Who was funnier at his peak?

[WI_DEM]

Poll question: Who was funnier at his peak?

Bob Hope or Jerry Lewis

[NYCGirl]

1. Well, they were both better when working with partners — Hope and Crosby,

Martin and Lewis.

[WI_DEM]

3. I agree

Though Lewis, alone, did write and direct some visually interesting and occasionally funny movies--most notably THE NUTTY PROFESSOR and THE LADIES MAN.

[Demeter]

2. Almost Anyone Was Funnier Than These Two Put Together!

In the Golden Age of Comedy, these two were not even also-rans.

Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Jack Guilford, Jack Benny, Abbot and Costello, Red Skelton, etc, etc,

I weep for the chldren who will never see humor.

[BL611]

4. Huh?

No old people could possibly be funnier than Will Ferrell or Dave Chapelle. Sorry thats just the way it is I refuse to discuss this any further.

[WI_DEM]

7. I guess you missed the part that said "At his peak"

by the way Woody Allen and Jerry Seinfeld have publiclly said that Bob Hope was their influence while Robin Williams, Jim Carrey and Will Farrell have said that Lewis most influenced their comedy.

[WI_DEM]

8. Jack Benny was in a league of his own.

[stevedeshazer]

11. No one was funnier than Jack Benny

Actually, Ben Hubelsky

[WI_DEM]

12. The great thing about Benny is that he created a character so well known

that you can anticipate his reactions and they are so well done. A master.

[Greyhound]

5. Should have vote for more choices, but between the two given, I had to go

with Hope. I though Lewis was funny up until I was eight or nine, but looking at the same stuff later it is just bad. OTOH, Hope holds up over time and many of his bits are classics.

Just don't ask us to rate them as human beings, they're both pretty despicable.

[Greyhound]

6. Should have vote for more choices, but between the two given, I had to go

with Hope. I though Lewis was funny up until I was eight or nine, but looking at the same stuff later it is just bad. OTOH, Hope holds up over time and many of his bits are classics.

Just don't ask us to rate them as human beings, they're both pretty despicable.

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. As a comic, Hope had it all over Lewis

but Lewis was a far better actor and had a feel as a filmmaker that was extraordinary - some of his throw-away gags on film were incredibly complex to film, using the camera in innovative ways to deliberately break the 4th wall, bring the audience into the gag.

Of course, they came from different backgrounds, with Hope being a generation older, and rooted in vaudeville, while Lewis was purely a product of the film industry.

[WI_DEM]

10. Excellent analysis

Jerry has never, for instance, been good at stand up or as a monologist, which Hope was but as you say as an actor and especially as a filmmaker I think Lewis made a great contribution to comedy motion pictures.

[Ron Green]

13. I seem to recall Lenny Bruce said his favorite comedian was

Bob Hope. Maybe he was goofin,' though.