June 8, 2010 8:00 am

The 10 funniest dead guys we dearly miss

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deadguys lead The 10 funniest dead guys we dearly miss

For some reason comedians have generally been second tier in showbiz and never gotten the same accolades as musicians or actors. When the late great Rodney Dangerfield said “I get no respect” he might as well have been talking about comics in general. No other type of performer seeks to elicit a bodily reaction from the audience, whether it’s a chuckle, snicker, or gut busting guffaw. These nine performers were masters at their craft and often delivered an underlying message at the same time. They may be gone, but their humor is not forgotten.

10 Chris Farley
One of the funniest guys to come out of SNL’s powerhouse cast of the ‘90s, Chris Farley used his body to push physical comedy to the max. Whether trying to save a small Ohio auto parts factory in Tommy Boy or giving an interview to a fresh faced Conan O’Brien, he came across as the guy everyone wanted to be friends with. An all American kid from Wisconsin, he emerged from the Chicago improv scene and dominated nearly every sketch he was in. Not only was he a gifted performer, but spent much of his free time volunteering and giving to charitable organizations. Sadly, he also spent a lot of time battling inner demons with drugs and booze. Nobody wore a sports jacket three sizes too small better than he did.

9 Phil Hartman
A master of voices and impersonations, Phil Hartman could slip into the skin of just about anybody and find the funny. The Canadian born actor started as a graphic designer but soon found his calling in the world of sketch and became a standout with LA’s Groundlings comedy troupe before joining SNL in the mid 1980s. He got the nickname “the glue” while at Saturday Night Live for his ability to hold the show together and help out fellow cast members with characters. In addition to his time with Lorne Michaels and company he lent his talent to Pee Wee’s Playhouse, NewsRadio and The Simpsons. The laughs were cut short when his wife, a struggling actress, shot and murdered him while he slept in 1998.

8 Bernie Mac
There’s something about the mid-west, especially Chicago that spits out funny comics. Like Chris Farley and John Belushi, Bernie Mac came out of Chi-town not on the sketch scene but as a stand-up. He played the club circuit for nearly two decades before catching a break that led to a successful string of movies and a television show that garnered him two Emmy nominations. One of the original “Kings of Comedy”, Mac had a stage presence that came across as a bit of a curmudgeon that was often grumpy but meant well. His character in the dark holiday comedy Bad Santa is one of the funniest performances of his film career and utilized his humor perfectly.

7 George Carlin
There really isn’t much to be said about George Carlin that hasn’t already been said a thousand times by fans, critics or his peers. The guy churned out more material than just about any other stand-up comic in history and developed a stage persona from straight laced, to hippie, to angry social commentator. It seems like the older George got the more he had to say, and he knew exactly how to say it. The guy was a master wordsmith and truly loved the English language. Carlin did just about everything possible in comedy, from being the first host of Saturday Night Live, to writing books, acting and performing 14 HBO stand-up specials. Nobody did more with a microphone than George.

6 Jim Varney
If you were a kid in the 1980s with a working television, then you probably remember the rubber faced, goof Earnest P. Worrell. A master at voices Varney started as a stand-up comic and actor working clubs and dinner theaters in the south before moving to New York. The guy was famous of for playing the dim-witted but good natured Earnest, but was always an underrated comic actor who lent his talents to everything from The Johnny Cash Show, to The Simpsons, and a slew of films. Earnest warned us about the dangers of cigarettes, but didn’t heed his own advice and smoked up until the day he died.

5 John Candy
Comedy movies in the 1980s were almost entirely dominated by four guys — Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy and John Candy. Another Canadian born funny man on the list, John Candy came to prominence on one of the best sketch comedy shows ever — Second City TV. He was the goofy older uncle that everyone wishes they had… probably where the idea for Uncle Buck came from. The constant smartass, he came across as funny without even trying. If you haven’t seen Stripes, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, or Space Balls in awhile do yourself the favor and enjoy the funny man from up north at his best.

4 Mitch Hedberg
Mitch Hedberg came across like that guy at a party that might have taken too much acid, a little odd, but certainly hilarious and worth listening to. Everything about the guy was offbeat, from his shy stage presence to almost stream of conscience one liners. He had a keen comedic ear for pointing out the absurdities of language and a delivery that was fun to watch. Hiding behind sunglasses and long hair, he had a distinctive delivery that was all his own and fit the material perfectly. Although he never became a household name, through constant touring and late night television appearances he developed a rabid following that has only grown after his death. If you ever got the chance to see Mitch perform live, consider yourself lucky. It’s a damn shame that his stage time ran up when it did.

3 Bill Hicks
One of the original “Texas Outlaws of Comedy”, Bill Hicks went on stage and put his opinions out there in a way nobody else at the time was doing. He was anti-corporate, anti- organized religion, anti-commercialism, but most of all he was anti-bullshit. He was about honesty and breaking down the walls that kept society and people from reaching their full potential. He didn’t cater to his audience or take the short cut to a laugh; he made them come to him. If you didn’t get him he didn’t care, that was your problem. If cancer hadn’t snuffed Bill out who knows what kinda brilliant material he would have continued to produce. A lot has happened in the world since his death in 1994, and there’s no doubt, that wherever Bill is he’s got an opinion on the state of things and not afraid to share it.

2 John Belushi
One of the original “not ready for prime time players” John Belushi nearly became a comedy hero overnight for pushing the envelope of comedy on the first few seasons of Saturday Night Live. It wasn’t a far stretch from reality for Belushi to play the hard partying frat guy in one of the biggest comedies of all time, Animal House. Unfortunately, it was the hard partying life that did Belushi in too early, at only 33 years old after overdosing on a speedball (a mix of cocaine and heroin). It was this same concoction that would later play a part in the death stand-up comic Mitch Hedberg. Oddly enough, Belushi joked in a 1977 episode of SNL that he’d be dead by 30. It’s too bad that he only surpassed this by a few years. The guy was an enormous talent that was only getting started.

1 Richard Pryor
Considered by many to be the greatest comedian of all time, Richard Pryor broke the mold when he stepped on stage and nobody has matched him since. If pain equals comedy then it’s no wonder that Richard was so funny. He grew up in a brothel, struggled with drug addiction, set himself on fire, had problems with the law, and more than his fair share of woman troubles — and what did he do with it? He put it all out there for the public to see and instead of feel sorry for him they laughed with him. A master story teller, he had charisma, wit, and delivery like nobody else. If Lenny Bruce opened the door for purely honest raw comedy, Richard broke it off the hinges. Without Richard Pryor there would be no Chris Rock, Louis C.K., Bill Hicks or Dave Chappelle.