Funniest People in Ascending Order
by Brian_McInnis | created - 04 Oct 2013 | updated - 08 Nov 2019 | Public
1. Buster Keaton
Actor | The General
Joseph Frank Keaton was born on October 4, 1895 in Piqua, Kansas, to Joe Keaton and Myra Keaton. Joe and Myra were Vaudevillian comedians with a popular, ever-changing variety act, giving Keaton an eclectic and interesting upbringing. In the earliest days on stage, they traveled with a medicine ...
2. Mike Starr
Actor | Ed Wood
Mike Starr was born on July 29, 1950 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Ed Wood (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994) and Uncle Buck (1989). He has been married to Joanne since 1975. They have three children.
3. John Goodman
Actor | 10 Cloverfield Lane
John Stephen Goodman's an American film, TV & stage actor. He was born in Affton, Missouri to Virginia Roos (Loosmore), a waitress and saleswoman & Leslie Francis Goodman, a postal worker who died when he was a small child. He's of English, Welsh & German ancestry. He's best known for his role as ...
4. Robert Downey Jr.
Actor | Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. has evolved into one of the most respected actors in Hollywood. With an amazing list of credits to his name, he has managed to stay new and fresh even after over four decades in the business.
Downey was born April 4, 1965 in Manhattan, New York, the son of writer, director and ...
5. Wyatt Cenac
Writer | The Daily Show
Wyatt Cenac was born on April 19, 1976 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for The Daily Show (1996), aka Wyatt Cenac (2017) and People of Earth (2016).
6. Jeff Bridges
Actor | The Big Lebowski
Jeffrey Leon Bridges was born on December 4, 1949 in Los Angeles, California, the son of well-known film and TV star Lloyd Bridges and his long-time wife Dorothy Dean Bridges (née Simpson). He grew up amid the happening Hollywood scene with big brother Beau Bridges. Both boys popped up, without ...
7. Harpo Marx
Actor | A Night at the Opera
With poofy, curly red hair, a top hat and a horn, the lovable mute was the favorite of the Marx Brothers. Though chasing women was a favorite routine of his in the movies, Harpo was a devoted father and husband. He adopted the mute routine in vaudeville and carried it over to the films. Harpo was ...
8. Sacha Baron Cohen
Actor | Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
British actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was born in Hammersmith, London. He is the son of Daniella (Weiser), a movement instructor, and Gerald Baron Cohen, a clothing store owner. His father, born in England and raised in Wales, was of Eastern European Jewish descent, while his mother was born...
9. Chico Marx
Actor | Duck Soup
As a kid trying to negotiate his way through various gang territories to a floating crap game or a new pool hall where he was not yet known as a hustler, Leonard (Chico) Marx learned to fake several accents. Because he later employed an Italian accent in the Marx Brothers' act, people assumed his ...
10. Fred Willard
Actor | Best in Show
Fred Willard radiated a unique charm that established him as one of the industry's most gifted comic actors, first coming to prominence as ambitious but dimwitted sidekick Jerry Hubbard to Martin Mull's smarmy talk-show host Barth Gimble in the devastating satirical series Fernwood Tonight (1977). ...
11. Peter Sellers
Actor | Being There
Often credited as the greatest comedian of all time, Peter Sellers was born Richard Henry Sellers to a well-off acting family in 1925 in Southsea, a suburb of Portsmouth. He was the son of Agnes Doreen "Peg" (Marks) and William "Bill" Sellers. His parents worked in an acting company run by his ...
12. Richard Appel
Producer | The Simpsons
Richard Appel was born on May 21, 1963 in New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Simpsons (1989), King of the Hill (1997) and A.U.S.A. (2003). He was previously married to Mona Simpson.
13. Hitoshi Matsumoto
Writer | Dai-Nihonjin
Hitoshi Matsumoto and his childhood friend Masatoshi Hamada teamed up as comedy duo Downtown. When they had their own TV shows in late 80s, they became phenomenal pop culture among young Japanese people. Unlike other comedy duos in Japan, they are still together, and they dominate prime time TV ...
14. Josh Fadem
Actor | Better Call Saul
Josh Fadem is an actor and comedian based in Los Angeles. He is from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He trained at venues including The Upright Citizens Brigade LA and The Groundlings.
Josh was named one of Daily Variety's "10 Comics to Watch" for 2011.
Some of his television credits include Better Call Saul, Twin ...
15. John Cleese
Actor | A Fish Called Wanda
John Cleese was born on October 27, 1939, in Weston-Super-Mare, England, to Muriel Evelyn (Cross) and Reginald Francis Cleese. He was born into a family of modest means, his father being an insurance salesman; but he was nonetheless sent off to private schools to obtain a good education. Here he ...
16. Michael Jai White
Actor | Black Dynamite
Michael Jai White is an American actor and martial artist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, having starred as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Spawn. White ...
17. Eugene Levy
Actor | A Mighty Wind
Eugene Levy is an award-winning actor, writer, and producer. He has appeared in more than 60 motion pictures to date, eight of which having topped the $100M mark. The box office success of films such as Bringing Down the House (2003), Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005) , and Father of the Bride Part II ...
18. Kevin Michael Richardson
Actor | Mortal Kombat
Well-known, king-sized actor and voice artist Kevin Michael Richardson was born in Bronx, New York. He is, perhaps, mostly recognizable for his deep voice, which he uses in many of his works.
Richardson is a classically trained actor. He first gained recognition as one of only eight U.S. high school...
19. Tom Magliozzi
Actor | Cars
Tom Magliozzi was born on June 28, 1937 in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Cars (2006), Cars 3 (2017) and Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns (2008). He was married to Julia and Joanne. He died on November 3, 2014 in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.
20. Ray Magliozzi
Actor | Cars
Ray Magliozzi was born in 1950. He is an actor and writer, known for Cars (2006), Cars 3 (2017) and Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns (2008).
21. Mike Henry
Actor | Family Guy
Mike Henry is an actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Michael "Mike" Henry was born on November 7, 1965, in Pontiac, Michigan and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. He is best known for his work on Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, American Dad, Ted, and The Orville. His most popular voice characters ...
22. David Wain
Writer | Wet Hot American Summer
David Wain was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
He met the other members of the comedy troupe The State while a film student at NYU, where he graduated from in 1991.
As part of The State, he co-created and co-starred on their self-titled MTV sketch comedy show in the mid 90's. He then ...
23. Guy Endore-Kaiser
Producer | Platonic
Guy Endore-Kaiser was born on September 29, 1975 in the USA. Guy is a producer and writer, known for Platonic (2023), Fam (2019) and Ghosts (2021). Guy has been married to Renee Michelle Robichaux since April 7, 2012.
24. Dave Hill
Actor | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Dave Hill is a comedian, actor, writer, and musician know for Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt (2017), Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (2016), King of Miami (2007), and Inside Amy Schumer (2013). Hill's song "Go" by his band Valley Lodge is the theme song to HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Hill ...
25. Matt Groening
Writer | The Simpsons
Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Matt Groening did not particularly like school, which is what originally turned him towards drawing. In the mid-1980s, he moved to Los Angeles and started drawing a comic strip named "Life in Hell", which eventually became published in the newspaper where he worked. ...
26. Julius Sharpe
Writer | Dads
Julius Sharpe is known for Dads (2013), Family Guy (1999) and Making History (2017).
27. Julian Barratt
Actor | The Mighty Boosh
Julian Barratt was born on May 4, 1968 in Leeds, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Mighty Boosh (2003), Mindhorn (2016) and Nathan Barley (2005).
29. Nicolas Cage
Actor | Face/Off
Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola in Long Beach, California, the son of comparative literature professor August Coppola (whose brother is director Francis Ford Coppola) and dancer/choreographer Joy Vogelsang. He is of Italian (father) and Polish and German (mother) descent. Cage changed his...
30. Guy Maddin
Director | The Heart of the World
Guy Maddin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Herdis Maddin (a hair-dresser) and Charles "Chas" Maddin (grain clerk and general manager of the Maroons, a Winnipeg hockey team). Maddin studied economics at the University of Winnipeg, working as a bank manager, house painter, and photographic...
31. Sean Thomason
Writer | RiffTrax: Rogue One
Sean Thomason is known for RiffTrax: Rogue One (2017), Rifftrax: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and Rifftrax: Dune 2021 (2022).
32. Louis C.K.
Writer | Louie
Louis C.K. was born on September 12, 1967 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Louie (2010), American Hustle (2013) and Horace and Pete (2016). He was previously married to Alix Bailey.
33. Groucho Marx
Actor | A Night at the Opera
The bushy-browed, cigar-smoking wise-cracker with the painted-on moustache and stooped walk was the leader of The Marx Brothers. With one-liners that were often double entendres, Groucho never cursed in any of his performances and said he never wanted to be known as a dirty comic. With a great love...
34. Michael J. Nelson
Writer | Mystery Science Theater 3000
Michael J. Nelson is the former host and writer of the Emmy-nominated, Peabody Award-winning Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988). Since that time, he has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, penned a regular column for TV Guide, and authored best-selling books for both HarperCollins and Abrams.
...
35. Kevin Murphy
Actor | Mystery Science Theater 3000
Kevin Murphy was born on November 3, 1956 in River Forest, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988), Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) and MST3K Little Gold Statue Preview Special (1995). He has been married to Jane Wagner since September ...
36. Trace Beaulieu
Writer | Mystery Science Theater 3000
Trace Beaulieu was born on November 6, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988), Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) and MST3K Little Gold Statue Preview Special (1995). He was previously married to Karin Terrell-Lucius.
37. Brandon Wardell
Producer | Shift
Brandon Wardell is a 5-time Tony Award and 4-time Grammy Award nominee and proud member of the Recording Academy who is equally at home in the spotlight or behind the scenes in film, on TV, on stage or in concert.
Brandon is a film, theatre and album Producer with his company, Johnny Roscoe ...
38. Billy Eichner
Actor | Bros
Billy Eichner was born on September 18, 1978 and raised in New York City. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School (NY) in 1996. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he majored in Theater.
He is the star, executive producer and creator of Billy on the Street (2011), a comedy game show ...
39. Doug Lussenhop
Writer | Story Pig
Doug Lussenhop is known for Story Pig (2014), Dutch Boys Feat. Twank Star: Backpacker Bush (2013) and Pound House (2013).
40. Bill Burr
Actor | Old Dads
Bill Burr is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Patrick Kuby in the crime drama series Breaking Bad (2008), and creating and starring in the Netflix animated sitcom F Is for Family (2015).
In 2008, Burr's voice was featured in the game Grand ...
41. Scott Chernoff
Writer | BoJack Horseman
Scott Chernoff is known for BoJack Horseman (2014), Rick and Morty (2013) and School of Rock (2016).
42. Christopher Guest
Actor | This Is Spinal Tap
U.S.-born actor, director, writer, musician, and composer best known for his mockumentaries, poking fun at heavy metal music, small town theatre, dog shows, folk music and film-making itself, Christopher Haden-Guest was born February fifth, 1948, in New York City. His mother, Jean Pauline (Hindes),...
43. Douglas Adams
Writer | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Born Douglas Noel Adams on March 11, 1952 in Cambridge. From 1959 until 1970 he went to Brentwood school in Essex, and his main interest was science. As a student in Cambridge he decided to hitch-hike through Europe to Istanbul, and in order to raise funds for this he took a lot of small jobs. In ...
44. Eric Wareheim
Producer | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Eric Wareheim was born on April 7, 1976 in Audubon, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2007), Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories (2013) and Master of None (2015).
45. Gregg Turkington
Actor | Ant-Man
Gregg Turkington was born in Darwin, Australia in 1967, of American parents, and grew up in Arizona and California, founding the independent record label Amarillo Records in San Francisco in the 1990s. As the stand-up comic character Neil Hamburger, he has repeatedly headlined nightclub worldwide ...
46. Bill Corbett
Actor | Mystery Science Theater 3000
Bill Corbett was born on March 30, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988), Meet Dave (2008) and Cheap Seats: Without Ron Parker (2004). He has been married to Virginia Sweeny since 2003.
47. Jay London
Actor | Chronicles of a Madman
Jay London was born on September 12, 1966 in The Bronx, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Chronicles of a Madman (2002), Made in Brooklyn (2007) and The King of Queens (1998).
48. Mark Twain
Writer | Big River
Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri in 1835, grew up in Hannibal. He was a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River. Throughout his career, Twain served as a writer, lecturer, reporter, editor, printer, and prospector. Twain took his pen name from an alert cry used on his...
49. Patton Oswalt
Actor | Young Adult
Patton Oswalt has been headlining at comedy clubs all over the United States since 1996, as well as appearing in his own standup specials on Comedy Central and HBO. He was chosen as Entertainment Weekly's "It" comedian in 2002. He is a regular on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993). His other ...
50. Tommy Cooper
Actor | The Cool Mikado
After leaving the army Tommy Cooper took up show business in 1947 and so started his long career of comedy derived around visual humour, magic tricks that didn't work and his trademark red fez, a prop that started from his days in the army. The BBC described him as an "Unattractive young man with ...
51. Megan Amram
Producer | The Good Place
Megan Amram was born on September 3, 1987 in Portland, Oregon, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for The Good Place (2016), Parks and Recreation (2009) and Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin (2022).
53. Scott Adams
Writer | Dilbert
Scott Adams, frustrated with the inanities of corporate America and its idiot bosses, created the comic strip "Dilbert" to lampoon all he considered repugnant-yet-funny in the workplace of cubicles. His title character Dilbert, the bespectacled MIT graduate with no mouth and flip-up tie, is part ...
54. A.D. Miles
Actor | Role Models
A.D. Miles was born in North Carolina, USA. A.D. is a writer and actor, known for Role Models (2008), Wet Hot American Summer (2001) and Horrible People (2008).
55. Michael Showalter
Writer | Wet Hot American Summer
Michael Showalter is a director, writer, and producer who most recently directed the 2017 hit The Big Sick. Previously he directed and co-wrote the 2016 film Hello, My Name Is Doris starring Sally Field. Michael's first film was the The Baxter (2005) starring Michelle Williams and Justin Theroux. ...
56. Jeff Goldblum
Actor | Jurassic Park
Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum was born October 22, 1952 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of four children of Shirley (Temeles), a radio broadcaster who also ran an appliances firm, and Harold L. Goldblum, a doctor. His father was of Russian Jewish descent and his mother was of Austrian Jewish ancestry.
...
57. Zach Galifianakis
Actor | The Hangover
Zach Galifianakis was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, to Mary Frances (Cashion), who owned a community arts center, and Harry Galifianakis, a heating oil vendor. His father is of Greek descent and his mother is of mostly English and Scottish ancestry. Zach moved to New York City after failing ...
58. Greg Benson
Actor | Lessons in Chemistry
Greg Benson has established himself as one of the hardest-working commercial actors in the business, appearing in over 140 national commercials including memorable ads for Capital One, McDonald's, Hertz, Michelob, Lean Pockets and Honda.
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Benson relocated to Los ...
59. Rob Delaney
Actor | Catastrophe
Rob Delaney was born on January 19, 1977 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Catastrophe (2015), Deadpool 2 (2018) and Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023).
60. Jon Glaser
Writer | Inside Amy Schumer
Jonathan Daniel Glaser (born June 20, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for his work as a writer and sketch performer for many years on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, creating and starring in the Adult Swim series Delocated and Neon Joe, Werewolf...
61. Branson Reese
Actor | Mission to Zyxx
Branson Reese is known for Mission to Zyxx (2017), We Bare Bears (2014) and The Special Without Brett Davis (2015).
62. Bill Murray
Actor | Lost in Translation
Bill Murray is an American actor, comedian, and writer. The fifth of nine children, he was born William James Murray in Wilmette, Illinois, to Lucille (Collins), a mailroom clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray II, who sold lumber. He is of Irish descent. Among his siblings are actors Brian Doyle-Murray, ...
63. Dave Barry
Writer | Complete Guide to Guys
Dave Barry, author of numerous books and a weekly syndicated column with the Miami Herald, is well known for his scathing wit and deep insight into current political issues, exploding toilets, current economic trends, exploding whales, the future of America, exploding pop-tarts, and international ...
64. Matthew Holness
Actor | Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
Matthew Holness is known for Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (2004), Possum (2018) and Playhouse Presents (2012).
65. Richard Ayoade
Writer | Submarine
Richard Ellef Ayoade was born in Hammersmith, and grew up in Suffolk, in England, the son of a Norwegian mother, Dagny Amalie (Baassuik), and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. He studied Law at Cambridge university, and followed in the footsteps of British Comedy legends like Monty ...
66. Mike Chapman
Writer | Strongbad_email.exe
Michael Chapman is an American animator, writer, voice actor and director known for co-creating Homestar Runner alongside Craig Zobel, originally as a children's book. He voiced the Powered by the Cheat variations of the characters and Teeg Dougland from the Limozeen segments. He also wrote ...
67. Matt Chapman
Writer | Strongbad_email.exe
Matt Chapman is an American animator, writer, actor and director known for co-creating Homestar Runner alongside his brother Mike and Craig Zobel. He voiced nearly every character from Homestar Runner including Strong Bad. He also wrote episodes for animated Disney cartoons such as Wander over ...
68. Tim Heidecker
Writer | Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories
Tim Heidecker was born on February 3, 1976 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories (2013), Us (2019) and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2007). He has been married to Marilyn Porayko since June 2, 2007. They have two children.
69. Seth MacFarlane
Writer | Family Guy
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane was born in the small New England town of Kent, Connecticut, where he lived with his mother, Ann Perry (Sager), an admissions office worker, his father, Ronald Milton MacFarlane, a prep school teacher, and his sister, Rachael MacFarlane, now a voice actress and singer. He ...
70. Sean Tejaratchi
Art_department | Me and You and Everyone We Know
Sean Tejaratchi is known for Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), Kajillionaire (2020) and The Future (2011).
71. Peter Serafinowicz
Actor | Guardians of the Galaxy
Peter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as the title character in the 2016 live-action series of The Tick, Pete in Shaun of the Dead (2004) and as the voice of Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). He has...
72. Jacy Catlin
Found Footage Festival Volume 5: Live in Milwaukee
Jacy Catlin is known for Found Footage Festival Volume 5: Live in Milwaukee (2010), Found Footage Festival Volume 6: Live in Chicago (2012) and The Found Footage Show (2010).
73. Gary Larson
Writer | Tales from the Far Side II
Gary Larson was born on August 14, 1950 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Tales from the Far Side II (1997), War of the Worlds (1988) and Tales from the Far Side (1994). He has been married to Toni Carmichael since 1987.
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