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Show Me the Funny! Hollywood Crack-Ups

Adam Sandler

One of the most endearing goofballs to ever grace the stages of "Saturday Night Live," affectionately offensive funnyman Adam Sandler has often been cited as the writer/performer who almost single-handedly rescued the long-running late-night television staple when the chips were down and it appeared to have run its course. (Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide; Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

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Adam Sandler One of the most endearing goofballs to ever grace the stages of "Saturday Night Live," affectionately offensive funnyman Adam Sandler has often been cited as the writer/performer who almost single-handedly rescued the long-running late-night television staple when the chips were down and it appeared to have run its course. (Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide; Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Seth Rogen Canadian-born actor Seth Rogen was discovered by Judd Apatow and was cast in his short-lived series "Freaks and Geeks." (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
Amy Poehler Getting her start in a comedy team called "My Mother's Fleabag" while studying at Boston College, the frantically energized Amy Poehler has become an improv queen of sorts on the comedy circuit. Her big mainstream breakthrough came in January 2002, when she was promoted from featured player to member of the repertory cast of "Saturday Night Live." (Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide; Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
Jason Segel Another member of the Apatow posse, Jason Segel's career as a Hollywood actor began with appearences in mostly teen-oriented material -- beginning with the jet-black comedy "Dead Man on Campus" (1998), then the NBC comedy drama "Freaks and Geeks" (1999), then the truly ugly frat-boy comedy feature "Slackers" (2002), helmed by tyro Dewey Nicks. Segel both authored the script and starred in the big-screen romantic comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." (Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide; Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Sarah Silverman 2005 was a stellar year for Silverman on the big screen. In addition to writing and starring in "Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic," she was widely considered to have one of the very best appearances in the documentary "The Aristocrats." (Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide; Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for CineVegas)
Jane Krakowski In 2006, executives at NBC raised eyebrows when they hired Krakowski to replace comedienne Rachel Dratch for the pilot of “30 Rock,” the Golden Globe-winning sitcom created by and starring Tina Fey. Although the circumstances for Dratch’s firing were never made clear, the comedienne herself later stated that she was simply a victim of “creative re-tooling” and downplayed any rumors of backstage strife. Throughout the first three seasons, Krakowski proved to be an invaluable member of the show’s ensemble, further developing her character as an all-important, shameless attention-getter with hilariously transparent motives behind her every prima donna stunt. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Tina Fey As "Saturday Night Live's" first-ever female head writer, quick-witted comedian Tina Fey not only shattered the glass ceiling at "SNL," but also succeeded in proving that she is one of the most talented comedy writers in the entertainment industry. (Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide; Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Wanda Sykes A quick-witted comedien who has transcended the comedy scene to become one of the funniest comics to hit the stage in some time, Wanda Sykes' unique blend of stinging humor and outspoken honesty has found her moving beyond a career in standup thanks to notable success in film and television. (Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide; Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
Angela Kinsey Known to countless "Office" fans as the uptight accountant, Angela Kinsey would surprise many with the warm, sunny personality she has offscreen. (Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide; Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Tracy Morgan New York-born "Saturday Night Live" cast member Tracy Morgan memorably spoofed everyone from Fat Albert to Tiger Woods' father during his time on the long-running comedy television staple. In the fall of 2006, he joined the cast of "30 Rock." (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images for Vh1)
Vivica A. Fox Vivacious actress Vivica A. Fox has been attracting attention for performances that mix equal parts sass and class since making her 1989 screen debut in "Born on the Fourth of July." (Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide; Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images for IMG)
Ellen DeGeneres From working on stage, Ellen DeGeneres has been able to translate her success with live performances into a television and a movie career. (Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide; Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images for PCA)
Samantha Bee Nobody does an awkward interview like "The Daily Show's" Samantha Bee. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)
Megan Mullally Megan picked up the performing bug from her father, and developed a passionate interest in music and especially dance.In 1983, she won her first film role, playing a hooker in "Risky Business," and in 1986 she relocated to Los Angeles after being cast on a television series, "The Ellen Burstyn Show." She is best know as Karen Walker, a self-centered former socialite-turned-office assistant on the popular situation comedy series "Will and Grace." (Photo Getty Images)
Anna Faris Faris' improvisational experiences would soon come in handy as she landed her breakthrough role in the popular "Scream"-slanted spoof of teen slasher pics, "Scary Movie." She most recently starred in the hilarious college romp "The House Bunny." (Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide; Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Kristen Wiig Initially known as one of the cast members of "Saturday Night Live" (she joined in 2005), comedian Kristen Wiig cemented her reputation as a schtickmeister with hilarious and memorable "SNL" characterizations of such personalities as Drew Barrymore, Katharine Hepburn, and Megan Mullally, and performed a particularly memorable recurring bit on that program as an overanxious Target employee.(Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide; Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Jenna Fischer First rising to fame for her deadpan performance as receptionist Pam Beesly on NBC's "The Office," Jenna Fischer was born in Indiana and spent the first several years of her career primarily appearing in bit parts in small indie films and guest spots on TV shows. (Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide; Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)
Margaret Cho A self-described "Korean-American f**-hag, s**t-starter, girl comic, trash talker," Margaret Cho is nothing if not straightforward, and this forthright approach to her material made her one of the more compulsively entertaining -- and startling -- comedians to gain an audience in the 1990s.(Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide; Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
Will Ferrell Another member of the "Saturday Night Live" Screen Actors Guild, Will Ferrell made his major film debut as Steve Butabi, one of the spectacularly clueless brothers who serve as the protagonists of "A Night at the Roxbury" (1998). (Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide; Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Kathy Griffin The acerbic, razor-tongued, take-no-prisoners comedian Kathy Griffin has built a career for herself -- as an actress and a standup performer -- around the schtick of being permanently under-respected by everyone (as the title of her TV series, "My Life on the D List," suggests), and fighting back with her claws extended. Griffin is notorious for mercilessly skewering and taking potshots at worthy targets (particularly fellow celebrities and comedians) through her comedy, and has built a considerable career out of doing so. (Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide; Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Will Arnett After almost a decade of starring in failed pilots, Toronto-born Will Arnett finally hit pay dirt in 2003 when Fox picked up "Arrested Development," an irreverent sitcom that cast him as a spoiled rich kid-turned-struggling illusionist. (Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide; Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Sacha Baron Cohe... Best known for his character Ali G, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was born in London in 1971 to a Welsh father and an Israeli mother. He first assumed the role on Channel 4's "The Eleven O'Clock Show" in 1999, embarrassing himself as well as clueless interviewees as a British hip-hop wannabe, acting as the "voice of da youth."(Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide; Photo by Sergio Dionisio/Getty Images)
Michael Cera Baby-faced Michael Cera first gained fame as the hilariously named George Michael Bluth, son of Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), and the youngest member of a dysfunctional family of land-tract developers, on the riotous sitcom "Arrested Development." (Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide; Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
Neil Patrick Har... A child actor who achieved popularity and critical acclaim at an early age, Neil Patrick Harris managed to avoid the typical fate of child stars who often slipped into obscurity after spinning out of control; instead he thrived on stage, as well as on film and television. (All Movie Guide; Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
Craig Robinson Craig Robinson recurring role as Darryl, the stone-faced Dunder-Mifflin warehouse supervisor on the blockbuster series "The Office," brought him national recognition.(Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide; Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)
Andy Samberg After gaining a cult following with the online sketch group Lonely Island, Andy Samberg shot to stardom with the Gen-Y crowd in 2005 when he was added to the cast of "Saturday Night Live." (Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide; Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Overture)
Stephen Colbert Colbert is probably best known for the ultra-right wing character he plays as host of "the Colbert Report." (Photo by Steve Manue/USO via Getty Images)
Maya Rudolph A popular cast member from the moment she joined "SNL" in 2000, Rudolph successfully navigated the notoriously testosterone-laden hallways of Studio 8H to create a variety of original characters in addition to skewering such celebrities as Christina Aguilera, Oprah Winfrey, and Donatella Versace. (Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide; Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Steve Carell Possessing a sort of surreal, outlandish, and childish comic persona that is only enhanced by his deceptively straight-laced appearance, comic performer Steve Carell first gained a faithful following thanks to an enduring run as a correspondent on the popular Comedy Central news satire series "The Daily Show." (son Buchanan, All Movie Guide; Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Paul Rudd In 2004, Rudd flexed his skills as a comedic scene-stealer with a supporting role in the 70s-era Will Ferrell vehicle "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." Keenly aware that he was very much on to a good thing, Rudd kept the laughs coming in "Tennis, Anyone...?" and "The Baxter" before hitting yet another comedy homerun in the 2005 Steve Carrell comedy "The 40 Year Old Virgin." (Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide; Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Rainn Wilson Best known for playing uber-nerd Dwight Schrute on the NBC comedy "The Office," actor Rainn Wilson parlayed a Broadway career into screen work that began with a role on the daytime soap "One Life to Live." (Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide; Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Amy Sedaris Comedianne Amy Sedaris confronts vulgarity with a daring innocence to create her wickedly absurd characters. You may best remember her as America's creepiest high school Student, Jerri Blank, from the hyper-irreverent series "Strangers With Candy." (Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide; Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Kaitlin Olsen After joining Carey's "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" troupe at the Melrose Improv, Olson joined her bespectacled co-star for a USO tour and entertained troops in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Norway. While The Drew Carey Show would go off the air in 2004, Olson wasn't out of work for long, and next turned up as part owner of a popular Irish pub in the twisted FX series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In 2007, Olson remained busy on the small screen with a recurring role on the Emmy-nominated series The Riches. (Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide; Photo: Fox)
Patton Oswalt The gifted young comedian Patton Oswalt first carved a name for himself as a bit player in television programs, where he seemingly made the perfect everyman. Even those who fail to recognize the comic's agnomen doubtless encountered him as early as the mid- to late '90s, on such hit programs as "NewsRadio," "Dr. Katz," "Mr. Show," and "Seinfeld." (Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide; Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)
Zach Galifianaki... A short, slightly stocky presence with a thick outgrowth of beard that quickly became a personal trademark, Galifianakis used his behind-the-mike stints to riff on everything from veganism to multiple personality disorder, while constantly displaying a lightning-flash wit and marked inventiveness. (Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide; Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
Alec Baldwin Baldwin's longstanding association with the venerable sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live" (he has hosted over ten times) paid great dividends when he was hired to play the part of the boss on former "SNL" head writer Tina Fey's fall 2006 sitcom "30 Rock." He earned universal raves for his work on the show, and captured the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a comedy television series during the program's inaugural season. (Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide; Photo: by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Julia Louis-Drey... Like other "Saturday Night Live alumni," Julia Louis-Dreyfus made the move to feature films, but she achieved true stardom on TV as Seinfeld's inimitable Elaine Benes. As Jerry's ex-girlfriend-turned-pal Elaine, Louis-Dreyfus proved that she could hold her own as the sole female member of Seinfeld's do-nothing quartet of neurotic New Yorkers. (Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide; Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Ricky Gervais Gervais is best known as writer/director/star of the hit BBC comedy series "The Office." He plays David Brent, regional manager of the Wernham Hogg paper company in the London industrial suburb of Slough. A brilliant observation of the contemporary workplace, the show has won a variety of awards over in Britain. Gervais received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 2003. He went on to produce an Americanized version of "The Office" with director Greg Daniels. (Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide; Photo by Tim Whitby/Getty Images)
Ben Stiller As the scion of the Jerry Stiller-Anne Meara comic dynasty, Ben Stiller's decision to establish himself as a comic writer and actor seemed altogether preordained. One of Stiller's shorts, a Tom Cruise parody called The Hustler of Money, won him a spot as a writer and player on Saturday Night Live in 1989. His stint on the show was short-lived, but led to his own eponymous series, The Ben Stiller Show, first on MTV (1990) and later on Fox (1992-1993). The rest is comedy history. (Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide; Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
John C. Reilly One of his most mainstream, high profile appearances was custom made for Reilly’s sympathetic everyman charm, co-starring with Will Ferrell as the loyal, left-in-the-dust best friend in “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (2006). Reilly’s winning comic performance led to first billing in Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow’s “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” (2007). Continuing with his resounding success in broad comedies, Reilly would reteam with Ferrell and director Adam McKay in “Step Brothers." (All Movie Guide; Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)

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