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Comedian
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Main page For other uses, see Comedian (disambiguation).

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A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to Comedian
Interaction entertain an audience by making them laugh. This Medium Physical comedy, stand-up
Help might be through jokes or amusing situations, or comedy
About Wikipedia
acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop Types Comedy club, theatre,
Community portal
comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience television, film
Recent changes
directly is called a stand-up comic. Ancestor arts Jester, harlequinade, clown
Contact page
Originating Humour
A popular saying, variously quoted but generally
Tools culture
attributed to Ed Wynn,[1] is, "A comic says funny
What links here
things; a comedian says things funny", which draws a
Related changes
Upload file distinction between how much of the comedy can be
Special pages attributed to verbal content and how much to acting and
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 Permanent link persona.
Page information
Since the 1980s, a new wave of comedy, called alternative
Wikidata item
Cite this page comedy, has grown in popularity with its more offbeat and
experimental style. This normally involves more
Print/export experiential, or observational reporting, e.g. Alexei Sayle,
Create a book Daniel Tosh, Louis C.K. and Malcolm Hardee. As far as
Download as PDF
content is concerned, comedians such as Tommy Tiernan,
Printable version
Des Bishop, and Joan Rivers draw on their background to Charlie Chaplin in the film The
In other projects poke fun at themselves, while others such as Jon Stewart, Champion, 1915

Wikimedia Commons and Ben Elton have very strong political and cultural
undertones.
Languages
Many comics achieve a cult following while touring famous comedy hubs such as the Just for

Laughs festival in Montreal, the Edinburgh Fringe, and Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia.
Azrbaycanca
Cymraeg Often a comic's career advances significantly when they win a notable comedy award, such as the
Dansk Edinburgh Comedy Award (formerly the Perrier comedy award). Comics sometimes foray into other
Deutsch areas of entertainment, such as film and television, where they become more widely known; e.g.,
Espaol Eddie Izzard or Ricky Gervais. However, a comic's stand-up success does not guarantee a film's
Esperanto
critical or box office success.

Frysk Contents
Gaeilge
1 History of comedians

1.1 Ancient Greeks

Hrvatski
1.2 Shakespearean comedy
Bahasa Indonesia 1.3 Modern era
2 Personality traits
Basa Jawa 3 The World's Highest Paid Comedians
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 Kiswahili 4 See also
Kreyl ayisyen 5 Notes
Ltzebuergesch
6 References

Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands

History of comedians [edit]

Norsk bokml
Ancient Greeks [edit]
Occitan
Polski See also: Ancient Greek comedy

Comedians can be dated back to 425 BC, when Aristophanes, a comic author and playwright,
Shqip
wrote ancient comedic plays. He wrote 40 comedies, 11 of which survive and are still being
Simple English
performed. Aristophanes' comedy style took the form of satyr plays.[2]
Slovenina
/ srpski
Srpskohrvatski / Shakespearean comedy [edit]
See also: Shakespearean comedy
Suomi
Svenska The English poet and playwright William Shakespeare wrote many comedies. A Shakespearean
Trke comedy is one that has a happy ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried
characters, and a tone and style that is more light-hearted than Shakespeare's other plays.
West-Vlams
Modern era [edit]

Edit links Charles Chaplin was the most popular screen comedian of
the first half of the 20th century. He wrote comedic silent
films such as Modern Times and The Kid. His films still
have a major impact on comedy in films today.[3]

One of the most popular forms of modern-day comedy is

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stand-up comedy. Stand-up comedy is a comic monologue
performed by one or more people standing on a stage.[4]
Bob Hope was the most popular stand-up comedian of the
20th century, and also starred in numerous comedy films
over a five-decade span. Other noted stand-up comedians
include George Carlin, Jerry Seinfeld, Lenny Bruce, Mort
Sahl, Louis CK and Chris Rock.
Sarah Silverman at Upright Citizens
Another popular form of modern-day comedy is talk shows
Brigade in LA, 2013
where comedians make fun of current news or popular
topics. Such comedians include Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien,
Daniel Tosh, Chris Hardwick, Jimmy Fallon, David Letterman, and Chelsea Handler.
A third form of modern-day comedy is television programs in which many comedians band together
to make skits, such as Saturday Night Live. These shows often receive high ratings, likely because
many comedians band together to create jokes, rather than one comedian creating his own
jokes.[5]
One of the most successful comedians[citation needed] is Ellen Degeneres, who has parlayed her
comic career into film, television shows, and hosting major media events. In 1986, Ellen
DeGeneres appeared for the first time on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson since she
began gaining popularity as a stand-up comic in the 1980s.[6] Johnny Carson, who launched many
contemporary comics careers, would sometimes invite them to join him on the couch for one-on-
one conversation after their set. It was Carson's stamp of approval, and because of the show's
immense popularity, and the lack of other national spotlights for comics, Carson, "until the early
'90s, was the biggest influence on whether a stand-up comedian's career took off."[7] He likened
DeGeneres to Bob Newhart, and invited her for an onscreen chat after her performance, she
became the first comedian to have been offered that opportunity.[6]
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 Personality traits [edit]

In a January 2014 study, conducted in the British Journal of

Psychiatry, scientists found that comedians tend to have high levels
of psychotic personality traits. In the study, researchers analyzed
404 male and 119 female comedians from Australia, Britain, and the
United States. The participants were asked to complete an online
questionnaire designed to measure psychotic traits in healthy
people. They found that comedians scored "significantly higher on
four types of psychotic characteristics compared to a control group
of people who had non-creative jobs." Gordon Claridge, a professor
of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford and leader of
the study claimed, "the creative elements needed to produce humor
are strikingly similar to those characterizing the cognitive style of Adam Sandler circa 2011

people with psychosis - both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder."[8]

However, labeling comedians' personality traits as "psychotic" does not mean that individual is a
psychopath,[9][10] since psychopathy is distinct from psychosis, and neither does it mean their
behavior is necessarily pathological.

The World's Highest Paid Comedians [edit]

Forbes publishes an annual list of the most financially successful

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 Forbes publishes an annual list of the most financially successful
comedians in the world, similarly to their Celebrity 100 list. Their
data sources include Nielsen Media Research, Pollstar, Box Office
Mojo and IMDb.[11] The list was topped by Jerry Seinfeld from 2006
until 2015, who lost the title to Kevin Hart in 2016.[12] In that year,
the eight highest paid comedians were from the United States,
including Amy Schumer, who became the first woman to be listed in
the top ten.[13] The top ten of 2016 are as follows:[a]

Annual
Notable
Rank Name earnings Nationality Age
works
(USD)
Kevin Hart: Let Kevin Hart in 2014

Me Explain,
Kevin $87.5
1 37 Ride Along,
Hart million
The Wedding
Ringer
Seinfeld, Bee
Jerry $43.5 Movie, I'm
2 62
Seinfeld million Telling You for
the Last Time
Terry $21 America's Got
3 51
Fator million Talent
Trainwreck,
Inside Amy
Amy $17
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 Amy $17
4 35 Schumer, 2015
Schumer million
MTV Movie
Awards
Spark of
Insanity,
Arguing with
Jeff $13.5 Myself, Jeff
5 54
Dunham million United Dunham's Very
States Special
Christmas
Special
Dave
Chappelle's
Dave $13 Block Party,
6 43
Chappelle million Half Baked,
Chappelle's
Show
Jim Gaffigan:
Mr. Universe,
Jim $12.5 The Jim
7 50
Gaffigan million Gaffigan Show,
It's Kind of a
Funny Story
Hot and Fluffy,
The Fluffy
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 Gabriel $9.5 Movie, Gabriel
8 40
Iglesias million Iglesias
Presents Stand
Up Revolution
Red, White and
Russell Brown,
9 $9 million 45
Peters Canada Outsourced,
Breakaway
John Bishop's
John United Britain, The
10 $7 million 49
Bishop Kingdom John Bishop
Show, Panto!

See also [edit]

Comedy genres
Humor
Impressionist
List of comedians
List of humorists
List of musical comedians
Satire
Stand-up comedy
2016 in stand-up comedy

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 Notes [edit]

a. ^ The Forbes 2016 list appears to exclude people often

Wikimedia Commons has
regarded as comedians who are better known for other media related to Comedians.
professions, despite having earned more than some in
the list's top ten, including actors Adam Sandler and Melissa McCarthy, and late-night talk show
hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon.

References [edit]
1. ^ "Simpson's Contemporary Quotations, 1988" . Retrieved 2008-04-01.
2. ^ Aristophanes. Lysistrata . pp. ix.
3. ^ Sigler, Michael S (1 May 2001). "Charlie Chaplin Biography" . Retrieved 2 December 2013.
4. ^ " 'stand-up comedy' definition" . Retrieved 2 December 2013.
5. ^ Bibel, Sara (3 November 2013). " 'Saturday Night Live' With Host Kerry Washington and Musical
Guest Eminem Delivers Its Highest Rating Since October 5" . Retrieved 2 December 2013.
6. ^ a b
Ellen DeGeneres (April 26, 2002). The Comedy Couch. Interview with Guy MacPherson.
Vancouver, B.C.
7. ^ Drew Carey on Johnny Carson's Impact on Stand-Up Comedy
8. ^ Kelland, Kate (16 January 2014). "Comedians have psychotic personality traits, study finds" .
Reuters. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
9. ^ Suebsaeng, Asawin (18 January 2014). "Study Says Comedians Have Psychotic Personality
TraitsHere's What Some Comedians Have To Say About That" . Mother Jones. Retrieved
31 January 2014.
10. ^ Cooper-White, Macrina (17 January 2014). "Comedians Have 'High Levels' Of Psychotic
Personality Traits, New Study Shows" . Huffington Post. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
11. ^ Forbes (27 September 2016). "The World's Highest-Paid Comedians 2016" . Retrieved
18 January 2017.

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 12. ^ Berg, Madeline (27 September 2016). "The Highest-Paid Comedians 2016: Kevin Hart Dethrones
Jerry Seinfeld As Cash King Of Comedy With $87.5 Million Payday" . Retrieved 18 January 2017.
13. ^ Desta, Yohana (27 September 2016). "Amy Schumer Is the First Woman to Land on Forbes'
Highest-Paid Comedians List" . Retrieved 18 January 2017.

V T E Comedy
Comedian Comedic device Comedy festival Comic timing Farce Humorist Humour
Topics Impersonator Impressionist Irony Joke Prank call Punch line Satire Visual gag Wit
Word play

Country American British French Italian

Film Horror Parody Remarriage Romance Science fiction Screwball Sex (Italian)
Genre
Silent Slapstick Stoner
Ancient Greek comedy Comdie-Franaise Comdie-Italienne
Europe
Corral de comedias Theatre of ancient Rome
Country
China (Crosstalk Mo lei tau) Japan (Kygen Manzai Owarai Rakugo
Asia
Sarugaku)
Boulevard theatre Comedy-drama Comedy of errors Comedy of humours
Comedy of manners Comedy of menace Commedia dell'arte Double act Farce
Theatre Improvisational Macchietta One-person show Pantomime Restoration comedy
Genre
Sentimental comedy (Comdie larmoyante) Shadow play Shakespearean comedy
Sketch comedy Spex Stand-up comedy Street theatre Theatre of the Absurd
Tragicomedy Vaudeville
Ballad opera Cabaret (Caf-chantant Caf-thtre) Comdie-ballet
Music &
Comedy club Light music Music hall Musical theatre Opra bouffe Opera buffa
dance
Opra comique Operetta Revue
Media Music (Album Rock) Novel Radio Television (Roast Sitcom)
Alternative Black Blue Character Christian Cringe Deadpan (dry humor) Documentary
Subgenres High / low Horror Insult Observational Physical Prop Shock Sick Slapstick (Topics)

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 Surreal Zombie

Category Portal

Categories: Comedy Comedians

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