List of humorists

A humorist (American English) or humourist (British English) is an intellectual who uses humor in writing or public speaking. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business entertainers whose business is to make an audience laugh, though it is possible for some persons to occupy both roles in the course of their careers.

List

Notable humorists include:

• Ada Roach
• Alexander Posey
• André Franquin (1924–1997) French comic book author of Spirou & Fantasio and creator of the Marsupilami.
• Anita Loos
• Anne Roumanoff
• Aziz Nesin
• Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), as a newspaper editor and printer, became one of America's first humorists, most famously for Poor Richard's Almanack published under the pen name "Richard Saunders".
• Bennett Cerf (1898–1971) one of the founders of the publishing firm Random House, known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearances lecturing across the United States, and for his television appearances on the panel game show What's My Line?
• Carlos Loiseau
• Carolyn Wells
• Carrie Carlton (1834–1868)
• Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) writer for Vanity Fair, Vogue and other magazines, playwright, and a close friend of Benchley, was known for her biting, satirical wit.
• Eric Omondi
• Erma Bombeck (1927–1996) newspaper columnist and writer of 15 books who specialized in humorously describing midwestern suburban home life.
• Fanny Fern
• Florence Foresti
• Florence King
• Fran Lebowitz (born 1950) writes sardonic social commentary from a New York City point of view.
• Frances Miriam Whitcher
• Gary Owens (1934–2015) was a long-time afternoon radio show host in Los Angeles.
• George Ade (1866–1944) American writer and newspaper columnist.
• George S. Kaufmann (1889–1961) was a playwright, theatre director and producer, and drama critic. He wrote two Broadway musicals for the Marx Brothers: The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers.
• Gina Barreca
• Grace King
• H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) journalist, satirist, cultural critic and scholar of American English. Known as the "Sage of Baltimore", he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the 20th century. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians and contemporary movements. He is known for dubbing the Scopes trial "the Monkey Trial".
• Helen Rowland
• Ibn Sukkara
• Jamel Debbouze
• James Gillray (1756–1815) father of British political cartoon known for his wit.
• James Thurber (1894–1961) cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright, and celebrated wit, best known for his cartoons and short stories published mainly in The New Yorker.
• Jane Goude
• Jean Paul
• Jean Shepherd (1921–1999) was a radio and literature humorist best known for writing the book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash which was later adapted to the 1983 movie A Christmas Story.
• Jippensha Ikku (1765–1861) was a prolific Japanese writer and humorist who helped establish the Kokkeibon genre.
• John Henry Faulk
• John Neal (1793–1876) American critic, activist, lecturer, and writer who played a pivotal role in the development of satirical and humorous short stories between the 1820s and 1840s.
• Chief John Smith
• Jyotindra Dave
• Lao She
• Margaret Cameron(1867–1947), novelist, short story writer, playwright, and author of non-fiction works related to mysticism.
• Marietta Holley
• Mario Benedetti
• Mark Twain (pen name of Samuel Langhorn Clemens, 1835–1910) was widely considered the "greatest humorist" the U.S. ever produced, as noted in his New York Times obituary. It's a distinction that garnered wide agreement, as William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature".
• Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
• Mencius
• Michèle Laroque
• Moin Akhter (1950–2011) Pakistani TV and radio comedian.
• Molly Ivins
• Muriel Robin
• Niní Marshall
• Noël Coward (1899–1973) was a playwright, composer, director, actor and singer.
• Omar Sy
• Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish poet and playwright known for his biting wit.
• Nora Ephron
• P. G. Wodehouse (1881–1975) one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century.
• Peg Bracken
• Phyllis McGinley
• Robert Benchley (1889–1945) best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor, began writing humorously for The Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, and for many years wrote essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker.
• Roberto Fontanarrosa
• Ruth McEnery Stuart
• Ruth McKenney
• Sarah Vowell
• Seba Smith (1792–1868) American writer and editor, most famous for his editorial character, Jack Downing.
• Sholom Aleichem(1859–1916) pen name of the leading Yiddish author and playwright Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, on whose stories the musical Fiddler on the Roof was based.
• Simo Puupponen
• Tabitha Gilman Tenney
• Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) author known for comic fantasy novels, most notably the Discworld series of 41 novels. He was strongly influenced by Wodehouse, Sharpe, Jerome, Coren, and Twain.
• Veronica Geng
• Wahome Mutahi