Stand-up comedy has it's roots in the old Vaudeville shows of the early 20th Century, it's been around a LOT longer than you think, and Pryor wasn't anywhere near the beginning. There were tons of comics around before Pryor, and Lenny Bruce was way more influential at the time. Shit, people have been telling jokes on stage forever...
the funny thing is this guy is the least well known out of all the great comedians...I had to look him up, and had my mind blown a few times by this guy... what was his story? wasn't it a sad one? What about Sam Kinison's impact on stand up comedy? This guy took it to a whole new level...He was a rockstar screaming jokes, and used to sell out stadiums...Andrew dice clay also had that kind of success, although I am a Sammy fan true and true...
Dennis is yesterday´s carlos mencia. He is nothing more than a piece of shit that takes and butchers other people´s jokes, Dennis got most of his material from Bill Hicks.
My current favorites would be Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Louis C.K., Norm MacDonald, George Carlin, Chris Rock, Ricky Gervais, Aziz Ansari, Maria Bamford, Brian Posehn...all excellent...now for people who I don't think are funny... Well they were all mentioned, Larry the Cable Guy, Jeff Dunham, and Carlos Mencia...1 of them a joke stealer, all three of them stupid. I don't think Dane Cook is as bad as people make him out to be he is just not my cup of tea. As for where comedy started not sure...
Comedy wasn't born..It just lives inside people...They know it's there, they know people got problems n shit and they know they can offer them escape. That's why most comedians you see that are really good are also a little bit fucked..People who can offer other people escape from their problems have a life time of experience trying to get away from their own.
Sam Kinison was actually a close friend of Bill's. I think they both got started in Dallas. Sam was loosely associated with the group that Bill was a part of, the Texas Outlaw Comics. Bill died of pancreatic cancer. It was pretty sad but I think that guy was ready to transcend this physical life. I can feel for the guy and I'm sure he is in a happier place.
Mitch Hedberg is my favorite by far. I also like Steven Wright and Jerry Seinfeld. Newer people I like are Daniel Tosh, Aziz Ansari, and this other guy I cant remember the name.
Some solid names in here. Anyone else got mad love for Hannibal Buress? He is my favorite of the new standups and has the potential to be one of the greatest ever imo. He is always hilarious. I also wanna say that Todd Barry had a really funny special on comedy central back in July. He's not for everyone, like I like what he does.
Mitch Hedberg is my favorite comedian as well. So off-beat, so very interesting. Demetri Martin interests me, though sometimes his shows are sorta plain. I like the psychological/deep aspect that gets injected into his shows
Classic shit by yours truly [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSH6ofHbeUw"]Bill Hicks - Drugs and Evolution - YouTube[/ame]
I'm watching a contender for worst stand up on CC right now. Gary Gulman. This guy could not be more boring. Nothing he has said (halfway through the special so far) has been funny or insightful on any level. But he apparently he won Last Comic Standing? What does that say about people in the states? The majority is a bunch of boring mother fuckers that wouldn't know funny if it kicked them in the dick. Funny: [ame=http://vimeo.com/27562525]Mash Up: Hannibal Buress on Vimeo[/ame]
I remember I was watching a comedy special with various comedians and one guy was talking about how drinking a lot of Alcohol puts you in the trance of being in a music video, it was quite funny. RIP Greg Giraldo, dude was the king of Comedy Central's roast.