Comedians with Aspergers

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George Carlin's Napalm and Silly Putty Album is very Aspergerish

My performance last night as a Headliner
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpqXTYI-lIk[/youtube]

Cool--I read his mom's book years ago and she'd mentioned he wanted to be a comedian.


Elijah's Cup

Nice one Marty, you're really funny. Loved the Rove gag. Hehe.

Seeing you gig makes me miss doing comedy, but I'm starting a weekly TV show this month so have enough to juggle right now! Send me more clips & audio if you have them and I'll put them on my blog.

I've always liked the signs that say "SLOW CHILDREN PLAYING"

LOL ME Too!!

I am a stand up comic with Aspergers and I find being an aspie is my greatest asset. So another one to add to your list.

i dont know if these do but might as well add em for post count...lee evans, billy conolly and jim bailey

Oh great thread! I've read/heard so many times that Aspies don't understand humor, but I don't agree. I've seen a few comedians when they are not performing, and they have no personality...they are like robots...or autistic people. I've always wondered if some Aspies, instead of being good with numbers like the stereotype just have fast minds for calculating funny responses. I have pathetic social skills but if I can get the group laughing, I can manage.

I suppose I'm still doing comedy in a way. I do a live radio show every 2 weeks with my AS husband and we keep getting the same feedback. Apparently people love our dry cynicism and laugh all the way through our shows. With us we hope!

I think people just don't understand our brand of humor half the time

When I started in radio, it was in a small town, the station signed off at midnight, so I could come in and practice off-air. One day I was in the studio with the program director, who had me take the board to show him what I'd learned. Next thing I knew he walked out the door and drove away, leaving me in the building alone. I was terrified. After two weeks, you couldn't pry me away from that job and I did it for thirty years.

Though I must say, it helped to be able to jot down notes before a break, so I didn't get lost in the middle of a bit, or ramble on too long.

Live stand-up would be like free-falling to me. And hecklers would throw me completely. I can understand how Michael Richards lost it. What seems like biting sarcasm in your head when you're in meltdown and winging it might not seem as witty if you had a chance to review the material first in front of a mirror.

I keep expecting a follow-up sign:
"RADAR CONTROLLED"
or
"OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE FASTER THAN THEY APPEAR"
or
"FAST CHILDREN NEXT BLOCK"

I can't believe Lenny Bruce hasn't been mentioned more. Particularly for his:

Extremely weird use of language, his cadence, etc.
Use of weird "metaphors meaningful only to the speaker"
Very unconventional
Reclusive and awkward (in the CD "George Carlin on Comedy", Carlin mentioned that Lenny Bruce was always very difficult to communicate with, and rarely gave him more than an awkward hello.)

Listen to some of his stuff and see what you think.

Also, possibly Bill Hicks, but I wouldn't claim to be as confident about him as I am about Lenny Bruce. Hicks' video stuff hints at AS-type behavior more so than just his CDs, since a lot of his AS traits are particularly weird/exaggerated facial expressions and hand/body gestures (the other side of the AS weird voice/expressions continuum from the common monotone and flat expression. This other side is the side I fall into).

As others have mentioned, Steven Wright is a good (likely) example.
Although Mitch Hedberg and Steven Wright had similar styles, I think Mitch's traits were probably drug-induced.

George Carlin's Napalm and Silly Putty Album is very aspie-like

Demetri Martin on Wikipedia