Have a Laugh With This Quiz on Classic Comedians

Sid Caesar was a comedic voice for the ages, known for his groundbreaking variety shows such as “Your Show of Shows” and “Caesar’s Hour.” Those programs delighted audiences throughout the 1950s, and also spawned a new generation of comedic writers and performers, including Academy Award-winner Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Broadway’s Neil Simon.

While Frank Sinatra was known for his temper, he was glad to be the butt of jokes delivered by his lifelong friend Don Rickles. Rickles and Sinatra frequently appeared together on “The Tonight Show,” recounting pranks they played on one another. In one such prank, Sinatra had Rickles arrested during a performance.

In an industry dominated by male comedians, Phyllis Diller blazed a trail for female comics when she began performing professionally in the 1950s. Her self-deprecating style won over audiences, and she often spoke of her fictitious and dim-witted husband Fang, so named because he had only one tooth. Diller continued performing her groundbreaking comedy into her 80s.

British comedians John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam formed the revolutionary sketch comedy team Monty Python. Their “Flying Circus” series aired from 1969 to 1974, featuring absurdist comedy sketches. One of the more famous sketches was “Dead Parrot,” in which a disgruntled customer attempts to return a deceased parrot to the pet store. “More Cowbell,” however, was a sketch that aired on “Saturday Night Live” in 2000.

In 1984, the release of “This Is Spinal Tap” helped popularize the mockumentary genre. Directed by Rob Reiner, the spoof “documentary” centered around the fictitious metal band Spinal Tap and its members Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer). All three actors were experienced musicians who actually played their instruments in the movie.

In 1975, Lorne Michaels introduced the world to the sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live,” which went on to become the most Emmy-nominated show in history. Michaels has won 21 Emmys himself, and even received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. His producing credits also include “30 Rock” and “The Tonight Show.”

Lenny Bruce pushed boundaries with comedy that shocked certain audiences, and he was arrested in Chicago in 1962 for violating an obscenity statute. However, that conviction was overturned on appeal, as his comedy was ruled to be social commentary. In 1964, Bruce was arrested again on obscenity charges in New York City, and subsequently forced to serve four months in prison.

“You Bet Your Life” debuted on the radio in 1947, and was first broadcast on NBC television three years later. Comedian Groucho Marx hosted the program, delivering one-liners that kept audiences roaring with laughter. The show was known for its secret word of the day, which was affixed to a toy duck that would drop from the ceiling if the word was said.

Bob Newhart had virtually no comedy experience when he burst onto the scene in 1960 with his hit album, “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart.” The album was a huge success and became the first comedy album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts. At the 1961 Grammy Awards, it won Best New Artist, Album of the Year, and Best Comedy Performance, Spoken Word.

Comedy duo Abbott and Costello performed their famous “Who’s on First?” routine around 15,000 times during their 20-year partnership. The sketch features Costello playing a fan talking to a baseball team manager, played by Abbott. Costello asks who’s playing that day, but all the players have unusual surnames such as “Who” and “What,” leading to hilarious confusion.

Jack Benny began his career as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit, but soon drew attention for his comic ability. He turned to radio, where he portrayed a miserly character who played violin badly and constantly claimed to be age “39 and holding.” Benny had a long and successful comedy career on both radio and TV, and continued performing until his death in 1974.

Many stand-up comedians have released comedy albums, but Rodney Dangerfield achieved something a little unexpected when his 1983 single, “Rappin’ Rodney,” became one of the first rap records to hit Billboard’s Hot 100. The funnyman took his catchphrase ("I don't get no respect!") and layered that with some funky beats and R&B singers. The video, starring the Rappin’ Rodney persona, even earned heavy rotation on the newly launched MTV channel.

Andy Kaufman could be described variously as a performance artist, prankster, or comedian, and yet the comedic role was not one he comfortably embraced, preferring instead to see himself as an “entertainer.” His stage routines often included experimental bits such as wrestling women, impersonating Elvis Presley, reading long tracts from “The Great Gatsby,” and singing “99 Bottles of Beer.”

Wise-cracking comedian Bob Hope’s career spanned many decades and incorporated everything from vaudeville to movies and TV, but his most lasting legacy is perhaps the time he spent entertaining military troops around the world. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center, as well as a Medal of the Arts and a British knighthood. Toward the end of his career, he donated his joke file, consisting of over 85,000 pages of jokes, to the Library of Congress.

Flip Wilson won two Emmys for his comedy-variety program, “The Flip Wilson Show,” which ran from 1970 to 1974. It was notable for being one of the first TV shows hosted by a Black person to be a ratings success. One of his most memorable characters was a sassy working-class woman named Geraldine Wilson, who often talked about her boyfriend, the ominously named “Killer.” Geraldine tossed off many catchphrases, including “What you see is what you get!” and “The Devil made me do it.”

Carol Burnett made a name for herself in theater, on TV specials, and through guest appearances before she was granted her own regular comedy-variety show in 1967. “The Carol Burnett Show” ran for 11 seasons and earned 23 Emmy Awards, blazing a trail for female comedians.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were one of the most successful comedy duos in movie history, making more than 100 films together. Laurel played the hapless fool to Hardy’s pompous straight man, who often reacted with the catchphrase, “Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!” The duo won an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Comedy, for “The Music Box” in 1932.

Joan Rivers started out on the New York comedy club circuit before she earned her big break with an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1965. She was an immediate hit with both the audience and Carson himself, and ended up coming back for many appearances on both “The Tonight Show” and “The Ed Sullivan Show.” In the mid-1980s, Rivers became Carson’s permanent guest host, but they had a public falling-out only a few years later when she was offered her own late-night show on a rival network.

“Late Night with David Letterman” was a revolutionary late-night comedy talk show, airing each night on NBC after “The Tonight Show.” The franchise debuted in 1982 with David Letterman as host, though he eventually left the show to host “The Late Show” on CBS in 1993. Letterman’s successor was Conan O’Brien, who was eventually succeeded by Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.

Steve Martin started out in the early 1970s writing for the Smothers Brothers (for which he won an Emmy) and “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour,” before taking the stage as a stand-up. By 1976, he was selling out shows around the country and entertaining audiences with catchphrases such as “Well, excuuuuuuse me!” and “I’m a wild and crazy guy!” Toward the end of the decade, he released two Grammy-winning comedy albums, “Let’s Get Small” (1977) and “A Wild and Crazy Guy” (1978).