Five For Friday: Five Must-Watch Stand Up Comedians…

Bringing funny back for today’s #545 with 5 of the best stand-up comedians of all time. Please do not confuse this #545 with the 5  biggest jokes of all time, because slots 1 to 4 are all taken by Kanye West and slot 5 now belongs to Lance Armstrong. Well done, Lance.

Anyway…

These 5 comics have generated some of the best deliveries and material available at the moment and span at least 3 continents, with their humour appealing to people of almost every background. Sadly, there aren’t any South African stand-up comedians on this list  and for good reason. Maybe that’ll change once the old guard dies. Speaking of the old guard, I’m going to leave out the classic masters like Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Robin Williams, Steve Martin and George Carlin. If you haven’t watched those guys, I don’t know what you’ve been doing with your life…

Katt Williams
You may have seen him as Money Mike in the Ice Cube flick, “Friday After Next” but Williams holds his own as stand up comedian too. Check him out in this riff from his show “The Pimp Chronicles” on the benefits of having white friends…

Jim Jefferies
From the country that gave us Kylie Minogue’s bum and the only man capable of playing Wolverine, Jefferies takes dark comedy to a whole new level. Irreverent and simply gagging to break the backs of sacred cows everywhere, this guy should never be watched with anyone who hates to think. As an example, here’s Jefferies riffing on relationships…

Eddie Izzard
In strong counterpoint to the above comedians, here’s Eddie Izzard, the king of surreal, tangenital comedy. Hailing from the UK, Izzard’s comedy is like taking a mystery tour through an unknown city, with twists and turns that you could never expect, and comedy pitched at a more cerebral level. The best thing is that he pretty much steers clear of profanity so you can watch him with your mum. Here’s Izzard going to town on Hitler..

Russell Peters
Indian-Canadian or is that Canadian-Indian comic, Peters has carved himself a niche by being a comedian who’s not afraid to crack jokes, seemingly at himself and his own background. As an example, here’s he is talking about the Indian accent…

Frankie Boyle
Probably the most caustic comedian out there right now. There is nothing that is off-limits for Boyle. His comedy is straight up hardcore and he’s got no fear whatsoever. In fact, it’s got him in trouble a good few times with the BBC. Check out this rip on Wayne Rooney…

So these are some of the comedians you should watch, if you haven’t already. If you’ve got a recommendation, feel free to drop the name in the comments.