Editing Comedian

{{Short description|Person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh}}
{{Other uses}}
{{multiple issues|
{{Lead rewrite|reason=Does not summarize latest article; also, most examples given are United Kingdom-biased|date=September 2019}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2021}}
}}
{{Infobox occupation
| name               = Comedian
| image              = Chaplin The Champion.jpg
| caption            = [[Charlie Chaplin]] in ''[[The Champion (1915 film)|The Champion]]'' (1915).
| official_names     = {{flatlist|
* Comedian
* comic
* clown
}}
| type               = [[performing arts|Performing art]]
| activity_sector    = {{flatlist|
* [[comedy (drama)|Theatre]]
* [[comedy album|sound recording]]
* [[comedy film|film]]
* [[radio comedy|radio]]
* [[television comedy|television]]
}}
| competencies       = {{flatlist|
* [[Acting]]
* [[dance]] (optional)
* [[magic (illusion)|magic]] (optional)
* [[singing]] (optional)
* [[ventriloquism]] (optional)
}}
| formation          = 
| employment_field   =
| related_occupation = [[Humorist]]
}}
A '''comedian''' (feminine '''comedienne''') or '''comic''' is a person who seeks to [[entertainment|entertain]] an [[audience]] by making them [[laughter|laugh]]. This might be through [[joke]]s or [[amusing]] situations, or acting foolishly (as in [[slapstick]]), or employing [[prop comedy]]. A comedian who addresses an audience directly is called a [[stand-up comedy|stand-up comedian]].

A popular saying often attributed to [[Ed Wynn]] states: "A comic says funny things; a comedian says things funny."<ref name=Bartleby>{{cite web|title=Simpson's Contemporary Quotations, 1988|url=http://www.bartleby.com/63/93/8993.html|website=Bartleby.com|access-date=2008-04-01|archive-date=2008-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316092036/http://www.bartleby.com/63/93/8993.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> This draws a distinction between how much of the [[comedy (drama)|comedy]] can be attributed to verbal content and how much to acting and persona.{{fact|date=February 2022}}

Since the 1980s, a new wave of comedy, called [[alternative comedy]], has grown in popularity with its more offbeat and experimental style. This normally involves more experiential, or observational reporting (e.g., [[Alexei Sayle]], [[Daniel Tosh]], [[Malcolm Hardee]]). As far as content is concerned, comedians such as [[Tommy Tiernan]], [[Des Bishop]], [[Kevin Hart]], and [[Dawn French]] draw on their background to poke fun at themselves, while others such as [[Jon Stewart]], [[Ben Elton]] and [[Sarah Silverman]] have very strong political and cultural undertones.{{fact|date=February 2022}}

Many comics achieve a [[cult following]] while touring famous comedy hubs such as the [[Just for Laughs]] festival in [[Montreal]], the [[Edinburgh Fringe]], and [[Melbourne Comedy Festival]] in [[Australia]]. Often a comic's career advances significantly when they win a notable comedy award, such as the [[Edinburgh Comedy Award]] (formerly the Perrier comedy award). Comics sometimes foray into other areas of entertainment, such as film and television, where they become more widely known (e.g., [[Eddie Izzard]], [[Lee Evans (comedian)|Lee Evans]]). A comic's stand-up success does not always correlate to a film's critical or box-office success.{{fact|date=February 2022}}

==History==
===Ancient Greeks===
{{See also|Ancient Greek comedy}}
Comedians can be dated back to 425 BC, when [[Aristophanes]], a comic author,  and playwright, wrote ancient comedic plays. He wrote 40 comedies, 11 of which survive and are still being performed. Aristophanes' comedy style took the form of [[satyr plays]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YhaawA_m9SEC&pg=PR9 | title=Lysistrata | author=Aristophanes | year=1996 | pages=ix| publisher=Nick Hern Books | isbn=9781854593252 }}</ref>

===Shakespearean comedy===
{{See also|Shakespearean comedy}}
The English poet and playwright [[William Shakespeare]] wrote many comedies. A Shakespearean comedy is one that has a happy ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried characters, and a tone and style that is more light-hearted than Shakespeare's other plays.

===Modern era===
{{Main|History of stand-up comedy}}
American performance comedy has its roots in the 1840s from the [[Three-act structure|three-act]], [[variety show]] format of [[minstrel show]]s (via [[blackface]] performances of the [[Jim Crow (character)|Jim Crow character]]); [[Frederick Douglass]] criticized these shows for profiting from and perpetuating [[racism]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book
 |last=Kippola
 |first=Karl M.
 |date=August 2012
 |chapter=Conclusion: Affirming White Masculinity by Deriding the Other
 |title=Acts of Manhood: The Performance of Masculinity on the American Stage, 1828–1865
 |series=Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History
 |location=New York, NY
 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan
 |pages=176–77
 |doi=10.1057/9781137068774
 |isbn=978-1-349-34304-1
 |quote=[[Thomas D. Rice]] (1808–1860) originated the Jim Crow character, inspiring the minstrel show, which evolved into one of the most popular forms of variety entertainment through the end of the century and into the first distinctly American form of theatrical entertainment&nbsp;... In the 1840s and 50s, the Virginia and Christy Minstrels built upon Rice's success, formalizing a three-act structure of music and humor, variety entertainment, and scenes from plantation life (or burlesques of popular plays). Appealing across class lines, the minstrel show employed archetypal characters, created derogatory and fictitious pictures of African American males, and provided a lens through which whites viewed blacks&nbsp;... Frederick Douglass described the purveyors of minstrel entertainment as 'filthy scum of white society, who have stolen from us a complexion denied to them by nature, in which to make money, and pander to the corrupt taste of their white fellow citizens.' Minstrelsy relied on the promise of presenting 'real' Southern life.}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web
 |url=https://news.psu.edu/story/141330/2008/09/12/research/probing-question-what-are-roots-stand-comedy
 |title=Probing Question: What are the roots of stand-up comedy?
 |last=Parker
 |first=Bethany
 |date=12 September 2008
 |department=Research
 |website=PennState News
 |publisher=The Pennsylvania State University 
 |location=University Park, Pennsylvania
 |access-date=24 February 2019
 |quote=American stand-up comedy has its beginnings in the minstrel shows of the early 1800s}}</ref> Minstrelsy [[monologist]]s performed second-act, [[Stump speech (minstrelsy)|stump-speech monologues]] from within minstrel shows until 1896.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/vshtml/vsforms.html
 |title=Forms of Variety Theater
 |author=<!--Not stated-->
 |department=American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment: 1870–1920
 |website=Library of Congress
 |type=exhibit
 |access-date=24 January 2021
 |quote=[T]he minstrel show was the most popular form of public amusement in the United States from the 1840s through the 1870s. It virtually ended, in its original form, by 1896, although vestiges lasted well into the twentieth century. Much humor in later comedy forms originated in minstrelsy and adapted itself to new topics and circumstances. The minstrel show also provided American burlesque and other variety forms with a prototypical three-part format. The minstrel show began with a 'walk around' with a verbal exchange between the 'end' men and the interlocutor. An 'olio,' or variety section, followed. Finally, a one-act skit completed the show.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last1= Oliar
| first1= Dotan
| last2= Sprigman
| first2= Christopher
| date= 2008
| title= There's No Free Laugh (Anymore): The Emergence of Intellectual Property Norms and the Transformation of Stand-Up Comedy
| url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/25470605
| journal= Virginia Law Review
| volume= 94
| issue= 8
| page= 1843
| jstor= 25470605
| access-date= 16 September 2020
| quote= Stand-up's early roots can also be traced back to minstrel, a variety show format based in racial stereotypes which was widely performed in America between the 1840s and the 1940s. Minstrel acts would script dedicated ad-lib moments for direct actor-audience communication: these spots often were used for telling quick jokes.}}</ref> American standup also emerged in [[vaudeville]] theatre from the 1880s to the 1930s, with such comics as [[W. C. Fields]], [[Buster Keaton]] and the [[Marx Brothers]].

British performance comedy has its roots in 1850 [[music hall]] theatres, where [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Stan Laurel]], and [[Dan Leno]] first performed,<ref name="Karno"/> mentored by comedian and theatre impresario [[Fred Karno]], who developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue in the 1890s and also pioneered [[slapstick comedy]].<ref name="Karno">McCabe, John. "Comedy World of Stan Laurel". p. 143. London: Robson Books, 2005, First edition 1975</ref>

==Media==
In the modern era, as technology produced forms of [[mass media|mass communications media]], these were adapted to entertainment and comedians adapted to the new media, sometimes switching to new forms as they were introduced.

===Stand-up===
{{Main|Stand-up comedy}}
[[File:Bob hope lackland afb.jpg|thumb|[[Bob Hope]] performing at Lackland Air Force Base in 1990|upright]]
Stand-up comedy is a comic [[monologue]] performed standing on a stage.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stand-up+comedy?s=t | title='stand-up comedy' definition|website=Dictionary.reference.com | access-date=2 December 2013}}</ref>  [[Bob Hope]] became the most popular stand-up comedian of the 20th century in a nearly 80-year career that included numerous [[comedy film]] roles over a five-decade span in radio, television, and entertaining armed-service troops through the [[USO]].  Other noted stand-up comedians include [[Lenny Bruce]], [[Billy Connolly]], [[George Carlin]], [[Richard Pryor]], [[Victoria Wood]], [[Joan Rivers]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]] and [[Jo Brand]].

===Audio recording===
{{Main|Comedy album}}
Some of the earliest commercial sound recordings were made by standup comedians such as [[Cal Stewart]], who recorded collections of his humorous monologues on [[Edison Records]] as early as 1898, and other labels until his death in 1919.<ref>Ronald L. Smith, ''Comedy on Record: The Complete Critical Discography'' (1988), p. 624.</ref>

Bandleader [[Spike Jones]] recorded 15 musical comedy [[album]]s satirizing popular and [[classical music]] from 1950 to his death in 1965. [[Tom Lehrer]] wrote and recorded five albums of songs [[satire|satirizing]] political and social issues from 1953 to 1965. Musician [[Peter Schickele]], inspired by Jones, parodied [[classical music]] with 17 albums of his music which he presented as written by "[[P.D.Q. Bach]]" (fictional son of [[Johann Sebastian Bach]]) from 1965 through 2007.

In 1968, radio [[surreal comedy]] group [[The Firesign Theatre]] revolutionized the concept of the spoken comedy album by writing and recording elaborate radio plays employing [[sound effects]] and [[multitrack recording]], which comedian [[Robin Williams]] called "the audio equivalent of a [[Hieronymous Bosch]] painting." Comedy duo [[Cheech and Chong]] recorded comedy albums in a similar format from 1971 through 1985.

===Film===
{{Main|Comedy film}}
Karno took Chaplin and Laurel on two trips to the United States to tour the vaudeville circuit. On the second one, they were recruited by the fledgling [[silent film]] industry. Chaplin became the most popular screen comedian of the first half of the 20th century. Chaplin and [[Stan Laurel]] were protégés of [[Fred Karno]], the English theatre impresario of British [[music hall]], and in his biography Laurel stated, "Fred Karno didn't teach Charlie [Chaplin] and me all we know about comedy. He just taught us most of it".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Burton|first1=Alan|title=Pimple, pranks & pratfalls: British film comedy before 1930|date=2000|publisher=Flicks Books|isbn=9781862360105|page=51}}</ref> Chaplin wrote films such as ''[[Modern Times (film)|Modern Times]]'' and ''[[The Kid (1921 film)|The Kid]]''. His films still have a major impact on comedy in films today.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/hpolscrv/msiegler.htm | title=Charlie Chaplin Biography | date=1 May 2001 | access-date=2 December 2013 | author=Sigler, Michael S | archive-date=26 March 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326140923/http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/hpolscrv/msiegler.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Laurel met [[Oliver Hardy]] in the US and teamed up as [[Laurel and Hardy]]. Keaton also started making silent comedies.

Fields appeared in Broadway [[musical comedies]], three silent films in 1915 and 1925, and in [[sound film]]s starting in 1926. The Marx brothers also made the transition to film in 1929, by way of two Broadway musicals.

Many other comedians made sound films, such as Bob Hope (both alone, and in a series of "[[Road to ...]]" comedies with partner [[Bing Crosby]]), [[ventriloquist]] [[Edgar Bergen]], and [[Jerry Lewis]] (both with and without partner [[Martin and Lewis|Dean Martin]]).

Some comedians who entered film expanded their acting skills to become dramatic actors, or started as actors specializing in comic roles, such as [[Dick Van Dyke]], [[Paul Lynde]], [[Michael Keaton]], [[Bill Murray]] and [[Denis Leary]].

===Radio===
{{Main|Radio comedy}}
Radio comedy began in the United States when [[Raymond Knight (radio)|Raymond Knight]] launched ''[[The Cuckoo Hour]]'' on [[NBC]] in 1930,<ref name="Hickerson">Hickerson, Jay. ''The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide to All Circulating Shows''. Hamden, Connecticut: Jay Hickerson, Box 4321, Hamden, CT 06514, second edition December 1992, page 92.</ref> along with the 1931 network debut of [[Stoopnagle and Budd]] on [[CBS]]. Most of the Hollywood comedians who did not become dramatic actors (e.g. Bergen, Fields, [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]] and [[Chico Marx]], [[Red Skelton]], [[Jack Benny]], [[Fred Allen]], [[Judy Canova]], Hope, [[Martin and Lewis]]), transitioned to United States radio in the 1930s and 1940s.
These programs had a ready supply of Hollywood comedians to draw from, including the cream of British [[music hall]] talent.

Restrained by the conservative values of the nation's only broadcaster ([[BBC Radio|BBC]]), radio comedy did not develop in the United Kingdom until a generation later, when wartime morale demanded a greater emphasis on light entertainment{{cn|date=May 2025}}. Popular shows included ''[[Danger – Men at Work!]]'', ''[[It's That Man Again|ITMA]]'', and ''[[Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh]]''. These led to the post-war development of such hits as ''[[The Goon Show]]'' and ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]''. Radio became a proving-ground for many later United Kingdom comedians. [[Chris Morris (satirist)|Chris Morris]] began his career in 1986 at [[BBC Radio Cambridgeshire|Radio Cambridgeshire]], and [[Ricky Gervais]] began his comedy career in 1997 at [[London]] radio station [[Radio X (United Kingdom)|XFM]]. ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]'', [[Mitchell and Webb]] and [[The Mighty Boosh]] all transferred to television after broadcasting on [[BBC Radio 4]].

===Television===
{{Main|Television comedy}}
On television there are comedy talk shows where comedians make fun of current news or popular topics. Such comedians include [[Jay Leno]], [[Conan O'Brien]], [[Graham Norton]], [[Jim Jefferies (comedian)|Jim Jefferies]], [[James Corden]], [[John Oliver]], [[Jonathan Ross]], [[David Letterman]], and [[Chelsea Handler]]. There are sketch comedies, such as ''[[Mr. Show with Bob and David]]'' and [[Monty Python]] who created their sketch comedy show ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' (a [[BBC]] show that influenced ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''), and sitcoms, such as ''[[Roseanne]]'', ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'', and ''[[Not Going Out]]'', as well as popular panel shows like ''[[The Big Fat Quiz of the Year]]'', ''[[Have I Got News for You]]'', and ''[[Celebrity Juice]]''. The most acclaimed sitcoms include ''[[Seinfeld]]'' and ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is Seinfeld the funniest sitcom of all time? |url=https://theweek.com/articles/469837/isseinfeld-funniest-sitcom-all-time |first1= Scott |last1=Meslow |date=January 8, 2015  |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=The Week |language=en}}</ref>

===Internet===
Comedy is increasingly enjoyed online. Several comedians got their start through the internet such as [[Bo Burnham ]]. Comedians streaming videos of their stand-up include [[Bridget Christie]], [[Louis C.K.]] and [[Daniel Kitson]].

==Jokes==
There are many established formats for jokes. One example is the [[pun]] or double-entendre, where similar words are interchanged. ''[[The Two Ronnies]]'' often used puns and double-entendre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-12068221|title=Ronnie Corbett Christmas return: Puns upon a time |date=December 24, 2010|website=BBC News }}</ref> [[Stewart Francis]] and [[Tim Vine]] are examples of current comedians who deploy numerous puns. Jokes based on puns tend to be very quick and easy to digest, which sometimes leads to other joke forms being overlooked, for example in the Funniest Joke of the Fringe awards. Other jokes may rely on confounding an audience's expectations through a misleading setup (known as a 'pull back and reveal' in the UK and a 'leadaway' in the US).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/correspondents/2010/09/22/11771/missing_a_trick|title=Missing a trick |first=Alex |last=Bennett|website=Chortle |date=22 Sep 2010 }}</ref> [[Ed Byrne (comedian)|Ed Byrne]] is an example of a comedian who has used this technique.<ref name="auto"/> Some jokes are based on [[ad absurdum]] extrapolations, for example much of [[Richard Herring]] and [[Ross Noble]]'s standup.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ9eqdqQLXw|title=Richard Herring on Russell Howard's Good News Extra - Series 3|website=YouTube |first1=Dave |last1=Turner |date=Jan 3, 2011 }}{{cbignore}} Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/UQ9eqdqQLXw Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20120730183735/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ9eqdqQLXw Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}.</ref> In [[irony|ironic]] humour there is an intentional mismatch between a message and the form in which it is conveyed (for example the work of [[Danielle Ward]]). Other joke forms include observation ([[Michael McIntyre]]), whimsy ([[David O'Doherty]]), self-deprecation ([[Robin Williams]]) and parody ([[Diane Morgan]]).

==Personality traits==
In a January 2014 study, conducted in the ''[[British Journal of Psychiatry]]'',  scientists found that comedians tend to have high levels of [[psychotic]] personality traits. In the study, researchers analyzed 404 male and 119 female comedians from [[Australia]], [[United Kingdom|Britain]], and the [[United States]]. The participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire designed to measure psychotic traits in healthy people. They found that comedians scored "significantly higher on four types of psychotic characteristics compared to a control group of people who had non-creative jobs." Gordon Claridge, a professor of experimental psychology at the [[University of Oxford]] and leader of the study claimed, "the creative elements needed to produce humor are strikingly similar to those characterizing the cognitive style of people with psychosis—both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder."<ref name=Kelland-Psychotic>{{cite news|last=Kelland|first=Kate|title=Comedians have psychotic personality traits, study finds|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-comedians-psychotic-idUSBREA0F00M20140116|access-date=31 January 2014|newspaper=Reuters|date=16 January 2014}}</ref> However, labeling comedians' personality traits as "psychotic" does not mean that individual is a psychopath,<ref name=Seubsaeng-Study>{{cite news|last=Suebsaeng|first=Asawin|title=Study Says Comedians Have Psychotic Personality Traits—Here's What Some Comedians Have To Say About That|url=https://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2014/01/study-comedians-psychotic-traits-rob-delaney-steve-hofstetter|access-date=31 January 2014|newspaper=Mother Jones|date=18 January 2014}}</ref><ref name=Cooper-White>{{cite news|last=Cooper-White|first=Macrina|title=Comedians Have 'High Levels' Of Psychotic Personality Traits, New Study Shows|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/17/comedians-psychotic-personality-traits_n_4610414.html|access-date=31 January 2014|newspaper=Huffington Post|date=17 January 2014}}</ref> since [[psychopathy]] is distinct from [[psychosis]], and neither does it mean their behavior is necessarily pathological.

==Highest-paid comedians==
[[File:Kevin Hart (15356751923).jpg|thumb|[[Kevin Hart]] performing at MSC Town Hall in 2014|upright]]
''[[Forbes]]'' publishes an annual list of the most financially successful comedians in the world, similarly to their [[Forbes Celebrity 100|Celebrity 100 list]]. Their data sources include [[Nielsen Media Research]], [[Pollstar]], [[Box Office Mojo]] and [[IMDb]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/gjdm45ekfm/the-worlds-highest-paid/#78817008281c | title=The World's Highest-Paid Comedians 2016|website=Forbes.com | date=27 September 2016 | access-date=18 January 2017 | author=Forbes}}</ref> The list was topped by [[Jerry Seinfeld]] from 2006 until 2015, who lost the title to [[Kevin Hart]] in 2016.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2016/09/27/the-highest-paid-comedians-2016-kevin-hart-out-jokes-jerry-seinfeld-with-87-5-million-payday/#33790ddd1a62 | title=The Highest-Paid Comedians 2016: Kevin Hart Dethrones Jerry Seinfeld As Cash King Of Comedy With $87.5 Million Payday|website=Forbes.com | date=27 September 2016 | access-date=18 January 2017 | author=Berg, Madeline}}</ref> In that year, the eight highest paid comedians were from the United States, including [[Amy Schumer]], who became the first woman to be listed in the top ten.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/09/forbes-highest-paid-comedians-amy-schumer | title=Amy Schumer Is the First Woman to Land on Forbes' Highest-Paid Comedians List~|website=Forbes.com | date=27 September 2016 | access-date=18 January 2017 | author=Desta, Yohana}}</ref> The top ten of 2016 are as follows:{{efn|The ''Forbes'' 2016 list appears to exclude people often regarded as comedians who are better known for other professions, despite having earned more than some in the list's top ten, including actors [[Adam Sandler]] and [[Melissa McCarthy]], and [[late-night talk show]] hosts [[Stephen Colbert]] and [[Jimmy Fallon]].}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Name
! Annual earnings ([[United States dollar|USD]])
! [[Citizenship|Nationality]]
! Age
! Notable works
|-
|1
|[[Kevin Hart]]
|$87.5 million
|rowspan="8"|United States
|38
|''[[Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain]]'', ''[[Ride Along (film)|Ride Along]]'', ''[[The Secret Life of Pets]]''
|-
|2
|[[Jerry Seinfeld]]
|$43.5 million
|63
|''[[Seinfeld]]'', ''[[The Marriage Ref (U.S. TV series)|The Marriage Ref]]'', ''[[I'm Telling You for the Last Time]]''
|-
|3
|[[Terry Fator]]
|$21 million
|52
|''[[America's Got Talent]]''
|-
|4
|[[Amy Schumer]]
|$17 million
|36
|''[[Trainwreck (film)|Trainwreck]]'', ''[[Inside Amy Schumer]]'', ''[[2015 MTV Movie Awards]]''
|-
|5
|[[Jeff Dunham]]
|$13.5 million
|55
|''[[Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity|Spark of Insanity]]'', ''[[Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself|Arguing with Myself]]'', ''[[Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special]]''
|-
|6
|[[Dave Chappelle]]
|$60 million
|44
|''[[Dave Chappelle's Block Party]]'', ''[[Half Baked]]'', ''[[Chappelle's Show]]''
|-
|7
|[[Jim Gaffigan]]
|$12.5 million
|51
|''[[Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe]]'', ''[[The Jim Gaffigan Show]]'', ''[[It's Kind of a Funny Story (film)|It's Kind of a Funny Story]]''
|-
|8
|[[Gabriel Iglesias]]
|$9.5 million
|41
|''[[Hot and Fluffy]]'', ''[[The Fluffy Movie]]'', ''[[Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution]]''
|-
|9
|[[Russell Peters]]
|$9 million
|Canada
|47
|''[[Red, White and Brown]]'', ''[[Outsourced (album)|Outsourced]]'', ''[[Breakaway (2011 film)|Breakaway]]''
|-
|10
|[[John Bishop]]
|$7 million
|United Kingdom
|51
|''[[John Bishop's Britain]]'', ''[[The John Bishop Show]]'', ''[[Panto!]]''
|}

== See also ==
* [[Comedy genres]]
* [[Humor]]
* [[Impressionist (entertainment)|Impressionist]]
* [[List of comedians]]
* [[List of humorists]]
* [[List of musical comedians]]
* [[Satire]]

==Notes==
{{Commons category|Comedians}}
{{Reflist|group=note}}
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Comedy footer}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Comedy]]
[[Category:Comedy theatre]]
[[Category:Comedians| ]]
[[Category:Entertainment occupations]]
[[Category:Stand-up comedy]]