There’s a long tradition of great “fat guy” comedians. In fact, often times the big men of comedy are some of the funniest and most popular comics of their time. The best skills of these comedians have varied. Whether it was stand up, sketch, or movie comedy, though, these guys have combined to make millions of fans laugh. So this brings up a great question: who are the ten greatest funny fat guys of all time?
This is a hard list to make because some were movie stars, some slap stick, some stand up comics – so a lot will depend on individual tastes, but here’s a list for ten of the funniest “big guy” comics ever. In no particular order:
Chris Farley shot up through the world of improvisational (improv) comedy, and ended up becoming a huge star on Saturday Night Live. This was followed by a short but successful movie career before his tragic death. Farley was known for loud intense characters with a lot of physical comedy, harkening back to the old slap stick days, and his “Best of Chris Farley” SNL DVD was one of the highest selling of all the SNL DVDs.
One of the classic big man comics, straight man Costello would always be paired with thin joking Abbott, and the pairing made comic gold. They were wildly popular, and their most famous verbal gag, “Who’s on First?” regarding a baseball team filled with an infield of oddly named players, is famous to this day and used as an example of miscommunication through fancy word play.
Cedric the Entertainer is not only a great big man, but he’s also one of the most popular African-American comics around. Aside from an incredible stand up career that includes several major shows at the famously fickle Apollo Theatre, and several HBO specials, Cedric also has some great film roles. One of the most notable characters is the elder barber Eddie from “Barbershop.”
Anyone who grew up without seeing “Uncle Buck” or “Trains, Planes, & Automobiles” is a poor deprived child who needs to make amends by renting the classic Candy movies. John Candy was a fantastic big man comic, who also had a major role in “Space Balls” and many other extremely popular movies that made him a comic legend on the big screen.
Ralphie is the epitome of a “fat guy comic.” A great stand up comedian, at one point Ralphie weighed nearly 800 pounds. He was first runner up in the reality show “Last Comic Standing,” and also participated in “Celebrity Fit Club.” Ralphie has since had two different specials on Comedy Central and a platinum selling DVD. He’s still a big man, but continues to lose weight to try and get into shape, often joking, “Don’t applaud, I lost an entire fat man and I’m still fat as h–l!” Only in his early thirties, this is a comic who may have many good years left ahead of him.
John Belushi was an absolute star when Saturday Night Live was just beginning, and was the inspiration for later comics such as Chris Farley. His ability to play straight man or crazy slapstick made him a legendary performer, and literally a living legend among movie comics and sketch comedians alike. Famous from Saturday Night Live and a hilarious impromptu imitation of Joe Cocker (while Joe Cocker was singing live) cemented Belushi as one of the great funny men of all time. So which famous Belushi role do you prefer: “Joliet” Jake Blues of the Blues Brothers, or Bluto from “Animal House?”
Iglesias is a young stand up comic who is wildly popular and whose specials have made him famous. He is known for having an incredible range of voice impersonations, as well as for the term “fluffy,” referring to the second highest level of being fat you can get, right before “damn!” So far Iglesias is only a stand up comedian, but his act is fantastic, and given the right situation he may have a shot at more in the future.
Before Abbott & Costello, before Chris Farley & David Spade, there was the all time duo of Laurel & Hardy. The brilliant duo starred in dozens of films, the most lasting being “Babes in Toyland.” The famous catch phrase “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into!” comes from their acts, although the catch phrase is often misquoted.
How can you have a top funny fat guys list without perhaps the most famous of the stooges? The Three Stooges were the epitome of slap stick comedy with three morons who could never get it right. Sadly, success destroyed Curly. He began to drink, smoke, and eat excessively, feeling that his shaven head robbed him of his sex appeal.
It’s long past time this man gets the respect he deserves. One of the most well known stand up comedians of all time, Dangerfield also had a fairly impressive movie list. Of course above everything else, Dangerfield was known for never being able to get respect and he built an amazing career off of self deprecating humor. At the top of the list is the best fat guy comic of them all, the very respected Rodney Dangerfield.
Contributor: Shane Dayton
hmm, tryig to think of some british fat comedian guys!!
JAMES CORDON!!!!:D
Awesome list, twas nice seeing Candy up there=D
Ralphie May should be number one. OOOBY-DOO!!!!
I miss Chris Farley. Fat man in a little coat.
I love Rodney Dangerfield. The whole “What’s in a name?” was hilarious. Awesome list and a great way to start my day! Thanks Shane.
Wow, that’s really interesting about Curly. I grew up watching the three stooges every morning before school.
Oh – notable omission in my opinion is Mike Moore – he is hilarious with those skits he does pretending to be serious – har har – funny guy!
Curly! He was always my favorite Stooge. I’m glad you put him up there.
The late Louie Anderson was great, too.
He’s not dead (as of Oct. 10, 2011). Met him at a swap meet.
rushfan: Not to be picky, but the quote is “fat guy in a little coat” I believe.
Don’t agree with Ralphie and Gabriel being above the rest. I have seen their stand up and it is smile funny but I don’t find myslef falling out. Farley and Cedric could do that.
Overall a great list.
I-man: I agree…ralphie and gabriel don’t deserve an all-time list…yet. Only time will tell. The great “fat” comics have no shame and i think that is why we connect with them so much – self-depricating humor. Great list, otherwise.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Gabriel is the best go watch his videos
Will have to look a few of these guys up, only heard of four of them before now and John Candy was a belter I have not seen a film that he was in i did not like.
One to watch from the UK is Johnny Vegas.
By the way: What about Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle…he could easily have been number one. He was the original.
I was thinking of John Candy only a few hours ago. I was thinking of making a reference to something being like a “Johnny La Rue crane shot” but I don’t know how many people remember, or would know the Johnny La Rue character from SCTV, and La Rue’s fondness for crane shots.
Speaking as a fat man myself, I can only verify the old comedy formula that fat guys are funny for just being fat. We love to laugh at them. Even Jamie can’t deny the hilarity of Leporello in an otherwise very dark opera, or any fat funny man in Opera Buffa for that matter.
humm.W.C. Fields, anyone?
i too agree that ralphie and gabriel should not have been on here. jackie gleason is missing from the list along with louie anderson.
Awesome list, Terrible order.
Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
Half of the people on this list are dead.
Hehe… this list makes me laugh. Very cool
I’ve just been watching/listening to Gabriel Iglesias on YouTube ‘cos I’d never heard of him before. Most amusing.
Oh and it’s kinda cool that Listverse isn’t scared of the F-word
Nice list! I love getting to see who’s first. Rodney deserves that respect!
Rodney Dangerfield finally gets some respect!
Nice list. But putting Ralphie May and Gabriel Iglesias (who were totally unknown to me until just now) before legends of comedy like Costello and John Candy is unacceptable. Just because their acts are from long ago doesn’t make them less memorable.
Chris Farley’s “Columbian Coffee Crystals” is one of my favorite sketches of all time. Hopefully some of the younger people on this will lose weight and stay off the chemicals so we can enjoy them for many years to come.
A previous list on List Universe was “Hottest Plus-sized Celebrities” who were all women. Big men also have to funny to get listed?
Oh, where to begin with this list….
First off, good effort Shane and certainly each one of these guys deserves to be on some sort of list (such as top unfunny comedy central hacks).
A few different lists may have been more appropriate.
Top Modern Funny Fat Guys
Top Dead Funny Fat Guys
Either separate them this way or make the list much longer. I don’t think any entertainment editor would include Gabriel Iglesias and Ralphie May on the same TOP TEN list as Belushi or Dangerfield.
Also, any proper list of funny fat men would include Rosanne.
Ralphie May and Gabriel Iglesias only talk about being fat..they’re as bad as Carlos Mencia with ethnic jokes and the three of them are not funny in the least. Farley should have been #1…
Was Dangerfield really that fat? He seemed normal sized to me. RIP though…he was funny.
Good list, but no Jonathan Winters??? C’mon!
anyone else notice how much thinner the “fat guys” from many years ago are than the “fat guys” of the past 20 years?
What?! No John Pinette?
Nah Nah!
I stunned. No Jackie Gleason?
I love Chris Farley. He was so agile for a fat guy.
Good choice in not including Jack Black to this list!
My server thinks I’m rushfan for some reason..cool list idea.Oliver Hardy is a god..
Sorry, I meant I’M stunned…My first post, 5 words, I screw it up…
LOL! Anyone else see the ad for GayChubbyDating.com at the top of the page?
Heh. Immaturity rocks.
Cedric the what? He’s remarkably unentertaining, in fact.
Maybe his name should have been Token?
I’m not the biggest fan of Dangerfield, but very entertaining list.
great list Shane. there are so many big comedians to pick from. I am amazed at how athletic some of these guys are/were. Most of them were funny without every joke being about their weight. Jackie Gleason would be my first choice of noted omissions.
So-so list. How could you not include Jackie Gleason or W.C. Fields? Iglesias and Ralphie May are virtual unknowns.
There are some factual errors in Lou Costello — he was the funny one. Abbott was the straight man. To say they “would always be paired” doesn’t accurately describe them. They were a comedy team — like Burns & Allen, Martin & Lewis — and to my knowledge, one never appeared without the other.
regarding Lou Costello, I never considered him the straight man in the duo. Am I missing something?
thanks KimoK, beat my post by 2 minutes and made me look like a fool. I read every comment to make sure no one pointed that out and then you drop that just as I hit send.
a sick list but i thought that jack black would be in there
No Jackie Gleason?
No Sam Kinison?
No Louie Anderson?
No Larry the Cable Guy?
I was expecting at least Jackie Gleason. You did include some of the ones that came to my mind right away tho. Nice job on a list.
I like the list overall, but it is in terrible order. Everyone can quote Farley, Belushi, and Candy, but there is a far lesser crowd that knows, much less quotes, Ralphie May and Gabriel Iglesias.
With that said, good list.
A pretty good list, and I was particularly glad to see Oliver Hardy in there, who is often forgotten by today’s generation and was a comic genius.
But Gabriel Iglesias over John Belushi? Ralphie May over John Candy? Are you kidding? MAYBE they’re worthy of being on this list, but only at the bottom, and certainly not above two comic legends.
Fields, Gleason, Kinison, Anderson, Black, Winters. This list cannot be confined to 10 men! Now I have to find about May, Iglesias, Pinette. Comedy/humor is what life is all about.
add my name to the list of people surprised by the inclusion of two guys, ralphie and gabriel, that are remarkably one dimensional in the midst of a list of comic geniuses. they may be great some day but if this is a “top 10″ list the mark has been missed with these two.
replace with jackie gleason and w.c. fields and you have a great list.
phenomenal idea, btw.
Good list but I agree with many people that it is out of order and Ralphie and Gabriel shouldn’t be included. Jackie Gleason definitely and Jonathon Winters, John Goodman, or Louie Anderson should have been on this list. IMHO, Farley, Costello, and Candy should have been in the top 5 along with Belushi and Dangerfield. I would have put Belushi at #1. But I didn’t write the list so who do I think I am? Yet another good job, Shane Dayton.
farley should have been top 5. ralphie may excluded from list.
your list was intriguing but not well thought out.
Awww, I love all these guys (sans Hardy, and meh for Cedric. Poor Curly, and Rodney! He gets respect from me. Hmmm…maybe there’s a reason I have a fat funny guy for a bf.
Awww, I love all these guys (sans Hardy, and meh for Cedric). Poor Curly, and Rodney! He gets respect from me. Hmmm…maybe there’s a reason I have a fat funny guy for a bf.
Awww, I love all these guys (sans Hardy, and meh for Cedric). Poor Curly, and Rodney! He gets respect from me. Hmmm…maybe there’s a reason I have a fat funny guy for a bf.
I loved this list…off I go to youtube
oops…sorry about that, must be the coffee
I really think Farley should have been ahead of ralphie and Iglesias. Matter of fact those two should have been left off. You actually could put Jack Black in this list, Jackie Gleason, and Jonathan Winters would have been good too. Is Don Rickles considered a fat man comic? I love Rodney though. “Guy wears a hat like this oughtta get a fee bowl of soup……Looks good on you though” (Caddyshack)
@comment #9 Ummmm…not to be picky, but Louie Anderson’s not dead…
Well, unless you’re talking about his career…
)
Jackie Gleason should be on here… but other than that….
The funniest moments I remember of Chris Farley’s stint on SNL were:
1) The Japanese game show, where contestants were forced to slice off a finger with every wrong answer… and Farley’s clueless American tourist, unable to speak the language and accidentally entered as a player in the game, has a rising and hilarious panic at the sight of all this–and somehow keeps winning. Until the end when, handcuffed to some kind of electrical iron maiden with jumper cables attached to his crotch, he screams out “MOTHER OF MERCY I DON’T SPEAK JAPANESE!” — the first time I saw that, in its original run years ago, I laughed so hard I almost fainted.
2) Farley in drag as a Gap sales girl along with Adam Sandler and David Spade, also in drag. They’re having lunch and Farley, looking totally ridiculous, and doing an absurd falsetto voice, starts wolfing down Spade’s french fries. Spade says, “I thought you were on a diet?” and without missing a beat, Farley puts a huge paw around Spade’s scrawny neck and bellows out in an incongruous DEEP voice: “LAY OFF ME I’M STARVING.” A milk through the nose moment if there ever was one.
Quiana (#18) hit the nail on the head.