The Funniest Person Alive (God Rest His Soul)

Every now and then I have a conversation where someone says, "hey, who do you think the funniest person alive is?" Until June 22, 2008, I was able to simply look up, smile, and say "George Carlin of course." Carlin was the best. His style of comedy was unmatched by anyone who took the stage. He was a thinking man's comedian. His use of language was unparalleled by anyone who came before him or after him. I enjoy nothing more then sitting back in my car during a long drive and popping in a Carlin cd or staying up late when my wife is out of town and putting in "Jammin' In New York" and simply laughing my ass off. It is sad to think that we won't have any new material from Carlin to laugh at, but the man left us over 40 years of material to remember him by and that is enough for me.
Last night on PBS there was a special from the Kennedy Center honoring Carlin, which featured Dennis Leary, Jon Stewart, Lewis Black, Lilly Tomblin, Joan Rivers, Bill Maher and others. It was a wonderful show that featured highlights of Carlin's career as well as stories from the people who knew him best. It got me thinking though, now that Carlin has passed, who is the funniest person alive. Let me start this conversation by saying that this title (in my mind) is given to stand up comics. This takes out the likes of Steven Colbert, Steve Carell, Jon Stewart (I know he does stand up, but not much anymore), and other that some of you might consider the funniest person alive. I find those individuals extremely funny and Stewart and Colbert are two of my favorite personalities, but these are tv shows with scripts and takes. It doesn't make it any easier, but I prefer to stay with stand up comics.
To get the conversation started, I went to my cd collection and didn't really come up with anything. A bunch of funny people, but a lot of dead comics. In there were performances by Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Rodney Dangerfield, and Sam Kinison. Some of the funniest people ever, but I needed to move on. So I moved on to Eddie Murphy, but lets all be real, Eddie is a long way removed from Raw and he just isn't the same guy. Jerry Seinfeld crossed my mind, but no offensive to Seinfeld, who I find extremely funny, but he is pretty commercial anymore. I also had thoughts of Steve Martin, but while is one of the top five funniest people ever, he just doesn't do too much anymore. Martin Lawrence was a very funny guy in his prime, but that has passed. Lily Tomlin certainly deserves consideration, but she really doesn't do much anymore. Bill Cosby has changed his tone over the last several years and while Himself was one of the top show ever, Cosby just isn't that guy anymore.
So I moved on to the new generation of comedians. I thought about the likes of Chris Rock, who a lot of people find really funny, but I just don't. Maybe Adam Sandler could get into the conversation, but I don't think so. Dave Chappelle, certainly merits thought, but he is pretty one dimensional. Katt Williams and Dane Cook are two new guys that are pretty funny, but they haven't been around long enough yet. A really funny new comedian that you may not have heard of yet is Demetri Martin, but again he is young, so lets wait and see if he has staying power. Maybe Jeff Foxworthy or Ron White could get into the conversation, but I hate to keep calling people one dimensional, but these two are. They are funny, but they will only be funny to a certain audience, others just won't understand it. Could the likes of Will Ferrell get thrown into the conversation. Sure, but he is really a slap stick comedian. He is very funny don't get me wrong, but not that well rounded. I don't mean any disrespect to these people, if I didn't find them to be part of the funniest people alive, I wouldn't have even mentioned them. All of these people are funny, but they don't bring to the stage what Carlin brought to the stage, so I just can't put them in the same category.
So that leaves me with only a few people to consider. First is Lewis Black. Black is extremely funny and thoughtful in his comedy. My concern for calling Black being called the funniest person alive is that he is a modern day Sam Kinison and he sometimes has a problem reusing materials. Very funny guy, but not the funniest. Next I turned to Denis Leary. Now Leary doesn't do much stand up anymore, but when he does, his stuff is genius. He is original, thoughtful, insightful, and most importantly outrageously funny. But he has moved on to other things and his stand up act doesn't really exist anymore. He is close, but not quite what I am looking for.
Now I just have one name left to turn to and that is Robin Williams. Some of you may think of Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtire, but the man is a stand up god. An Evening with Robin Williams is one of the funniest records ever and Robin Williams LIVE will make you you hurt for two days after you watch it because you laugh so hard. Williams' stand up is raw and sometimes dirty, not the same guy you see in the movies. If you need a good laugh, go to YouTube and watch Williams on Inside the Actors Studio. His improve is the stuff legends are made of and he is a legend. So is it Robin Williams? He is the funniest person alive? Maybe, I don't know. I can't be for sure. I have ran through a lot of comics and just haven't found what I am looking for.
So here I am. How would I respond today if someone asks me, "who is the funniest person alive?" I will simply look up, smile and respond "George Carlin, God rest his soul."