direction of the ridiculous. Frank Muir, the British expert on comic writing, lauded Perelman as the best American comic author of all time in his Oxford Book of Humorous Prose. He also wrote for several other magazines, including Judge, as well as books, scripts, and screenplays

• Norman Ward (1918-1990): a Canadian writer and academic, whose writings spanned a wide variety of genres from politics to biography to humour. He published three books of humour.  He won the Stephen Leacock Award in 1961 for Mice in the Beer, his first collection of humorous essays. His later humour works were The Fully-Processed Cheese (1964) and Her Majesty’s Mice (1977)

• George Bain (1920-2006): a Canadian journalist, author, educator. In the mid-1950s, he began the Ottawa column in the Toronto Globe and Mail (its first Ottawa-based columnist). He gradually introduced into the Ottawa column his Letters from Lilac (a fictional Saskatchewan town). Pearson’s chuckle, Diefenbaker’s wagging forefinger, Trudeau’s shrug and Canada’s political issues were widely disseminated through the fictional Lilac Advance and its correspondent Clem Watkins. He was awarded the Stephen Leacock Medal

• Frank Muir (1920-1998): an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wrote BBC Radio’s Take It from Here for over 10 years, and then appeared on BBC radio quizzes My Word! and My Music for another 35. His many writing credits include editorship of The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose

• Joseph Heller (1923-1999): a Jewish, agnostic American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel Catch-22, a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for an absurd or contradictory choice. His other books are examples of satire which centre on the lives of members of the middle class

• Brendan Behan (1923-1964): “I am a drinker with a writing problem.” This Irish author must be included in any such list because of his earthy satire and formidable wit. He was bold, rebellious and an ego-pricker, with part of his early life as a member of the IRA; he served time in prison and wrote about the experience in his play The Quare Fellow and his autobiographical novel The Borstal Boy; alcoholism defined him and shortened his life. He was up there with two other influential Irish playwrites and activists, George Bernard Shaw (1851-1950) and Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

• Art Buchwald (1925-2007): a Jewish American humorist best known for his column in The Washington Post. At the height of his popularity, it was published nationwide as a syndicated column in more than 500 newspapers. His column focused on political satire and commentary. When once asked where he got his ideas, he said simply that he read the newspaper every day. He could not make up the absurd situations that were reported 

• Erma Bombeck (1927-1996): an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her syndicated newspaper humour column describing suburban home life from 1965 to 1996. She also published 15 books, most of which became bestsellers. (Two examples: The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank and If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?) “Never argue with a doctor; he has inside information.”

• Neil Simon (1927-2018): an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays. The key aspect most consistent in Simon’s writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, presenting serious subjects in a way that makes audiences “laugh to avoid weeping.” He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks,in a wide variety of urban settings and stories. This creates a “sophisticated, urban humor”, says editor Kimball King, and results in plays that represent “middle America. Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which became comical premises for problems which needed be solved

• Charley Gordon (born 1940): joined the Ottawa Citizen in 1974 and had a variety of roles: editorials, editing local news and books sections, a daily column, retiring in 2005. Gordon’s columns were “noted for their wry and sometimes satirical humour”. Three-time nominee for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour (The Governor General’s Bunny Hop; How Not to Be Too Bad; The Grim Pig). Deserves to be on this list, but had to be as he is a friend!

• Garrison Keillor (born 1942): best known as the creator of the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion, which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books. I receive his regular blog; he’s perceptive and witty, although repetitive in his references to his religious background and affection for his wife

• Bill Bryson (born 1951): a very funny travel writer. While living in the US in the 1990s Bryson wrote a column for a British newspaper for several years, reflecting on humorous aspects of his repatriation in the US. These columns were selected and adapted to become his book Notes from a Big Country. In 2003 British voters chose his book Notes from a Small Island as that which best summed up British identity and the state of the nation. He wrote A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, an autobiographical book describing his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail with his friend “Stephen Katz”. The book is a hilarious romp, written in a humorous style, interspersed with more serious discussions of matters 

• Douglas Adams (1952-2001): an English author, screenwriter, essayist, humorist, satirist and dramatist. He wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy which originated in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy, before developing into a “trilogy” of five books and generated a TV series

• Terry Fallis (born 1959): Canadian writer; two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour (winning in 2008 The Best Laid Plansand in 2015 for No Relation). Also wrote Up and Down, No Relation, Poles Apart. A former Liberal Party strategist. I met him after he wrote The Best Laid Plans (when he gave me advice on publishing my autobiography), think he’s damn funny, thus he made my list 

• National Lampoon: an American humour magazine that ran from 1970 to 1998. The magazine reached its height of popularity and critical acclaim during the 1970s, when it had a far-reaching effect on American humour and comedy. It contained an unusual mix of intelligent, cutting-edge wit, combined with some crass, bawdy jesting.In both cases, itshumour often pushed far beyond the boundaries of what was generally considered appropriate and acceptable. It was especially anarchic, satirically attacking what was considered holy and sacred

• Mad Magazine: publishes satire on all aspects of life and popular culture, politics, entertainment, and public figures. Mad‘s mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, is typically the focal point of the magazine’s cover, with his face often replacing that of a celebrity or character who is lampooned within the issue. Started in 1952, Mad ended newsstand distribution in 2018, continuing in comic-book stores and via subscription

Attachment #8: Influential Cartoonists

I have identified separately those who have chosen to make their mark and profession in the world of cartooning. As background, the origin of the term “cartoon” to refer to comic drawings came from Punch, a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841. The term “cartoon” then meant a finished preliminary sketch on a large piece of cardboard, or cartone in Italian. The Houses of Parliament were to be decorated with murals, and “cartoons” for the mural were displayed for the public. Punch was most influential in the 1840s and 1850s, when it helped to coin the term “cartoon” in its modern sense as a humorous illustration. 

Punch humorously appropriated the term to refer to its political cartoons, and the popularity of the Punch cartoons led to the term’s widespread use. The magazine’s circulation declined from its peak in the 1940s and closed in 2002.

There is an organization based in the US, The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) that have members from many branches of the profession, including advertising, animation, newspaper comic strips and syndicated single-panel cartoons, comic books, editorial cartoons, gag cartoons, graphic novels, greeting cards, magazine and book illustration. Only recently has the NCS embraced web comics. 

As to the practitioners of this art, the following were/are influential:

• William Hogarth (1697-1764), this English satirist and editorial cartoonist emerged In the 18th century. He poked fun at contemporary politics and customs; illustrations in such style are often referred to as “Hogarthian”

• James Thurber (1894-1961): an American cartoonist, author, humourist, journalist, playwright, and celebrated wit. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in The New Yorker and in his numerous books. Thurber was one of the most popular humorists of his time and celebrated the comic frustrations and eccentricities of ordinary people. His works have been adapted into films, for example The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (the derivative word “Mittyesque”has entered the English language, denoting an ineffectual person who spends more time in heroic daydreams than paying attention to the real world)

• Chic Young (1901-1973): an American cartoonist who created the comic strip Blondie. Young had a daily readership of 52 million. When it debuted 1930, it quickly became the most popular comic strip in America, gaining even more readers when Blondie and Dagwood married in 1933. Young at his peak received more fan mail than any other cartoonist. Stan Drake, who drew Blondie in the 1980s and 1990s, stated that Young “has to go down in history as one of the geniuses of the industry”. Blondie is currently written by Chic Young’s son, Dean Young and illustrated by John Marshall 

• Theodor Seuss Geise (1904-1991): was the American cartoonist and writer behind the extraordinary Dr. Seuss success story. His work includes many of the most popular children’s books of all time, selling over 600 million copies. (“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”)

• Carl Giles (1916-1995): a British cartoonist who produced Giles, a single topical highly detailed panel, usually with a great deal more going on than the single joke. Certain recurring characters achieved a great deal of popularity, particularly the extended Giles family. His topics were typically British and made references to common British goods or attitudes

• Ronald Searle (1920-2011): an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St. Trinian’s School (a gag cartoon comic strip series). The cartoons all centre on a boarding school for girls, where the teachers are sadists and the girls are juvenile delinquents. The series was Searle’s most famous work and inspired a popular series of comedy films and for his collaboration with Geoffrey Willans on the Molesworth series: Down With Skool!, 1953, and How to be Topp, 1954; comic misspellings, erratic capitalization and schoolboy slang are threads running through the books. (I have always been amused, as a survivor of boarding school food, by his chapter heading describing such food: “The piece of cod which passeth human understanding”.) Searle was a friend of the great satirical humorist S. J. Perelman. His work has had a great deal of influence, particularly on American cartoonists, including Pat Oliphant, Matt Groening, Hilary Knight and the animators of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians

• Charles Schulz (1922-2000): wrote and illustrated Peanuts which became, over a period of 50 years, among the most popular and influential in the history of comic strips, with 17,897 strips published in all, making it “arguably the longest story ever told by one human being”. It cemented the four-panel gag strip. Note: the strip is called yonkoma; although the word comes from Japanese, the style also exists outside Japan in other Asian countries as well as in the English-speaking market, particularly in mid-20th century US strips, where Peanuts popularized the format. Most strips there, including the last several years of Peanuts, have since moved to a three-panel format as the standard in the US

• Duncan Macpherson (1924-1993): his caricatures were unique in English Canada: wicked, mischievous, and sometimes cruel. One colleague, Gary Lautens, described his work as a combination of “Mary Poppins, Mark Twain and Attila the Hun.” Macpherson described himself as a heckler. His acid portraits of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker made him famous. He worked as an illustrator at the Montreal Standard and Maclean’sbefore he joined the Toronto Star. He succeeded in having cartoonists recognized as independent contributors to the editorial page, not merely as illustrators.

• George Booth (born 1926): a New Yorker cartoonist since 1969. His cartoons usually feature an older everyman, -woman, or -couple beset by modern complexity, perplexing each other, or interacting with cats and dogs

• Jim Unger (1937-2012): British-born Canadian cartoonist, best known for his syndicated comic strip Herman which ran for 18 years in 600 newspapers in 25 countries. He began in 1968, retired in 1992 and made a comeback in 1997. The eponymous Herman is actually anybody within the confines of the strip – a man, a woman, a child, any animal or even an extraterrestrial. All characters are rendered in Unger’s unique style as hulking, beetle-browed figures with pronounced noses and jaws, and often sport comically understated facial expressions. In the foreword to one of his collections (Herman VIII) he writes, “I’m just a little boy whispering to everyone that the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes.”

• Andy Donato (born 1937): is a Canadian editorial cartoonist and former art director for the Toronto Sun. In 1974, he started cartooning full-time. Some of his most famous work was done when Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister and Joe Clarke was leader of the official opposition. As the two leaders battled it out, Donato lampooned both of them extensively. He retired in 1997 but still does contract drawing for the Sun chain

• Terry Mosher (born 1942), pen name is Aislin: was political cartoonist for Montreal’s English-language newspaper The Gazette. His dual insight into French and English Canada’s cultures helped him to lampoon some of the pivotal moments of Quebec’s political history. He’s produced more than 14,000 cartoons over his career. It was delightful to learn that he became the first artist to have his cartoons denounced by a MP (Bob Layton, the PC Member for Lachine, Québec). Layton called Mosher’s cartoons “a crime against fundamental Canadian values of decency and mutual respect.” It looks like he has achieved success

• Jim Davis (born 1945): an American cartoonist best known as the creator of the comic strip Garfield. It chronicles the life of the title character, Garfield the cat, Jon Arbuckle, his human owner; and Odie, the dog. It holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s most widely syndicated comic strip. Common themes in the strip include Garfield’s laziness, obsessive eating, love of coffee and lasagna, disdain of Mondays, and diets. Garfield is also shown to manipulate people to get whatever he wants

• Serge Chapleau (born 1945): a Canadian political cartoonist. He grew up in a blue collar neighbourhood in Montréal, where his childhood kingdom was the back alley of rue Drolet. Humour and self-derision quickly became his defence mechanisms, giving rise to the biting personality of the one who would become known simply as “Chapleau.” Every day in Le Devoir, with rather bold pencil strokes, he drew the highlights and leading personalities in the news. This caustic popularity earned him a privileged place in media circles. At the same time, Chapleau created the puppet Gérard D. Laflaque. Somewhat his alter ego, this colourful character allowed Chapleau to comment on political discourse more vividly through short vignettes on Radio-Canada’s Minute et quart 

• Lynn Johnston (born 1947): a Canadian cartoonist, known for her newspaper comic strip For Better or For Worse. Many story lines have been drawn from her family’s real-life experiences. Her strip has been carried by about 2,000 newspapers in Canada, the US and 20 other countries since 1978. She was the first woman and first Canadian to win the National Cartoonist Society’s Reuben Award 

• Brian Gable (born 1949): a Canadian; works as editorial cartoonist for The Globe and Mail. He captures the voices of average citizens in his cartoons and how they see decisions made by the powers that be. He regularly uses satire and sarcasm to highlight important issues facing our country and the world. His 2018 Order of Canada citation said he’s “a legend within the editorial cartooning community” and that his work “embodies our national sense of humour, namely our ability to laugh at ourselves and our institutions.”

• Gary Larsen (born 1950): an American cartoonist who created The Far Side. Its surrealistic humour is often based on uncomfortable social situations, improbable events, an anthropomorphic view of the world, logical fallacies, impending bizarre disasters, (often twisted) references to proverbs, or the search for meaning in life

• John Fewing (born 1955): he works as a freelance graphic designer and cartoonist. His work appears in the Peterborough Examiner and the Toronto Sun. Listed here as I see him regularly; he does incisive political pieces

• Richard Thompson (1957-2016): an American illustrator and cartoonist best known for his syndicated comic strip Cul de Sac.The central character is four-year-old Alice Otterloop, and the strip depicts her daily life at pre-school and at home. A review stated it “avoids both mawkishness and cynicism and instead finds genuine charm in its loopy appreciation of small events. Very few strips can hit this subtle note.”

• Bill Watterson (born 1958): an American cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. He spent much of his career trying to change the climate of newspaper comics. He believed that the artistic value of comics was being undermined, and that the space which they occupied in newspapers was continually being decreased, subject to arbitrary whims of shortsighted publishers

• John Wagner: created Maxine in 1986 for the Shoebox Greetings card line, a division of Hallmark. He created a brazen older woman with a stooped back, a mop of curly gray hair and abrasive personality. (Apparently he based the character on his mother, grandmother and maiden aunts who helped raise him.) “Cartoonists are sensitive to the insanities of the world; we just try to humanize them”, he has been quoted as saying. Maxine takes on any issue fearlessly, from family and aging, to work and driving. (A few examples: “I can’t use a cell phone in the car. I have to keep my hands free for making gestures,” and, “I’m willing to put in longer hours at work. As long as they’re lunch hours,” and “Caffeine is for people who feel they aren’t irritable enough on their own.”)

• Bruce MacKinnon (born 1961): a Canadian editorial cartoonist for the Chronicle Herald in Halifax. Since becoming the paper’s regular cartoonist, MacKinnon has achieved status as one of Canada’s finest editorial cartoonists. He was called by the Canadian Encyclopedia, “among the new breed of distinguished artists” in Canadian editorial cartooning. Some of MacKinnon’s images have received wider attention beyond Canada’s borders. In response to the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, MacKinnon drew a cartoon depicting Uncle Sam using his body to shield a spokesman for the National Rifle Association and reassuringly saying, “Everything’s okay… you’re safe…” while they are surrounded by the sprawled, bloody corpses of the shooting victims

• Michael de Adder (born 1967): a Canadian editorial cartoonist and caricaturist. His work appears regularly in the National Post, Maclean’s and is syndicated in North America. He draws approximately ten cartoons weekly and, at over a million readers per day, is considered the most read cartoonist in Canada

• Playboy: the debut of this magazine introduced full-page colour cartoons by Jack Cole (1914-1958) (whose main fame was having at least one piece published in Playboy each month for the rest of his life), Eldon Dedini (1921-2006) and Roy Raymonde (1929-2009) (a British editorial cartoonist best known for his work as well in Punch)

• The New Yorker: this American weekly magazine should have special mention with regard to cartoons. It features quality journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. However, my father used to buy it, I’m convinced, just for the single-panel cartoons sprinkled throughout each issue