Favorite Female Comedians

Joan Rivers, Totie Fields, Phyllis Diller and Moms Mabley were the pioneers. All very funny --- Fields isn't recalled too often nowadays, but she was very funny. Rita Rudner was very witty and clever, though haven't seen her for years.

I like Wanda Sykes nowadays.

Kathy Griffin's early stand up was very funny but she seems to have lost her mojo.

Natasha Leggero

Wanda Sykes

Joan Rivers

I can't think of too many chicks that could make me tear up, from laughing not dread.

Margaret Cho's first stand-up special was iconic.

Paula Poundstone

Amy Schumer gets a lot of her stand up style from Janeane Garofalo

Maria Bamford. She does an awesome bit where she pretends to be a generic female comedian; "Ladies, are ya dating anyone? I dated this guy and it didn't work out...except in the sack! Am I right? Boom!" The audiences whoops it up until she reveals her true dark surreal self and shits on them all. Also does a bit about her time in the nuthouse. A friend comes to visit her; "Maybe Jesus wants you here."

I love her.

[quote] Is there a female comedian or comedy special you like?

No

Regular comediennes doing jokes don't do much for me. It's too much like sit-coms and I've always hated sit-coms. I like characters - Whoopi doing The Spook Show (retitled Whoopi Goldberg when Mike Nichols brought it to Broadway) and Lily doing "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe".

When I was a kid Wendy Liebman really made me laugh, I loved her delivery. Kathy Griffin is a naturally funny woman but her comedy is MIA. Jen Kirkman is funny and cool. Natasha Leggero not bad.

Wanda Sykes is super square to me, but she's likeable. I wish Chelsea Handler was a better comic because her voice is needed. She's really grown up lately. I find her more political and less pressured humor very appealing.

I love the quirky hostility of Lily Tomlin or Sandra Bernhard but they are best in character.

No to Sarah, Margaret and Amy.

R9 Jerry Lewis

Tig Notaro.

Whitney Cummings is funnier as a comedian than a sitcom actress

Sarah Millican, she is a British stand-up comedian who looks like a breeder but is far from one.

Excluding the fact she is now insane, Roseanne is hilarious in stand-up. I saw her in person a couple years ago and it was probably the best stand-up I've ever seen. Her jokes weren't even that unique or new - but her timing and delivery were perfect. I saw Joan in person too, but to me, she was funnier on Fashion Police and in other venues. In person, or at least at the show I went to, she just did an old act (that was actually in a bit of her documentary that came out before I saw her in person). I saw Kathy Griffin, and she was funny - but I'd seen so many Bravo specials, it wasn't that different. She was still funny though.

I've liked Margaret Cho for years, but I haven't seen her live. I've noticed a lot of people seem to hate Chelsea Handler, but if you go back to her early days on "Girls Behaving Badly" - you can see she is innately very talented and funny (it was largely unscripted). So, yeah, her BF gave her a show basically...and she can act like a bitch, but I like her. The latest incarnation of her show on Netflix doesn't work too well, though. She's trying to be 1/2 Chelsea 1/2 Anthony Bourdain or something...it's just an oddly cobbled together show.

R16, Chelsea's wasted out of her mind 24/7 on booze and drugs. The weirdness is probably just her being fucked up.

What, no love for Marsha Warfield?

I was friends with two goth, Hot Topic loving girls in high school and they both would talk about Ellen Degeneres, and how talented she is.

At the time, she reminded me of Carol Leifer, and I thought she was funny, but wouldn't have guessed she would turn into the mogul she has become.

Simply Marvelous

Janeane Garofalo had a lot of potential but was too insecure.

She would tell the audience she didn't know how to respond when they would applaud.

Of all of them, Joan Rivers was probably the only one who could consistently make me laugh out loud, although Paula Poundstone and Ellen both were pretty great at stand-up. I remember Totie Fields (barely) and I remember her mainly as a talk show guest. She and Joan both had the ability to to get their zingers in while just sitting there having a conversation. I liked Margaret Choi early on, but not so much any more: I guess I felt she became too self-dramatizing. AndI I remember Mo'Nique doing stand-up before becoming an actress, and she had a pretty solid (but filthy) act. In general, I find women funnier as comic actresses.

I don't really like stand up, but I do love Kathleen Madigan. I've seen her ... probably four times now. Tears were running down my face each time.

Joan Rivers.

Kathy and Mo

Second for Maria Bamford. The contrast between her regular mousey voice and the power of her character's voices is arresting, and she's brutally homest and hilarious.

Elayne Boosler had some great specials in the 80s. Don't know why she didn't stay popular.

DL,favorite now mentioned at post 27:

Lisa Lampanelli

Totally forgotten these days but Ellen Cleghorne was early 90s hilarious.

Mom: " Honey, I just cleaned your room. You owe me a nickel." Ellen: "Here's a dime. Clean my room. Twice!" lol

Here's a blast from the past - Beverly Wines aka "Pudgy" - I turned on to her many years ago when she had a special (with male strippers in tow - how thoughtful!) on Showtime. She was an insult comic who worked the room by roasting the audience one at a time, just picked 'em off. Couldn't find that particular show but hey I found something - - Enjoy the burns -

Lily Tomlin

I love you, R27! Lampanelli is hilarious! And the perfect antidote to all the pearl clutchers out there! Joan Rivers was always a favorite. When she had Johnny Carson setting her up joke after joke, it was comedy heaven! I would even tune in to QVC every time she was on.

La Wanda Page.

Loved Judy Tenuta.

Oldies = Phyllis Diller.

I loved Judy Tenuta too. She was hilarious, especially when she first came out on the scene.

That Garafalo thing is not funny.

"Pudgy" was a panic. Loved her. The female Don Rickles, but less insecure.

When I was a kid Judy Tenuta ruled in my eyes.

I love Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffin, Amy Schumer..

Wanda Sykes.

Never liked Ellen.

One loved Margaret Cho, but recently I barely laugh. Something is wrong there.

I have never been into Lisa Lampanelli either.

I like to laugh at women in general.

I feel like the comedy scene has changed so much in just the past decade, that all the funny women of the past wouldn't be allowed to joke about things that are relevant to their experience. I see Margaret Cho's old perfomances and think she's hilarious but a lot of her material was joking about her family heritage and inter-generational differences. Comedians have to walk on pins and needles around that stuff, now. I wish more would be brave again and say "screw it" and just throw it all out there and laugh at themselves. People are so high strung, now.

As for past screen comedians, Madeline Kahn is sorely missed.

I loved Madeline Kahn too. She was great. So very talented.

Laurie Kilmartin and Jen Kirkman are very funny. Jen has two specials on Netflix and Laurie has one on Seeso.

Edie McClurg

Joan Rivers and Phyllis Diller

Anyone remember Diane Ford?

Diane

Maria Bamford!

Yes, R39... PC hurt comedy. SJWs kicked it in the nuts and stuck a hot poker up its ass, without verbal consent.

I have done stand up...and if the crowd is too millennial - it goes over horribly. I learned the hard way. It's worse in some areas than others. Hipsters are a total nightmare too.

R47, maybe you're just not funny.

R48...it's really that complicated to understand my post, is it? Let me see if this helps:

If I do the same material in front of millennials, they look offended and angry.

If I do the same material in front of Gen Y or older, everyone practically swarms me at the end of the night wanting to talk to me & I get booked for other shows.

Does that clear things up for you? it was clear in my post at R47 but I know there are a lot of dumb fucks around here.

Still seems as though you're just not cut out for stand up. I go to shows regularly and the edgy comedianne's always slay.

I wouldn't worry about it R49. Anyone who thinks Natasha Leggero is the height of female comedy (as R48 does) clearly has no taste & is likely 27 with an IQ under 80.

R51, Oh I'm sorry that Phyllis Diller is not my go to for side splitting humor. But hey, at least Natasha made it in stand up, unlike your buddy here. I chose Natasha because I knew that no one else would. She's a friend of a friend and I find her to be a fantastic person.

Again, illiterate millennial @ R50, I don't do stand up. I have done stand up. Read the fucking post. I'd rather make 6 figures than try to compete for a $50 show.

ANY comic reads his or her audience - that's basically rule #1. People who do NOT do that are not "cut out for it". I'm fascinated that these basic tenets could be so lost on you.

And as someone who has seen literally thousands of hours of stand ups in various venues, no, edgy comics do not "always slay"... that's the whole risk of being edgy. You're clearly too stupid to understand, however. Natasha Leggero's repetitive vocal fry with the "I'm so wasted from drinking and being fucked last night that I can't even complete a sentence" routine hasn't changed since she started. That's who you'd pick over some of the female legends out there? lmao...that's all I need to know about you.

No one asked you to get on the stage. Have a nice day.

Actually, many people have - and paid me for it...seriously, are you learning disabled? This is like 4 posts of complete retardation.

Yes, that happened.

If I am making all this up, why did you reply at R48 to begin with?? Seriously, 5 posts of retardation now...

I didn't think THIS thread could get contentious. Perhaps DL needs a basic admissions test with reading comprehension. Can you shoo to reddit? Maybe post this in that sub /r/thathappened....because, you know, it's just so unfathomable. You'll get tons of karma.

LMAO - R57 (etc) actually is pretty funny. Stop trying R56...seriously. Your stupidity appears to grow with every post. If you're gonna be a cunt on this particular board (which apparently you were testing out in your incredibly creative comment about "not being funny") you need to have some better cognitive abilities.

I fully support the admissions test.

Doing standup comedy for millennials sounds like torture. Millennials are poorly informed about the world affairs, world history, and many other things. They are hypersensitive to everything, which spawned the SJW movement. You’d have to dumb it down so much and remove anything that could be “offensive”. When you have a comedy world where Amy Schumer has risen to the top, it’s pretty sad. I have never even heard of Natasha Legerro...so either she’s not that funny or she only appeals to the demographic of that one particular poster here for reasons likely stated above.

If you really want to torture yourself (and are over 35), watch Iliza on Netflix. She’s from the current generation of comics and goes on and on about being a millennial in her act. It’s horrendous, and so are the reviews. But it proves the point.

Isn't Fran Lebowitz a comedian? If so she's my favorite.

I don't think she's ever done stand-up but Catherine O'Hara makes me laugh just looking at her.

r29, Thank you for that! Pudgy had completely fallen off my radar, but she was hysterical.

r39, I agree that is's a whole 'nother world when it comes to knowing "how far you can go". It takes a certain aggressiveness, in most cases, to do stand-up. Joan had Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor as peers, and she remained fearless in her jokes until the end, always willing to offend. And I loved Madeline Kahn ever since 'What's Up Doc?'. "I am not "A" Eunice Burns, I am "THE" Eunice Burns!"

r44, r455, Thanks for jogging my memory. Diane Ford was wonderful.

R59 I just watched a clip of Iliza.

That was ... painfully unfunny.

Another vote for Kathleen Madigan and Diane Ford..

And I'll add Judy Gold to the list.

Maria Bamford is brilliant, her observations are always hysterical and spot-on. Love Kathleen Madigan and Wanda too.

Elayne Boosler seemed like she'd be fun to hang out with. She was very 80s and I liked her soothing voice.

People pounce on any mention of Madonna here, but she did a decent stand up act on some late night show.

I've always been very intimidated by stand up and was impressed.

A lot of young people have never been in a setting where everyone is focused on the same thing - even in movie theaters.

".When you have a comedy world where Amy Schumer has risen to the top, it’s pretty sad."

Well, Carrott Top and Paula Shore rose to the top, too.

I like most of the women listed in this thread, but don't get the appeal of Chelsea Handler at all.

I don't like chelsea handler or kathy griffin. both are irritating to me. amy schemer is gross.

Kathleen Madigan is a riot. She has a few stand up specials on Netflix and they're all very funny.

Joan Rivers, Lisa L and Kathy G are the only females who have.come close to the likes of Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle.

There are hundreds of very funny guys but very few funny women.

Can't stand Chris Rock, don't think he's funny and his voice is just hideous.

I would consider Fran Lebowitz a writer in the tradition of Dorothy Parker and S.J. Perelman rather than a performing artist.

When I was a kid I liked Totie Fields and Phyllis Diller. I got "Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints" out of the library and thought it was hilarious.

My current favorite would be Victoria Wood. She's a very English comedian who I only found out about via her obituaries last year. Among her many accomplishments is the immortal soap parody Acorn Antiques featuring Victoria, Julie Walters and Celia Imrie.

Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, Elaine Boosler, Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Tig Notaro, Julie Brown, Maria Bamford

How could I leave out Chelsea Handler, Natasha Leggero?

Most male comedians are homophobic assholes

This thread ought to start and end with Joan Rivers.

r78 that's true. I've read here and elsewhere that Anthony Jeselnik is in fact gay but he can't come out due to his audience.

That Pudgy clip at r29 is insane! That audience! Betty White! Rose Marie! Doris Roberts! Thurston Howell III! Patty "Bad Seed" McCormack! DL fave Donna Pescow! Ed Begley Jr! Rip Torn! Bruce fucking Penhall!

ROSALIND KIND!!

I would have been a little kid when Pudgy was popular, but that video should be required viewing for any DL regular.

Me Too. Pudgy is hysterical, furiously quick and so fucking talented! I never heard of her but that video is insane. Thanks R29!

This thread belongs to the late Joan Rivers. It should be renamed, really.

Phyllis Diller predates Joan and she went for broke with her routines. But, Joan was just something special to me.

Kathleen Madigan is wonderfully creative and her delivery is perfect.

I like how filthy Whitney Cummings can get. She's downright X rated when she does roasts and is fearless about it

I also like Wanda Sykes. She's quite smart.

Are there any recordings of Tootie Fields? I would love to learn more about her.

The UK's Sarah Millican and Susan Calman. And Sandi Tosvig, Ronnie D'Ancona and Josie Lawrence. I saw Jennifer Coolidge do stand up a few years ago, enjoyed it.

Andrea Martin. I never fail to bust a gut watching her SCTV scenes.

Margaret Cho used to be hilarious but then something happened and she turned crazy. She hasn't been funny in a long time.

Iliza Shlesinger!

She's on Netflix, go watch!

Amy Schumer mimics Wendy Liebman when she adds a contradictory punchline under her breath, then moves quickly to the next topic.

R29, that performance by Pudgy was fantastic. Thanks for the link.

What's happened to Sandra Bernhard? God knows she was great in the late 80s/early 90s, but ever since she got it in her head that she should sing it's all gone down hill. I haven't seen her in at least 10 years.

Sandra Bernhard? R90, she's who I picture when I think of militantly unfunny women.

Morgan Murphy, Chelsea Peretti

Straight male comedians are so repetitive and predictable.

Lisa Lampinelli

Netflix should do a Pudgy bio. So horrific her personal life.

I believe her friend and booker in Las Vegas is still alive.

Winston O'Rourke booked Catch A Rising Star at the MGM.

Someone needs to do a bio on HER too. So few women in comedy in the 870s and 90s.

And in honor of Mrs. Cardella

Elaine Boosler.

Sue Murphy should be more known

Wanda Sykes.

But, their hair!!!! What about their hair? Wigs? Hairpieces? DL wants answers!

R100 Kathy Griffin wears wigs.

Lisa Lampinelli used to be great in her stand-up specials and celebrity roasts. But she got thin, got married, and lost her interest in doing comedy. I haven’t seen anything of her in years. I wish her well—hope she’s happy.

I saw Margaret Cho twice in college venues in the early to mid 2000s. She was amazing. Like others, I haven’t found her more recent work as funny, but is she even making new comedy specials or touring?

Love Kathy Griffin, Amy Schumer, Ali Wong. Saw half of Leslie Jones’ Netflix special and although the first 15 minutes was funny, she used the term “fag” which annoyed me and the comedy started to nosedive halfway through; she spent too long basking in her punchlines and screaming into the microphone.

Janeane Garofalo.

Laura Kightlinger.

Perspective

Wow, Lisa Lampanelli has sure changed. I hadn't thought about her in a long time.