Hardest Working Comedians of All Time

With a net worth of $950 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, Jerry Seinfeld no longer needs to work for a living. He is best known as co-creator, star, and writer of the show “Seinfeld.” More recently, he’s had success with his passion project “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” for which 11 seasons have been released. In addition, the comedian released a Netflix special titled “Jerry Before Seinfeld” in 2017, and he continues to tour the country doing stand-up comedy.

Comedy legend Rodney Dangerfield was born in 1921 and performed his first stand-up act in 1942 under the stage name Jack Roy. He later became a Las Vegas staple. He was well known for appearances on television programs, including “The Merv Griffin Show,” “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” He also starred in feature films, including “Easy Money” (1983), “Back to School” (1986), and most famously “Caddyshack” (1980).

Other accomplishments include the release of numerous comedy albums and the opening of Dangerfield’s, a comedy club in New York City that remains open to this day.

Known for his droll, slightly stuttering comedic delivery, the Illinois-born former accountant made entertainment history with his comedy album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” (1960), which became the first comedy LP to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Newhart won three Grammy Awards in 1960 for Best New Artist, Album Of The Year (“The Button-Down Mind Of Bob Newhart”) and Best Comedy Performance — Spoken Word (“The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!”). He is the only comedian to have won Best New Artist and Album Of The Year. Newhart also had two hit sitcoms — “The Bob Newhart Show” (1972-1978) and “Newhart” (1982-1990).

The Salt Lake City native turned her experiences as a mother and wife into a successful — and acerbic — stand-up act that eventually landed her appearances on the “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson” in the 1980s. That led to her sitcom “Roseanne” starting in 1988 about the trials of a working class family in middle America, which became a hit. Barr received three Emmy nominations and one win before the show ended in 1997.

Barr appeared in movies like “She-Devil” (1989) and “Freddy’s Dead” (1991) and wrote two books about her career. The cast of the original “Rosanne” reprised their roles for the show’s reboot in March 2018 on ABC and more than 18 million viewers tuned into the premiere. Barr, who had courted controversy during her career, ran afoul with television execs when she tweeted a racist comment about a former aide to President Barack Obama. ABC canceled the reboot in May 2018 and eventually brought the show back without Barr under a different title.

Eddie Murphy began writing jokes and performing stand-up as a teenager living in Brooklyn. He joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 1980 and moved to feature films, starring in Walter Hill’s “48 Hrs.” in 1982. He starred in numerous blockbusters, including “Beverly Hills Cop” (1984), “Coming to America” (1988), and “The Nutty Professor” (1996). More recently, he provided the voice of Donkey in the Shrek series.

Murphy has also released comedy albums, including the platinum “Eddie Murphy” (1982) and double platinum “Comedian” (1983), and he collaborated with musicians, including Rick James and Michael Jackson, on musical releases.

The rubber-faced comedian from Canada moved to Los Angeles to do stand-up comedy. Carrey became known to American audiences through his mimicry talents and physical humor on the sketch comedy television show “In Living Color” in the early 1990s. Carrey enjoyed massive film success with the comedies “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” (1994), “The Mask” (1994), “Dumb and Dumber” (1994), and “Liar, Liar,” (1997).

Like many comedians, Carrey also received positive critical reviews for his appearances in the dramas “The Truman Show” (1998) and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004). Thirteen of Carrey’s films have grossed more than $100 million each in the United States.

Bill Burr is a massively successful stand-up comedian, having toured the world with his comedy and releasing hour-long specials for Comedy Central and Netflix. He has his fingers in many other pies too, not all comedic. Burr has appeared as an actor on “Chappelle’s Show,” “Breaking Bad,” and “Kroll Show.” He is also creator and star of the animated Netflix series “F Is for Family,” which has run for four seasons, and he has a twice-weekly podcast titled “Monday Morning Podcast.”

Joe Rogan is the host of one of the world’s most popular podcasts, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which releases content multiple times a week. He is also a commentator for the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and the former host of reality show “Fear Factor” (2001-2012). Rogan has been so successful in these endeavors that some fans may not even be aware he has also been a stand-up comedian for over 20 years, having released six hour-long comedy specials.

Lily Tomlin has leveraged her quirky comedic persona into a lucrative and much-honored career on stage, television, and motion pictures. The Detroit native started out as a stand-up comedian and performed in Off-Broadway shows during the 1960s. Her leap to fame came when she played the irritating telephone operator Ernestine in a recurring role on the comedy show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” from 1969 until 1973.

Tomlin transitioned to movies and became an even bigger star, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in the 1975 film “Nashville.” Back on the small screen, Tomlin recently earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series for “Grace and Frankie.”

Janeane Garofalo began doing stand-up in 1985 before becoming one of the most iconic comedians of the 1990s due in part to her work in film and television. Garofalo has accumulated a noteworthy 157 acting credits on IMDb. Among these are roles in “The Ben Stiller Show,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” and “Reality Bites.” She’s also appeared in the cult Wet Hot American Summer franchise, including the original film, “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp,” and “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.”

Garofalo’s activities outside of film and TV include hosting a radio show on Air America Radio and co-authoring the book “Feel This Book” with Ben Stiller.

Actress and comedian Maria Bramford has done voice work for numerous cartoons, including “CatDog,” “American Dad!” “Ugly Americans,” “Adventure Time,” and “BoJack Horseman.” Bamford also worked in movies on such films as “Stuart Little 2” (2002), “Charlotte’s Web 2: Wilbur’s Great Adventure” (2003), and many more. She also starred in the Netflix series “Lady Dynamite” as herself.

Outside entertainment, Bamford has written for The New York Times, LA Weekly, and The Onion, and she’s an advocate for mental health awareness.

The frenetic energy of Robin Williams launched one of the greatest comedic careers in entertainment history. Drawing on the oddball improvisation of his comedy idol Jonathan Winters, the Chicago native developed his stand-up routine and eventually broke through in the role of Mork from the planet Ork on the sitcom “Happy Days.” That led to the spinoff comedy “Mork & Mindy” in 1978.

Williams shifted into films and made “Popeye” in 1980. A plethora of hits followed, among them Oscar-nominated roles for “Good Morning, Vietnam” (1987), “Dead Poets Society” (1989), “The Fisher King” (1991), and “Good Will Hunting” (1997), the latter of which won him an Academy Award. Williams battled substance abuse as well as depression during his career. In 2014, he was found dead in his home in an apparent suicide.

Jay Leno built an enviable career as an observational comedian. He was a frequent guest on the late-night talk shows and in Las Vegas. In 1987, Leno signed a deal with NBC that made him one of two permanent guest hosts of “The Tonight Show.” Five years later, he was chosen over colleague David Letterman to succeed Johnny Carson as host of “The Tonight Show.” The transition did not go smoothly, and Letterman defected to CBS to host a rival talk show. Ratings for “The Tonight Show” slipped but eventually rebounded, and Leno reclaimed the lead spot in the late-night chat wars. Leno won an Emmy in 1995 and three years later his show was renewed for five years and $100 million. He retired in 2014 and now hosts the show “Jay Leno’s Garage” about his love of cars.

“The Kevin Hart Irresponsible Tour” in 2018 was the highest selling comedy tour of all time with more than 1 million tickets sold.

Earlier in his career, Hart starred in the ABC sitcom, “The Big House.” He more recently appeared in popular movies such as “Think Like a Man” (2012), “About Last Night” (2014), and two Jumanji sequels. He has released multiple stand-up albums and film versions of his acts, including “Let Me Explain” (2013) and “What Now?” (2016).

Ellen DeGeneres has become a daytime talk-show powerhouse since her show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” came on the air in 2003. She has won 30 Emmys, 20 People’s Choice Awards. In 2016, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. DeGeneres, who’s been called the female version of the deadpan Bob Newhart, worked her way up doing stand-up at small clubs. She eventually won a competition as the funniest person in America in a competition held on the Showtime channel.

DeGeneres appeared on short-lived sitcoms, then got her own show titled “These Friends of Mine” in 1994 that was renamed “Ellen.” She made television history three years later when her character, as well as herself, came out as a lesbian. That show was canceled, and another television foray, “The Ellen Show,” failed to find an audience in 2001. Success finally came two years later. DeGeneres has also provided the voice for the character Dory in the animated films “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory.”

Don Rickles was a famed insult comic known in part for his ties to Rat Pack members such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. While active in comedy, he didn’t break through to the mainstream until he was nearly in his 40s and began appearing on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show.” He was also a frequent contributor to Dean Martin’s televised celebrity roasts.

Among his bigger movie roles were appearances in Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” (1995) and as Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story franchise. According to the comedian himself, he was working approximately 75 nights a year into his 80s.

Chris Rock, who grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, cut his teeth doing stand-up comedy, making unfiltered jokes about race and African American stereotypes. He landed a spot on the long-running comedy show “Saturday Night Live” in 1990, where he appeared for three years, doing impressions of Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, and Michael Jackson. In 1996, Rock starred in the HBO-produced comedy special, “Bring the Pain,” that won two Emmy Awards. Rock also won three Grammy Awards for comedy albums. Among his noteworthy films are “Death at a Funeral” (2010), “Grown Ups” (2010), and “Dolemite Is My Name” (2019).

Steve Martin is somewhat of a Renaissance man, active in many different mediums. In addition to stand-up — which he began performing in the 1970s — he has won Grammy Awards (five in total) for comedy albums as well as bluegrass music, written plays (“Picasso at the Lapin Agile”), and written books (“Shopgirl” and “The Pleasure of My Company”). He is also a trustee of the Los Angeles Museum of Art and an avid art collector.

Of course, Martin also has an exceptional acting career. He has starred in many popular movies, including “The Jerk” (1979), “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” (1987), “Father of the Bride” (1991), and “Cheaper by the Dozen” (2003).

Jerry Lewis vaulted into stardom as one-half of the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. Lewis was the manic, hyperactive counterpoint to the insouciant, crooning Dean Martin. Their act took off in night clubs in the years after World War II and later in films. The duo broke up in 1956, but Lewis’s career continued to climb as he produced, directed, and starred in his films. Among his most famous pictures was “The Nutty Professor.” and “The Bellboy.”

Lewis was a spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association for many years, and in 1977 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for raising money to fight the affliction.

In addition to his 62 acting credits listed on IMDb, Mel Brooks has 47 writing credits, 33 soundtrack credits, 25 production credits, and 11 directing credits. He is the man behind movies such as “The Producers” (1967), “Blazing Saddles” (1974), and “Young Frankenstein” (1974). He also lead Broadway productions of both “The Producers” and “Young Frankenstein.”

Today, Brooks is one of only a few people to have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony awards. He started as a stand-up comic.

Ricky Gervais is best known for co-creating, writing, and acting in the British television series “The Office,” which won many awards in his native England. Gervais was also involved in the development of the American version of the show, and success traveled across the Atlantic, with the mockumentary-style sitcom winning five Emmy Awards. Gervais has become a frequent guest on talk shows on both sides of the ocean, and he’s been the host of award shows such as the Golden Globes, where has rankled celebrities and entertainment executives alike with his acerbic comments about the rich and famous. Gervais also appeared in the Night at the Museum films.

Phyllis Diller made a comedy career out of her somewhat odd appearance and domestic life and was a frequent guest on talk shows, sitcoms, and game shows beginning in the 1950s. She appeared as a skinny, somewhat unkempt figure with blown-out hair and a cackling laugh while she dangled a cigarette stick holder.

Diller developed her comedy routine after WWII, while writing ad copy and domestic life one-liners that she tried out on her fellow housewives in California. She was encouraged to do stand-up by her friends, and her wisecracking, brazen persona connected with audiences. Diller appeared on shows hosted by Jack Paar, Red Skelton, and Jack Benny and developed a long association with Bob Hope. She appeared in many of Hope’s TV specials, three of his movies, and toured with Hope in Vietnam. Diller worked until she was 85 and died in 2012 at age 95.

Bob Hope, who was born in England, was the most famous comedian in the 20th century. Hope began his career as a wisecracking song and dance man in vaudeville. His fast-talking, brash style worked well with the emerging medium of radio in the 1930s. But his greatest success would be on the big screen, where he created an image of the non-hero with false bravado, a persona that would influence comedians such as Woody Allen. That character appeared in the series of Road movies Hope made with Bing Crosby that were big hits in the 1940s.

It was during WWII that Hope started entertaining troops fighting in foreign wars that he would continue for virtually the rest of his career. In honor of his efforts, Congress in 1997 named Hope the first “Honorary Veteran” in U.S. history. Among his other honors are the Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and five special Academy Awards for humanitarian services and contributions to the movie industry.

Adam Sandler began his career performing in Boston comedy clubs before transitioning to television and eventually landing a position as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.” He has starred in numerous movies, including “Billy Madison” (1995), “Happy Gilmore” (1996), “Big Daddy” (1999), and “Grown Ups” (2010). Sandler has also appeared in multiple dramatic roles, including in such films as Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002) and more recently “Uncut Gems” (2019), and he has 55 production credits on various movies.

In 2018, the prolific actor released “Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh,” a musical stand-up special based on his recent touring act.

Whoopi Goldberg reached audiences nationwide with her one-woman show that was released as “Whoopi Goldberg: Direct From Broadway” in 1985, six months before the premiere of “The Color Purple,” in which she had a role. She would go on to win a Grammy for the recording of the performance. In total, Goldberg has 180 acting credits and 480 credits for appearing as herself in assorted shows and films. Among her more notable movie roles are “Ghost” (1990) — for which she won an Oscar — “Sister Act” (1992), and “The Lion King” (1994). Goldberg has also been a host on “The View” since 2007.

Goldberg’s other activities include political activism and launching a medical marijuana venture in 2016 that has since ceased operations.

Like fellow stand-up Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg is one of the 15 entertainers to win the EGOT — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.