Don Rickles or Ricky Gervais - Who's the best insult comic?

Who's the best insult comic?

  • Total voters
    70
Gervais really can be nasty at time,
But I can't say I find him really funny.
Enjoy watching any of his show though.
 
Don Rickles was as much sizzle as he was steak. The actual content of his humor wasn't all that clever. It was mostly absurdities. Still, he was a master at absurdity. Gervais, on the other hand, is exceptionally clever. He insults and make an actual point at the same time. He is an insult comic for the thinking person, whereas Rickles was an insult comic for the goofball in us.

Having said that, I prefer Rickles as a pure insult comic because that's what he was. Gervais does insult comedy, but he's so much more than that. With Rickles, insults were his signature.

There's a scene in the Larry Sanders Show where 2 of the staff see Don Rickles in the hallway, go over to him, and ask him to insult them. Rickles resists at first, but then lets loose with the insults. The two staff members are thrilled....they have been insulted by the insult master.

Would anyone ask Ricky Gervais to do that? I don't think so.

So, for insult comedy, I choose Rickles. For overall comedy, I choose Gervais.
 
Leonard Haid said:
Don Rickles was as much sizzle as he was steak. The actual content of his humor wasn't all that clever. It was mostly absurdities. Still, he was a master at absurdity. Gervais, on the other hand, is exceptionally clever. He insults and make an actual point at the same time. He is an insult comic for the thinking person, whereas Rickles was an insult comic for the goofball in us.

Having said that, I prefer Rickles as a pure insult comic because that's what he was. Gervais does insult comedy, but he's so much more than that. With Rickles, insults were his signature.

There's a scene in the Larry Sanders Show where 2 of the staff see Don Rickles in the hallway, go over to him, and ask him to insult them. Rickles resists at first, but then lets loose with the insults. The two staff members are thrilled....they have been insulted by the insult master.

Would anyone ask Ricky Gervais to do that? I don't think so.

So, for insult comedy, I choose Rickles. For overall comedy, I choose Gervais.
Click to expand...
This pretty much sums it up perfectly.
 
don-rickles.gif
 
Leonard Haid said:
Don Rickles was as much sizzle as he was steak. The actual content of his humor wasn't all that clever. It was mostly absurdities. Still, he was a master at absurdity. Gervais, on the other hand, is exceptionally clever. He insults and make an actual point at the same time. He is an insult comic for the thinking person, whereas Rickles was an insult comic for the goofball in us.

Having said that, I prefer Rickles as a pure insult comic because that's what he was. Gervais does insult comedy, but he's so much more than that. With Rickles, insults were his signature.

There's a scene in the Larry Sanders Show where 2 of the staff see Don Rickles in the hallway, go over to him, and ask him to insult them. Rickles resists at first, but then lets loose with the insults. The two staff members are thrilled....they have been insulted by the insult master.

Would anyone ask Ricky Gervais to do that? I don't think so.

So, for insult comedy, I choose Rickles. For overall comedy, I choose Gervais.
Click to expand...

This.
Rickles also seemed a bit more in jest and having fun and people loved it and were honored to get roasted by him.

Gervais.....he can be down right nasty but I love it. I love that he pulls no punches at the Hollywood elite and says it like it is, even if it seems a bit more from a mean place.

I voted Gervais but no wrong answer

Also funny story, when Norm was roasting (in a sense) Courtney Thorne-Smith on Conan she was thrilled to be roasted by Norm b/c he father was roasted by Rickles one time and he loved it. She felt the similarities and the honor :)
 
It was a badge of honor in old Hollywood to have Rickles slice you up in public. The story goes that Rickles was playing Vegas, and at that point had not been very successful. One night he sees Frank Sinatra sitting out in the audience. Because of Frank’s mob ties, everyone was terrified of him, but Rickles decided to let the insults fly. Sinatra loved it and used his influence to help get Don more gigs and the two were close friends for the rest of their lives.
It’s telling that Rickles made a living insulting everyone but you never heard a bad word spoken about the man. He was supposed to be one of the sweetest guys in the business.
 
I like Rickles more. Sometimes Ricky just annoys me.
 
Goon Dog said:
It was a badge of honor in old Hollywood to have Rickles slice you up in public. The story goes that Rickles was playing Vegas, and at that point had not been very successful. One night he sees Frank Sinatra sitting out in the audience. Because of Frank’s mob ties, everyone was terrified of him, but Rickles decided to let the insults fly. Sinatra loved it and used his influence to help get Don more gigs and the two were close friends for the rest of their lives.
It’s telling that Rickles made a living insulting everyone but you never heard a bad word spoken about the man. He was supposed to be one of the sweetest guys in the business.
Click to expand...
Yep no butthurt Will Smith's takin a swing at him.
 
I don’t really think Gervais is an insult comic, so Don.

Outside of the Oscars/Globes Ricky isn’t just ripping folks ( Pilkington being the exception)

Who would I rather watch an hour long standup? Ricky Gervais all day, every day. Don is funny in small doses.
 
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