50 Women Who Make Me Laugh

I love to laugh. From classic sitcoms, movies to stand up comedians, laughter is the best medicine. I want to post a little tribute to some of the women in comedy who make me laugh in some way or another. Some of these women are well known and have their place in American and British comedy history, others are characters who I just find funny. In fact, I threw in a few men who rather famously portrayed women, such as Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in Some Like it Hot, and Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie. These are really funny "women" and I felt they deserved to be mentioned here. I hope these photos make you smile as you recall some of their famously funny stuff!

Who are your favorite female stars of comedy? Feel free to add your comments...I'll be happy to expand my list!


Left: The enchanting Agnes Moorehead as Endora in Bewitched, Right: Miss Carol Channing, one of the best unsuspecting joke-tellers on stage.

Left: the ditsy Betty White, Right: Dustin Hoffman as "Dorothy Michaels" in Tootsie.

Left: Silly Barbara Eden in I Dream of Jeannie, Right: everybody's mom, Doris Roberts

Left: Brit-Com writer and actress Dawn French, Right: Slapstick funny girl Carol Burnett

Left: Gilda Radner as Rosanrosannadanna, Right: Fran Dresher as Fran Fine in The Nanny

Left: Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stevens in Bewitched, Right: Kaye Ballard and Eve Arden

Left: Eva Gabor (with Eddie Albert) as Lisa Douglas in Green Acres, Right: My favorites: Jane Russell as Miss Dorothy Shaw & Marilyn Monroe as Miss Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Left: "Say Good night Gracie" Gracie Allen (with George Burns), Right: Jane Leeves as Daphne from Frasier


Left: Kim Catrell as Samantha Jones in Sex in the City, Right: Goldie Hawn, from Laugh-In

Left: Dame Judi Dench (with Geoffrey Palmer) as Jean Pargiter in the BritCom As Time Goes By, Right: Joan Rivers

Left: Joanna Lumley (Patsey Stone) and Jennifer Saunders (Edina Monsoon) in Absolutely Fabulous, Right: another great photo of Joanna

Left: Linda Lavin as Alice, Right: Funny no matter what: Lucy and Ethel

Left: LaWanda Page as the tough Aunt Esther in Sanford & Son, Right: Lily Tomlin as Ernestine

Left: Isabell Sanford as Louise Jefferson & Marla Gibbs as the back-talking maid Florence in The Jeffersons, Right: Kim Fields as Regine Hunter in Living Single (remember her as little Tootie in The Facts of Life?)

Left: now this is woman! Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane, Tony Curtis as Josephine & Jack Lemmon as Daphne in the best comedy movie ever: Some Like it Hot

Left: Marge Simpson deserves to be on this list, Right: Mollie Sugdon as the sassy Mrs Slocombe in BritCom Are Your Being Served?

Left: nobody knows her as Natalie Schafer, but she was "Lovey"- Mrs Thurston Howell, in Gilligan's Island Right: Mary Tyler Moore in her show

Left: All but forgotten Marlo Thomas, as Ann Marie in That Girl (I always liked her hair and boots), Right: Martin Lawrence as Big Momma

Left: Prunella Scales as Sybil Fawlty in the BritCom Fawlty Towers, Right: Legendary Shirley MacClane as Endora was the highlight in the lukewarm film version of Bewitched

Left: The Hysterical Phyllis Diller, Right: Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth Bucket in BritCom Keeping Up Appearances

Left: Rosanne Barr- crass, trashy and always makes you laugh, Right: Suzanne Somers as the dippy dumb blonde Chrissy Snow in Three's Company

Left: Vallerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern in Mary Tyler Moore and Rhoda, Right: Tracy Ullman

Left: Vickie Lawrence made the role of Mama famous on The Carol Burnett Show, Right: Wendy Richards (with Mollie Sugdon) as Miss Shirley Brahms in BritCom Are You Being Served?

Who are your favorite female stars of comedy? Feel free to add your comments...I'll be happy to expand my list!
- Rick Rockhill