I find it odd and kind of disturbing that most of the people mentioned in this thread are dead. Some have been dead a long time. And of those that are living, many are retired and don't perform much any more.

What does this mean? Was there really a Golden Age of comedy that is now past and gone? Is there nothing worth watching any more except old reruns? Is there nothing funny about the world we live in now? Have we run out of funny things to say about it?

I think we are cheating ourselves if we don't pay any attention to the younger comedians who are still performing.

The main reason I find this thread disappointing is that, by concentrating on the old-timers, it has told me very little that I don't already know.