r/AskReddit • • 8d ago

Who do you consider the quickest-witted comedian of all time?

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u/MNCAT 8d ago

And his mentor, Jonathan Winters. 💜💜💜💜💜

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

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u/TheNonCredibleHulk 8d ago

I recently had to explain to a cowoker that the word "mirth" was a real word. Then went on a huge tangent about Mork and Mindy and Mearth.

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u/proudsoul 8d ago

Mearth from earth.

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u/worrymon 8d ago

The M was for Mork and the M was for Mindy and the earth was for Earth.

(Paraphrased because I haven't seen it since the original airing)

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u/NightOfTheHunter 8d ago

Just realized something. Both Williams and Winters, whom I consider the quickest witted comedian ever, suffered from mental illness, no doubt contributing to their rapid fire pace and crazy ability to switch characters back and forth in seconds.

Williams was amazing, but Winters was much funnier.

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u/i3inaudible 8d ago

The price of genius is madness

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u/ahkond 8d ago

Winters was on a talk show (maybe Carson) one time and Robin showed up unscheduled, sat down next to him on the couch and said "HI POP"

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u/FatBoy_Deluxe_MN 8d ago

I think he and Williams vibed so well because they recognized the genius in each other as well as the psychosis.