Who’s The Greatest Comedian Of All Time?

Thought all of you might find this apropos:

"Alebachew Teka, Ethiopian Comedian, Dies at 43
January 20, 2005
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 
 
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Jan. 19 (AP) - Alebachew Teka, a comedian and talk-show host who was a television star in Ethiopia, died on Sunday when his car careered off a road and plunged into a ravine, the police and his friends said.  He was 43.  Mr. Alebachew was driving from Addis Ababa to Jimma, 124 miles to the west, to film a documentary when the accident happened. A cameraman also died and another was seriously wounded, the police said. 

More than 60,000 mourners attended Mr. Alebachew's funeral on Monday in Addis Ababa.
 
Mr. Alebachew rose to prominence during the 1980's in a satirical television show that was a hit under the military dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam. But his successful series, "The Alebe Show," brought him widespread fame. On it, Mr. Alebachew would persuade rich guests to pledge money to help the destitute."

60,000 people attended his funeral.  Given the relative size of Ethiopia and the U.S., this would be the equivalent of over 300,000 people attending the funeral of, say, Ray Romano.  This makes it clear that there are comedians in other countries who are every bit as "great" as those english-speaking comedians we have named.

Peace.

Glass-Prison:

Uh...hmmmm...well....maybe.  But considering that Seinfeld is a relatively new sitcom as sitcoms go (there were three decades of sitcoms before it), and even if all subsequent sitcoms have been influenced (I'm using a nicer word...) by it (a statement I would not agree with), are you telling me that Larry David was not influenced by others before him?

I think that if you go through the history of sitcoms and TV comedy, you will find that Larry David did not "spring full-grown from the head of Zeus."

Peace.