THE FIVE MOST MISERABLE COMEDIANS
There’s something about soul-crushing sadness and comedy that go together like peanut butter and chocolate (ideally laced with Prozac). Jeremy Hotz isn’t alone in mining misery for comedy; he’s just the most Canadian example. Here are the top five comedians who find humour in the lowest lows.
5. Marc Maron
This premier podcaster spent the first few years of WTF With Marc Maron apologizing to his colleagues for various grievances. By all accounts, Maron used to let misery run his life. Thankfully he’s mellowed as a man but not as a comedian.
4. Louis C.K.
Louis C.K. is such a talented performer that it’s often difficult to tell how profoundly depressing his material can be. You laugh then find yourself angry at the world and unsure why. Except for his brilliant TV series, of course, which keeps the misery upfront.
3. Rodney Dangerfield
This one-liner comedian is as goofy as it gets. But all that goofiness sprang from profound sadness and insecurity. Dangerfield was an immensely depressed and damaged guy offstage. He invented an ideal clown to channel all the pain (yes, even in Caddyshack).
2. Larry David
Ok, so maybe David was never particularly successful as a standup. However, if you’ve seen an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, it should be clear why this list would be incomplete without him.
1. George Carlin
Carlin wore many faces over his career from the hippy philosopher of the 1970s to the minutia-obsessed super-Seinfeld of the ’80s. In his autumn years, Carlin transformed being a cranky old man into an art form with specials such as You Are All Diseased and Life Is Worth Losing. They are arguably the pinnacle of misery comedy.