Americans, I'm looking at you.

As part of the Louis C.K thread I posted this video:

I was wondering how well known this guy is in the US, I'm pretty sure he's not as popular as say Louis C.K and Chris Rock, but have many here heard of him? I think he's hilarious, although I do believe he's based in London now which could explain him flying under the American radar. Just a little curious as before he started appearing on many English panel shows I had never heard of the man.

Edit: Think this one is funnier:

The only person I recognized in the video was Bill Bailey.

I know of Bill Bailey from Black Books but not Reginald.

I like British comedy so i am biased, but even then I am just aware of him and know little about him. I only watched the first video, but he seems alright nothing spectacular though.

@WhyBeAre said:

I like British comedy so i am biased, but even then I am just aware of him and know little about him. I only watched the first video, but he seems alright nothing spectacular though.

I think he's very consistent, pretty much every appearance he makes he brings along the same humour and there's always some brilliance buried in there.

I should've linked this instead now, it has McNulty from The Wire presenting!

I'm going to have to find some more of his stand-up.

I've never heard of him. He's OK I guess, probably not someone I would sit down and watch.

@PeasantAbuse said:

I've never heard of him. He's OK I guess, probably not someone I would sit down and watch.

I haven't seen his stand up stuff yet just him on panel shows where he always blends in well, my friend told me one of his DVDs is absolutely hilarious so I'm pretty excited to watch that!

Why is he in U.K.? Is he like the token american black man or something? He's funny. I liked how he asked questions and had fun.

I'm American and I think I saw this guy on an episode of QI once. Most Americans don't watch British panel shows though.

He's funny, but no where near Louis C.K. or Chris Rock in his pre-shitty film form.

@Claude said:

Why is he in U.K.? Is he like the token american black man or something? He's funny. I liked how he asked questions and had fun.

I really have no idea but he pops up a hell of a lot. Haha I liked the asking questions playfully part too.

@BraveToaster said:

He's funny, but no where near Louis C.K. or Chris Rock in his pre-shitty film form.

I definitely prefer him over Louis C.K. - not because Louis isn't funny but I just prefer the style of humour. I loved one of Chris Rock's stand up, something about him being at an ATM and looking over his shoulders not for black people, but for n******.

stop looking at me dirty foreigner. get a job.

@TehBuLL said:

stop looking at me dirty foreigner. get a job.

Oh you.

@Sooty: Thanks for posting this. Never heard of the guy before, but he's damn funny. I didn't realize how much I really needed a laugh.

I agree, fuck Batman.
Also Louis CK is freaking funny, but I'm not the least bit surprised that he's divorced. What i wanna see is how much his daughters will hate him when he's like 70.

Reginald D Hunter is a sensational comedian, and even when he's making very easy jokes about race and such, his incredibly droll style just never fails to crack me up.

Also, I'm glad Bill Bailey is getting some love in this thread, but if you Americans have never heard of Paul Merton, then fuck you and learn some fucking comedians who aren't American.

@Raakill: No problem!

@Atlas said:

Reginald D Hunter is a sensational comedian, and even when he's making very easy jokes about race and such, his incredibly droll style just never fails to crack me up.

Also, I'm glad Bill Bailey is getting some love in this thread, but if you Americans have never heard of Paul Merton, then fuck you and learn some fucking comedians who aren't American.

Bill Bailey is great, bet a few people recognise him because of Hot Fuzz too!

I never used to like Paul Merton much but now I think he's brilliant.

I'm not a yank, so apparently there's no point in me replying to this, but the only one I knew of in any of those videos was the guy from the wire.

@Claude: I've heard a few stand up comics say it's a lot easier for a comedian in the UK. A lot of the work is in the London area, but if they go on tour they have much shorter travelling times between cities than (e.g.) the US, also the TV appearance times can be longer than some of the US shows, getting them more exposure. Comedy is very popular here, we have the Edinburgh Fringe Festival which showcases new talent, a lot of the pubs and nightlife in Edinburgh just switches over to comedy for a week or so. Tour DVDs are extremely popular (on a par with music DVDs), usually over 1.25 hours of standup plus extras, so they're good presents for Christmas. Other comedians who either live here or visit frequently include Rich Hall (US), Stuart Francis (Canada), and Tim Minchin (Australia) - he played the Royal Albert Hall recently.

I consider myself well versed in the world of stand up comedy in America and have never heard of this man. He carries less popularity in the US than Louis CK's pinky finger. So he is literally a nobody in this country.

@crusader8463 said:

I'm not a yank, so apparently there's no point in me replying to this, but the only one I knew of in any of those videos was the guy from the wire.

That's okay, none of those guys are all that popular outside of the UK it would seem!

He's funny, but I've never heard him before. Thus, not even near Louis CK or Chris Rock's level. Rock however, has been hidden under one for quite some time lately.

People think Louis C.K and Chris Rock are funny? wtf

@Bobby_The_Great said:

He's funny, but I've never heard him before. Thus, not even near Louis CK or Chris Rock's level. Rock however, has been hidden under one for quite some time lately.

I don't think how well known someone or something is contributes to how good it must be. Take shows like The Wire, far less popular than stuff like House but one show is far above the quality of the other.

Same with video games...everything really!

@Rudyftw said:

People think Louis C.K and Chris Rock are funny? wtf

I like Chris Rock but haven't seen too much of his stuff, but not so much Louis C.K, just too much filth for me personally.

I think Reg came to the UK as a theatre student and just sort of forgot to leave again. He's incredibly funny though, and his show "Pride and Prejudice... and Niggas" Is absolutely hilarious (It won a Writers Guild Award for comedy). Try to find it, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I've seen Reginal D. Hunter live and he was brilliant. Clever, thoughtful and increadably crude

If people are arguing for Chris Rock and Louis C.K. as the paragons of American comedy, we've got a lot of work to do. C.K.'s almost a better philosopher than he is a comedian, and I don't know if I've ever really laughed at his stuff. And, well, CHris Rock used to be pretty awesome, but even at his prime he wasn't as good as his contemporaries.

Now, Lewis Black, Christopher Titus, Jim Gaffigan, Brian Regan...then we're GETTING somewhere. Not sure I've seen a comedy routine I enjoyed as much as Dave Chappelle's Killin' Them Softly, though. First half of Ralphie May's Girth of a Nation with the "Open Water" bit was pretty awesome, but the rest of his stuff falls right into the "too much filth" category.

As for your friend Hunter, he's pretty funny, but I have absolutely no idea what his solo material would be like. He's playing off the other hosts really nicely. So, basically, what I'm saying is if he had a podcast, I'd probably listen to it.

I enjoy spotting him every now and then on panel shows and appearances such as this:

I'm in the UK and I know him. He is outstanding. His slow but effective deliver of his speech with his wit is just hilarious.

@Sooty: Sorry, I meant level of "popularity" not level of quality.

Never heard of him, but he's pretty comical.

I've never heard of Louis CK (live in the uk), but Reg Hunters stand-up is alright, not brilliant. There are lots of brit comedians who do better work.

@mcfizzlejizz: Haha, I liked the other vids but that just won me over.

@Little_Socrates said:

As for your friend Hunter, he's pretty funny, but I have absolutely no idea what his solo material would be like. He's playing off the other hosts really nicely. So, basically, what I'm saying is if he had a podcast, I'd probably listen to it.

He's pretty good, I watched his newest DVD last night and it had some great stuff, he's on this show a lot too which is basically 10-20 minutes of stand up with 2-3 (usually) comedians appearing each time.

I like him whenever I see him. I think he works in England because he can really overplay the awkward racist angle. I think a lot of American comedians find it more accomadating over here. Bill Hicks one of my heroes seemed to be much more loved in the UK than the US.

@Little_Socrates said:

If people are arguing for Chris Rock and Louis C.K. as the paragons of American comedy, we've got a lot of work to do. C.K.'s almost a better philosopher than he is a comedian, and I don't know if I've ever really laughed at his stuff.

That's funny, I generally don't find C.K. to be nearly as insightful (or as funny for that matter) as guys like Hicks or Carlin. I haven't seen his show though, so maybe his skills shine better outside of standup (which is kinda the way I've always felt about Seinfeld and some other comedians).

Funniest show on BBC. Not saying much though, is it.  
 
He's pretty funny too. 

I've never heard of him

@Loose said:

@Little_Socrates said:

If people are arguing for Chris Rock and Louis C.K. as the paragons of American comedy, we've got a lot of work to do. C.K.'s almost a better philosopher than he is a comedian, and I don't know if I've ever really laughed at his stuff.

That's funny, I generally don't find C.K. to be nearly as insightful (or as funny for that matter) as guys like Hicks or Carlin. I haven't seen his show though, so maybe his skills shine better outside of standup (which is kinda the way I've always felt about Seinfeld and some other comedians).

I totally agree they're better than Louis. I haven't seen the show either, so I really can't say about that, but C.K. for me is just one guy who's got a couple really great opinions and should focus on becoming more insightful.

This guy is hilarious. Thank you.

@Claude said:

Why is he in U.K.? Is he like the token american black man or something? He's funny. I liked how he asked questions and had fun.

I think you're supposed to say token african american black man, dude. Jeez.

Woah, this guy is genuinely funny.

@dudeglove: Because here in the UK we all love Queens don't we? HEY-O!....god that joke was poor.

As for Reginald I do like the guy's stand-up. It makes a change from the norm we're usually subjected to here in the UK.

@Claude said:

Why is he in U.K.? Is he like the token american black man or something? He's funny. I liked how he asked questions and had fun.

he moved here quite a while ago iirc

I think he's really funny! I can't wait until me, you and my mom go to see him live! ^ ^

You can only have your eye on so many of us because many of us are large and very fat.

@Erzs said:

I think he's really funny! I can't wait until me, you and my mom go to see him live! ^ ^

@_@

I've never heard of him, Is he from the southern US?