My Favorite Comedians

I was just watching a clip online of Sebastian Maniscalco.  I think right off the bat, he is my favorite modern-day comedian.  His sense of humor, coupled with his physical humor, is just dynamite.  One of my favorite bits of his is the one where he talks about answering the doorbell.  He compares how people used to be so excited to see who is visiting them with now, where the homeowners are wondering why the heck somebody is coming to them in person.  Another very funny bit is about the etiquette of visiting someone’s home – taking shoes off, the amount of hors d’oeuvres served, etc. Oh, and one more classic I have to mention: Sebastian’s bit about his first experience at a Passover Seder as an Italian dude.  Funny stuff!  Yes, he is definitely on track to become a comedic heavy weight.

In the Living Legend category I would put Jerry Seinfeld.  Yes, I know he is not 100 years old – but when you think about the fact that his very successful tv show Seinfeld first aired 28 years ago, he has been around long enough to be called a legend! For me, Jerry’s comedy is so appealing because it is all about little observations about life.  I saw his stand-up show recently and he talked about cellphones.  He said “I bet every one of you can tell me at this very moment exactly how much charge you have on your phone” and then went on to propose that there are many other important things you would have no clue about, but your phone being at 57% you know.

My most favorite deceased comedian is Lucille Ball.  Like Sebastian Maniscalco, she relied heavily on physical comedy to tell her story. But what I like most about her work is that she was fearless.  As an actress, she adhered to the glamour-imaging of her time – with all the portrait shots of her with perfect eyelashes and her hair just so.  Nonetheless, in her comedy, she was not afraid to look messy, silly or unattractive.  She would have paint spilled on her, shove endless amounts of candy in her mouth, or do the ugly cry.  Anything to get a laugh.  I found her comedy creative and entertaining to watch over and over. 

So there you have it: my thoughts on comedians.  Love to hear everybody else’s favorites!

-- Eve