Favorite Funny Actors

[anklebiter]

Yep! Another actor thread.I'd like to pay tribute to those who make me laugh.There are plenty of modern era, as well as classics that crack me up.Thanks! I needed that.

Classic
Jerry Lewis
Don Rickles
Abbot & Costello

Modern
Chris Farley
Adam Sandler
Jim Carrey
Leslie Nielsen

Donald Sutherland amuses me too, even when his role is serious.
Who cracks you up?

[John C. Holmes]

Old school:

Chevy Chase (up until Fletch Lives in 89.)
John Belushi
John Ritter
Bill Murray

New School:

Will Ferrell
Jim Carrey
Seth Rogan (I can't believe I just said that out loud.)

[kananga]

http://thumbnails16.imagebam.com/4750/40ad2f47496051.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/40ad2f47496051)

Particularly in the films "Tommy Boy" and "Black Sheep", where he was paired with David Spade.
In my opinion a master of modern slapstick.
How can someone so big, move so quickly?

[anklebiter]

http://thumbnails16.imagebam.com/4750/40ad2f47496051.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/40ad2f47496051)

Particularly in the films "Tommy Boy" and "Black Sheep", where he was paired with David Spade.
In my opinion a master of modern slapstick.
How can someone so big, move so quickly?

Yep.I couldn't agree more.I'm ashamed I forgot him.My OP has been edited.

[Estreeter]

I just look at him and laugh, :cool:
http://thumbnails7.imagebam.com/4750/3db9c947496918.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/3db9c947496918)
:D

[dohupa]

Classic:
Frankie Howerd

Modern:
John Cleese

:)

[tabler]

Interesting thread anky, I agree with most of the above but I am surprised that in classical no-one has mentioned Laurel & Hardy and as for modern, really apart from Leslie Nielsen, Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey, I cant really think of any actors that specialize in mainly comedy.
I think what I'm getting at is that actors now dont seem to 'pigeonhole' themselves like they did in say the 40's or 50's when they would be deemed to be 'romantic', 'gangster', or 'comedy' certainly I think this is true only in the movies, in TV an actor will still be 'labelled' by his genre.

Oh (I just edited this in) how could I forget Steve Martin, he only does comedys ( although his later ones are crap) and as for older- Sid James, he was the master of the lewd look and dirty laugh.

[imtrying]

All Hail the Three Stooges! Rodney Dangerfield, much respect. The Brothers Marx (yes, even Zeppo), The Bowery Boys, Gene Wilder (Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles), The Original Not Ready For Prime Time Players ('75-'80), The casts of "SCTV", "Monty Python" and "The Kids In The Hall". And, last but not least, a couple of television classics: Phil Silvers as Sgt. Ernie Bilko and Carroll 'O Conner as Archie Bunker.

[Giacson]

Buddy Hackett
http://img229.imagevenue.com/loc47/th_43168_Buddy-Hackett_123_47lo.jpg (http://img229.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=43168_Buddy-Hackett_123_47lo.jpg)

Peter Sellers
http://img159.imagevenue.com/loc92/th_43170_clouseau_123_92lo.jpg (http://img159.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=43170_clouseau_123_92lo.jpg)

Michael Palin
http://img137.imagevenue.com/loc246/th_43354_Michael-Palin_123_246lo.jpg (http://img137.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=43354_Michael-Palin_123_246lo.jpg)

Robin Williams
http://img5.imagevenue.com/loc247/th_43355_robin-williams_123_247lo.jpg (http://img5.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=43355_robin-williams_123_247lo.jpg)

Some other funny guys, at least with memorable moments
Eddie Izzard
John Larroquette
Arte Johnson and Henry Gibson from Laugh-In

[John C. Holmes]

I can't believe I forgot about Peter Sellers. Hail to the Master.

Add Bruce Campbell to my list too.

[anklebiter]

I always liked John Ritter too.One of the best movies of the 80's was Real Men, with him and Jim Belushi.-OOH!! Jim Belushi too :D

[Giacson]

Louis Burton Lindsey, Jr. aka "Slim Pickens". Got his nickname from working as a rodeo clown.

http://img171.imagevenue.com/loc696/th_92643_slim-blazing-saddles-160_123_696lo.jpg (http://img171.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=92643_slim-blazing-saddles-160_123_696lo.jpg)

[guilert53]

Nobody has mentioned Jack Lemmon.

Wonderful comic actor in films such as The Odd Couple, Some Like it Hot, Avanti, The Front Page, Fortune Cookie, Mister Roberts etc.

But he could act straight with the best of them as he showed in Days of Wine and Roses, a study of the horrors of alcoholism.

I think the scene in The Odd Couple, where he is trying to clear his sinuses while in the cafe is hilarious, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RwFsIR604A

[marlon]

Classic

Charlie Chaplin - simply the best
Arthur Lowe - played it so straight it was hilarious
Leonard Rossiter - remember Rigsby and Reginald Perrin, superb
Buster Keaton - simply a genius
Harold Lloyd - ditto
John Candy - underated
Peter O'Toole - couldn't help it
Peter Sellers - perfectionist
Syd James - gnah, gnah!

Modern

Rowan Atkinson - come on, Mr Bean was good, Blackadder even better
Ricky Gervais - smug git, but he makes me laugh
Adam Sandler - not all, but most, underated
Paul Whitehouse - hilariously dead pan, hilarious when not, perfect timing, should do straight too - and he's Welsh!

;)

[brianwp]

I have a lot of old favorites, like W.C. Fields, Jonathan Winters, the Marx Brothers, Carlin, Rickles, Walter Matthau, Cheech and Chong, etc. But these days, I would say Lewis Black, and Sasha Baron Cohen.

[biggold80]

I loved Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder when they acted together...

[Giacson]

Tim Kazurinsky. Played a number of memorable characters on Saturday Night Live and Officer Sweetchuck in the Police Academy series.

[tamsmith]

Warren Mitchell. You either loved him or loathed him.

He never won an argument in Til' Death Do Us part but you laughed with him or against him.

Decent guy in real life.

[FlyStrat]

Steven Seagal

Well, he always makes me laugh...

[Estreeter]

Steven Seagal

Well, he always makes me laugh...
And cry at the same time

[ed_balls]

if i had to pick one act it would have to be Laurel and Hardy. they are simply the best ever and that's one of the main reasons the simpsons is/was so good because it was based on the best. homer remind you of anyone?

[Mal Hombre]

The basis of L&H is that they're both dumb,but Hardy thinks he's smart,Homer on the other hand knows he's dumb but has a kind of low cunning.

[Wendigo]

Will Hay.
http://img262.imagevenue.com/loc243/th_73768_Will_hay_123_243lo.jpg http://img195.imagevenue.com/loc862/th_73761_porter_123_862lo.jpg (http://img195.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=73761_porter_123_862lo.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL0uI6puxpY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qLGOjy1Z6M&feature=related

[marlon]

Will Hay.
http://img262.imagevenue.com/loc243/th_73768_Will_hay_123_243lo.jpg http://img195.imagevenue.com/loc862/th_73761_porter_123_862lo.jpg (http://img195.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=73761_porter_123_862lo.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL0uI6puxpY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qLGOjy1Z6M&feature=related

Thanks for reminding me, brings to mind Alastair Sim, Margaret Rutherford, Alec Guiness, Ian Carmichael, and Norman Wisdom. Some superb actors and superb films.

;)

[rotobott]

Kenneth Williams.

http://img102.imagevenue.com/loc9/th_73675_Kenneth-Williams-carry-on-movies-1210643_468_582_122_9lo.jpg (http://img102.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=73675_Kenneth-Williams-carry-on-movies-1210643_468_582_122_9lo.jpg)

[Mal Hombre]

Wilfred Brambell ,Harry H Corbett-Steptoe and Son

[imtrying]

Being in the States, I've never seen "Steptoe and Son". To me, Wilfred Brambell will always be Johnny McCartney, Paul's Grandfather in "A Hard Day's Night". He's very clean.

[marlon]

Being in the States, I've never seen "Steptoe and Son". To me, Wilfred Brambell will always be Johnny McCartney, Paul's Grandfather in "A Hard Day's Night". He's very clean.

Clean? He wasn't in Steptoe & Son,

http://img242.imagevenue.com/loc102/th_59945_wilfrid2_123_102lo.jpg (http://img242.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=59945_wilfrid2_123_102lo.jpg)

from wiki -

Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast on the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron Grainer. In a 2004 BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom of all time, Steptoe and Son was voted 15th.[1] It was remade in the US as Sanford and Son.

Character (played by Wilfred) -The father, Albert Edward Ladysmith Steptoe (portrayed by Wilfrid Brambell), born 26 September 1899 (father not known but believed to be a local muffin man, now dead), though he always let on that he had been born in 1901, including to his son. He appears to have joined the army underage at the start of the First World War, and is seen wearing the Mons Star medals to prove it. Also served with the British Expeditionary Force to Archangel, White Russia, in 1919. Steptoe Senior is lazy, stubborn, narrow-minded, foul-mouthed, and has revolting personal habits. Albert is content with his place in the world, utterly unpretentious and downright cynical. He can be extremely vindictive and does everything he can to prevent Harold, his son, improving himself — especially if it means him leaving home. He is normally unshaven and wears a very old pair of false teeth, discoloured and with teeth missing. His wife died in 1936.

Situation
The episodes often revolve around (sometimes violent) disagreements between the two men, Harold's attempts to bed women and momentary interest over things found on his round. As with many of the best examples of British comedy, much of the humour derives from the pathos of the protagonists' situation, especially Harold's continually-thwarted (usually by the elder Steptoe) attempts to "better himself" and the unresolvable love/hate relationship that exists between the pair.

A common theme is that Albert almost always comes out on top. Despite his lack of effort Albert routinely and easily proves himself superior to his son whenever they come into competition, such as in their frequent game-playing, e.g. the Scrabble and badminton games from the 1972 series. Harold takes them desperately seriously and sees them as symbols of his desire to improve himself, but they come to nothing every time. His father's success is partly down to superior talent but aided by cynical gamesmanship and undermining of his son's confidence. In addition, Albert habitually has better judgement than his son, who blunders into all sorts of con-tricks and blind alleys as a result of his unrealistic, straw-clutching ideas. Occasionally the tables are turned, but overall the old man is the winner, albeit in a graceless fashion.

Harold is infuriated by these persistent frustrations and defeats, even going to the extent in "Divided We Stand" (1972) of partitioning the house in two so he doesn't have to share with his selfish, uncultured and negative father. Predictably, his plan ends in failure and ultimately he can see no way out. However, for all the bitterness there is an essential bond between the pair. Deep down, Albert seems to love his son and his behaviour is perhaps a selfish but misguided way of holding on to him so he doesn't have to face life alone. When the crunch comes, Harold sticks by his father. This protective bond is much in evidence in "The Seven Steptoerai" (1974) when they are menaced by a local gangster running a protection racket. Typically though, it is Albert who gets them ingeniously out of a very hazardous predicament.

The show is often sited as the best British sitcom of all time - certainly a contender in my opinion - its worth having a search on the net for the odd sketch, though not sure if the humour travels across the pond that well.

;)

[Oswald]

British: Tommy Cooper.

American: Nathan Lane.

[risen]

Thought that Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid & Bill Murray all did a pretty good over-the-top job in the Farrelly Brothers movie 'Kingpin'.

Remember the bit where Munson's stupid mate says he has to take a dump and has to have something to read, so Harrelson as Munson hands him a bottle of bleach "Already read that" says the moron!

[Aitken Bonar]

The unheralded genius that is John Sparks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFa4gogjXqA

[Clouddancer]

If the actor ( And lets not forget the director) is good enough they can bring in a brilliant comedy performance. I've seen many hillarious comedy performances from actors & actresses who were not regarded as comedy perforners.
However my strictly comedic actors would have to include, Peter Sellers, Michael Palin, Leonard Rossiter ( Probably, my absolute favourite.)
Ronnie Barker, & on occasion Rik Mayall.
Blasts from the past would have to include Walther Mathau, Groucho Marks, Bob Hope, & W C Fields, plus of course Laurel Hardy.

[Mal Hombre]

Re:Steptoe and Son,the thing that made it extraordinary for me is the fact that it is actually very sad.Indeed the pilot episode finished with Harold on the ground sobbing in despair,the underlying theme is that Harold is trapped and the only way He will ever escape is if His father dies.Galton and Simpson actually envisaged a final episode where Harold murdered Albert,it was never made with Brambell and Corbett but has been performed recently.Another factor was that both leads hated each other's guts by the end.

[tabler]

Ive been watching School For Scoundrels. A superb cast with Ian Carmichael and Alistair Simm, but for me the film is stolen by Terry Thomas. He really can play the ultimate 'cad'.:cool:

"oh hard cheese"...

http://img168.imagevenue.com/loc822/th_60492_terry_thomas_123_822lo.jpg

[navvet]

Men who always made me laugh out loud;

Charlie Chaplin
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
Harold Lloyd
Buster Keaton
W.C. Fields
The Marx Brothers
Laurel & Hardy
Bob Hope
Abbott & Costello
Martin & Lewis
Peter Sellers

[wakman11]

For it has to be

Cary Grant & Terry Thomas

Have fun

[SpermShooter]

Benny Hill
Red Skelton
Bob Hope
Abbot and Costello
Jerry Lewis
Ed O'neil
Woody Allen
The Marx Brothers

[jokerman]

For me.
Classic
Anglo-American Duo of Laurel & Hardy
Charlie Chaplin

Modern
Benny Hill
Paul Hogan
Also the team from Not the Nine O'clock News.

[COP11]

Charlie Chaplin
Fatty Arbuckle
Buster Keaton
Richard Pryor