The Comedian's Comedian

The Comedian's Comedian was a 3 hour programme broadcast on UK's Channel 4 on 1st January 2005. The show listed the top 50 comedians ever, as voted for by fellow comedians and business insiders. This was in contrast to most Channel 4 polls of this kind where the results are voted for by the general public.

Amongst the comedians were three double acts (making a total of 53 comedians), three members of Monty Python, 34 British comedians, 19 Americans, 48 men, 5 women and one transvestite. One surprise was the particularly low position of Spike Milligan, considered by many to have been a godfather of British comedy having broken so much ground, along with Peter Cook (who topped the list) in the 1950s and 60s. Noticeable omissions include Harry Enfield and Ben Elton who are somewhat unpopular in comedy circles.

Here are the results:

1. Peter Cook
2. John Cleese
3. Woody Allen
4. Eric Morecambe
5. Groucho Marx
6. Tommy Cooper
7. Laurel and Hardy
8. Billy Connolly
9. Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer
10. Richard Pryor
11. Chris Morris
12. Tony Hancock
13. Bill Hicks
14. Peter Sellers
15. Steve Martin
16. Ronnie Barker
17. Steve Coogan
18. Charlie Chaplin
19. Eddie Izzard
20. Paul Merton
21. Eric Idle
22. Peter Kay
23. Larry David
24. Rowan Atkinson
25. Bob Hope
26. Harry Hill
27. Victoria Wood
28. Spike Milligan
29. Christopher Guest
30. Michael Palin
31. French & Saunders
32. Eddie Murphy
33. Bob Monkhouse
34. Rik Mayall
35. Steven Wright
36. Ken Dodd
37. Les Dawson
38. Chic Murray
39. Stephen Fry
40. Joan Rivers
41. Joyce Grenfell
42. Phil Silvers
43. Jackie Mason
44. Eric Sykes
45. Robin Williams
46. Paul Whitehouse
47. Bill Cosby
48. Mike Myers
49. Ricky Gervais
50. Mel Brooks