Comedian

A comedian, also known as a comic, is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by inducing laughter.

This goal can be achieved through many different methods. A performer might tell structured jokes or create amusing, unexpected situations. Some use prop comedy, which involves using physical objects to create humor. A specific type of performer is the stand-up comedian. These individuals address an audience directly while performing a monologue on a stage. There is a famous distinction regarding their craft. It is often said that a comic says funny things, but a comedian says things funny. This suggests that a comedian's persona and acting are just as vital as their verbal content.

Comedians use a variety of specialized techniques to build their humor. One common method is the pun, or double-entendre, where similar-sounding words are interchanged to create a joke. Another technique is the "leadaway" in the United States, known as a "pull back and reveal" in the United Kingdom. This involves using a misleading setup to confound the audience's expectations. Some performers use ad absurdum extrapolations, which take an idea to an extreme level. Others rely on irony, creating an intentional mismatch between a message and its form. Many comics also use observational humor, which focuses on reporting on everyday life. Other styles include whimsy, parody, and self-deprecation, where the performer pokes fun at themselves.

Since the 1980s, a movement called alternative comedy has grown in popularity. This style is often more offbeat and experimental than traditional comedy. It frequently involves experiential or observational reporting. Many comedians, such as Tommy Tiernan or Kevin Hart, draw on their personal backgrounds to find humor. To build a career, many comics tour famous comedy hubs. These include the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and the Edinburgh Fringe. Winning a notable award, like the Edinburgh Comedy Award, can also advance a career significantly. Some performers eventually transition into film and television to reach wider audiences.

Comedy has a deep history spanning thousands of years. Comedians can be traced back to 425 BC with the Greek playwright Aristophanes. He wrote 40 comedies, and 11 of his works still survive and are performed today. His style often took the form of satyr plays. Centuries later, William Shakespeare wrote many comedies that featured a light-hearted tone. A Shakespearean comedy is defined by its happy endings, which usually involve marriages between unmarried characters. In the 1800s, American performance comedy had roots in minstrel shows. These shows used a three-act variety format, though figures like Frederick Douglass criticized them for perpetuating racism.

As technology evolved, comedy adapted to new media.

American stand-up emerged from vaudeville theatre between the 1880s and 1930s. In Britain, comedy grew in 1850s music hall theatres. The impresario Fred Karno pioneered sketch comedy without dialogue and helped develop slapstick. His protégés included Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel. Chaplin became the most popular screen comedian of the early 20th century. He wrote influential films like "Modern Times." In the 20th century, Bob Hope had a massive career lasting nearly 80 years. He performed in radio, television, and films, and entertained troops through the USO for five decades.

Recording technology allowed comedy to reach people in new ways. Some of the earliest commercial sound recordings were made by comedians like Cal Stewart in 1898. In the 1950s and 1960s, Spike Jones recorded musical comedy albums that satirized popular music. Tom Lehrer also recorded five albums of songs satirizing social and political issues. The radio surreal comedy group The Firesign Theatre revolutionized the spoken comedy album in 1968. They used multitrack recording and sound effects to create elaborate radio plays. On television, comedy took many forms, from sketch comedies like "Monty Python's Flying Circus" to sitcoms. Famous sitcoms include "Seinfeld" and "The Big Bang Theory."

Comedy is also a subject of scientific interest. A 2014 study in the British Journal of Psychiatry examined the personality traits of comedians. Researchers analyzed 404 men and 119 women from Australia, Britain, and the United States. They found that comedians scored significantly higher on four types of psychotic characteristics than a control group. Professor Gordon Claridge noted that the creative elements of humor are similar to certain cognitive styles. However, this does not mean a comedian's behavior is pathological. Finally, comedy is a significant global industry. In 2016, the highest-paid comedian was Kevin Hart, who earned $87.5 million. He was followed by Dave Chappelle, who earned $60 million.