Surely Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the greatest comedic actress of all time, right?

Actually, she sucks balls but her daddy is/was a billionaire. That helped. She acts with her hair and her bottom teeth. Not funny.

Good God no OP.

Did you fall and hit your head?

I 💕 her. Such a good vibe!

I can think of one who could make it anywhere

[...]

Her father’s money had nothing to do with her success. Her parents were divorced when she was a year old and she grew up in DC with her mother and doctor stepfather. Gérard Louis-Dreyfus didn’t get her in to northwestern or on SNL.

She's not really an actress. She's a mediocre sitcom/sketch comedian with marginal talent and little charisma. If she were all that great she would have headlined at least one hit movie. Instead....crickets.

Soooooooooooooooooooooo many other choices. She was funny, but one note, as Elaine. There are at least 100 funnier actors.

Her comedic timing is impeccable. Perhaps not as successful, but in terms of ability I would argue that Lisa Kudrow and Katherine O’ Hara are equally talented.

Patsy and Edina together could easily overpower her.

'in American sit-coms'

She is fearless. Like Catherine O'Hara. They don't care how bad/ridiculous they are if it works for the character.

[...]

I like her but greatest is a stretch.

Tracey Ullman has more talent in her little finger than JLD has in her whole bloated head. I find her smug and insufferable.

I've always loved Jane Krakowski.

I just finished watching VEEP yesterday. (I had been binge watching it for the past month.)

The casting, acting & timing are even more impressive to me now than when I watched them the first time around.

But she was part of an equally outstanding ensemble.

To call her the all-time best comedic actress is REALLY stretching it.

JLD is very funny and managed in VEEP to portray a woman who is cold, manipulative, charming, funny, smart, sexy, atrocious, vindictive and petty. She's very talented and anyone who says she isn't had better be Tracey Ullman herself.

I don't find JLD charming in anything I've seen her. There's a coldness/calculation behind her acting that radiates no warmth whatsoever.

I would definitely go with Lisa Kudrow. JLD mugs too much.

She’s definitely among the all-time top comedic performers - male or female - on American television.

She only seems like a master thespian compared to the truly awful “acting” of everyone on [italic]Friends[/italic].

The closest I guess would be Betty White, Bea Arthur, and Lucille Ball.

Betty and Lucille have both been in three (Life with Elizabeth, MTM and Golden Girls for Betty, and I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, and Here's Lucy for Lucille). So they're not just close by those terms: they've equaled her. In fact, Betty's surpassed her because she also did Hot in Cincinnati.

I can't believe there's barely any love for Mary Tyler Moore here.

And Jennifer Saunders is much more talented than JLD, as she not only is a better comedienne, she also creates and writes.

Tracy Ullman might be one of the meanest human beings on earth, but she, too, is far more talented than JLD. JLD only works well in a sitcom with great writers and great supporting actors. On her own, she is empty.

Sorry to hear Tracy U isn't nice. Her Ginny Tillman remains one of my most favorite characters ever on TV.

"I'm the shrew...FINE. I'M the SHREW!"

I love JLD.

JLD wouldn't rate in the top 20 greatest comedic actresses, let alone claim the top stop.

Wait, Tracey Ullman is a meanie???

I don’t believe that about Tracey Ullman.

[quote]Even the least notable of her shows, Old Christine, was an Emmy-winning success that lasted five seasons on a major network.

That was most definitely NOT the "least notable" of her shows.

She's not an actress , she's just a comedian but Lisa Lampinelli is HILARIOUS at times.

Both Rachel Bloom and Maria Bamford are far more naturally talented than JDL. And don't even get me started on comparisons to Mary Tyler Moore, whom JDL doesn't hold a candle to and who is the gold standard for "comedic actress" on TV. JDL does have the "warhorse" label on her side, however.

I love her, but I also can't forgive her for handing over the Veep reins to David mandel

Ullman is well-known as one of the most unpleasant people in the business. Remember how she sued The Simpsons for as much money as she could saying that The Simpsons "suckled at her tit?" And how almost every producer she worked with either quit or transferred to another position? She's basically Scott Rudin as a woman.

It's why her career went nowhere in the U.S. When you viciously insult people like Jim Brooks, you lose all your friends. And your agents.

personally, I thought Alison LaPlaca was underrated; always solid, never got that huge hit

That clip of LaPlaca is great.

I’d only add Jane Curtain to the mix. She doesn’t get as much credit because she’s usually the straight man as it were, but that takes talent.

[quote]I’d only add Jane Curtain to the mix.

C-U-R-T-I-N.

She's not a drapery.

I think part of JLD's success is that most people in the biz seem to like her -- she's not (or doesn't appear) to be a typical TV dragon lady like Roseanne, Cybill Shepherd or Julianna Marguiles. Tina Fey based Liz Lemon (slovenly, petty, sarcastic) on JLD. She's been married to the same guy for 40+ years with two seemingly normal kids--no feuds, break-downs, or addiction struggles. As R17 mentioned she excels in an ensemble and has believable chemistry with all of her co-stars and doesn't try to hog all of the credit or the limelight. Plus she never got fat, which you'd think would be enough for universal adoration from DL.

I thought Tina fey based Liz Lemon on tina Fey

What about Kaley Cuoco ?

OP you are inCORRigible!

Lisa Kudrow and Catherine O'Hara are the two best comedic actresses period, in my book.

I never got the appeal of Veep. I watched the first two seasons and thought yeah she's dumb. They're making fun of Sarah Palin. I get it. Tina Fey did it better. I lost interest and stopped watching.

I tried watching Veep but it was annoying compared to The Thick of It, which was great.

She's never done legitimate theater, has she?

[quote]They're making fun of Sarah Palin.

No, they weren't.

[quote]I get it.

No, you don't.

I guess not then r46. As I said I only watched the first two years. It was a dumb woman Veep on a show that started right after Sarah Palin ran. I think there is perhaps a little correlation there.

[...]

and stupidity.

They're not remotely similar.

[...]

[...]

I heard Julia on Howard Stern’s show a few years ago and she was totally insufferable. No sense of humor. He was completely nice to her but she was just running up her own ass. I was really turned off to her after that.

[quote] Ullman is well-known as one of the most unpleasant people in the business.

She is not. She’s totally beloved. I’ve know people who have written for her and dealt with her. Not a single bad word.

[quote] It's why her career went nowhere in the U.S.

Are you on crack? She’s a seven time Emmy winner. lol

[quote] Tracey Ullman has more talent in her little finger than JLD has in her whole bloated head. I find her smug and insufferable.

Tracey is great. I have to laugh at this troll saying she’s mean. She’s one of the kindest and funniest people in the business. Someone is seriously jealous.

Yeah she wasn't very nice on Marc Maron's show either. Kept questioning does he make money from podcasting? How?

She was such an ingrate at Saturday Night Live too. She was plucked from a college sketch show and put on national TV yet makes a point to talk about how miserable the whole experience was. Lorne Michaels has said it bothers him that she's one of the most succesful women to ever be on the show yet has no appreciation for it giving her her start. (yes they did fire her boyfriend and keep her on another season which must have sucked but the relationship lasted.)

7 Emmys for a variety category with few competitors.

When she first arrived she seemed destined for major stardom. Like Carol Burnett type stardom. Her show always just had a niche audience.

To think when she first arrived she had a pop song hit video playing on MTV and a supporting role she aced in a Meryl Streep film. I thought she'd be bigger.

[quote] 7 Emmys for a variety category with few competitors.

Honey, just sit down. She literally beat Letterman and the entire boys club. You were already outed as both a liar and an idiot. Here’s one of Tracey’s 12 American Comedy Awards you can shove up your ass.

I agree, OP. She does it with attitude, which is great.

I hate the OP SO ... MUCH .... flames .... flames, on the side of my face .... BURNING, heaving breaths!!

I have the talent and breast size of 10 JLDs combined, OP

Christine was the better show for her talents, she wan’t so locked into a stereotyped character with a narrow range and much more the star instead of being in an ensemble piece.

From what I can tell what would hold her back from any title like this is she doesn’t write her own material unlike a Saunders, Ullman, Goldberg or Burnett. She is just a cipher for others.

Yes, JLD is right up there, and you can tell because every sitcom actress from the ‘90s on ripped off her delivery style as Elaine.

R7, she did very well at the movies in Nicole Holofcener’s Enough Said.

She also has a hot, funny son.

Hot funny sons are part of the equation too? I think Burnett only had daughters.

Lorne can suck it. I hate how he has to have his name credited on every damn thing SNL people do after they leave. Does he need everyone to kiss his ass?

How about saying "JLD is a wonderful talent and we're glad to have been there for the start of her career." No pouting necessary.

I'd say she's funnier than Lucille Ball which is a high bar, but not Gilda Radner. By the way, and speaking of Shelley Hack before, I did like her in the motion picture Troll. I seem to recall her playing a playful wood nymph. Weird Italian movie.

I do enjoy JLD, especially in VEEP.

I'm not inclined to say one comedian is the best of all, although she'd make my list of notable comedians.

[quote]Remember how she sued The Simpsons for as much money as she could saying that The Simpsons "suckled at her tit?"

Her joke was "I breast-fed those little devils," it was at the Emmys and easy to look up.

Ullman sued Fox because the contract she had with the Simpsons cartoons for her show should have given her some profits from the show and merchandise.

You say she was basically blackballed because of this but she was working on a film directed by James L. Brooks AS this suit was going on.

Nothing can beat Lisa Kudrow in 'The Comeback' and 'Web Therapy'

Joanna Lumley

No, R70, nothing and no one. Kudrow is phenomenal.

As for R53/R56, I have NEVER heard nor seen JLD on ANY interview or talk show be in any way rude. She seems to be the epitome of a pro. And SNL sucked then.

[quote] Wait, Tracey Ullman is a meanie???

Ask Germaine Greer.

JLD has always annoyed the shit out of me. She runs far distant to icons like Ball, Moore, and O'Hara.

Veep is a comfortable, run of the mill American sitcom compared to The Thick of it, completely different animals

Lisa Kudrow is awful. The sound of her voice makes Fran Drescher sound like Maria Callas. None of those [italic]Friends[/italic] bitches could act. Pull your head out of your ass.

You'rte one stupid cunt, R76. And you're solidly in the minority when it comes to Kudrow. All your taste is IN your ass.

I'VE HAD SUFFICENT .

You'rte one stupid cunt,

oh, the irony

A typo doesn't change the fact that your taste is still solidly in your ass, nor is there any irony involved, R79. Now, do go fuck off.

She's the poor man's Joan Davis.

No, she's not, R81. Not remotely. What a terrible analogy.

R81 thinks having the same hair color is an analogy.

She and Debra Messing are the best.

For American actresses I nominate Shelley Long, since no one has yet. Both influential and underrated, in my opinion - her performance as Diane was a true balancing act.

Problem was, r85, Diane was all that she could do.

She basically saved Seinfeld. Test audiences didn’t like the all-dude dynamic. But they brought her in and the rest is history. But not because she carried the show. She just added that needed ingredient to make the soup work.

And while she is the central character on VEEP, she is surrounded by a lot of talent. THere are many episodes where she comes across like a supporting actress.

I love her, but have no illusions about her place in history. But she deserves a few bumps for the “Elaine dance”

“The cooks want to know if you’ll be dancing. They don’t want to miss it”

Margaret Rutherford. Joyce Grenfell. Hattie Jacques. Patricia Routledge.

No on all counts, R88.

Uh, that would be a no.

*

[quote]I'VE HAD SUFFICENT .

Double "oh, dear."

R84 Lol, thanks for the great laugh, and breaking the tension by putting in a ringer.

[R88] Good ones! Comparing JLD to Patricia Routledge is like comparing a Pinto to a Rolls Royce. Routledge is a bona fide comedic genius whereas JLD is adequate at best. JLD tries painfully hard but her work isn't inspired - a huge difference.

British sitcoms of the Judi Dench/Routledge variety are so deadly that their talents are wasted.

JLD's prowess is of a very high order when it comes to comedic actresses. VEEP was NOT a shit show. "As Time Goes By"? Cringeworthy.

I've been rewatching Old Christine late at night on TVLand. Julia was fantastic on that show, and so was the writing. The supporting cast was great and had a lot of chemistry together. I loved seeing Julia and Wanda Sykes as a duo.

Clark Gregg was so cute in Old Christine. Is he bi?

No, he isn't, R97.

R98 So he’s all gay?

No, he's not, R99. He's married with kids and years ago he fucked a friend of mine--a female friend.

You can talk up JDL and her middlebrow shows all you like but it still doesn't up her talent quotient. She's wholly mediocre and unremarkable. Not very talented. At least Shelley Long, a genuine talent, scored several feature comedy hits, which would be impossible with JLD for her lack of charisma and one-note delivery. The mugging, the hair, the jutting jaw, the bared bottom teeth - these are her tools.

Sure, Jan, R101. I guess JLD garnered all those Emmys and has been on 3 hit shows over 3 decades because of all that mediocrity.

Hard to take seriously anyone who praises Shelley Long at the expense of JLD.

So he’s bi but not ready to come out, R100?

In your feverish masturbatory fantasies, yes, R104.

[R102] Emmys don't make one funny. JDL thrives in the TV industry because she's reliable and connected, not because she's unusually talented. She's a hack.

Hard to take seriously anyone calling JLD a "hack." And yes, I would agree 7 or 8 Emmys don't necessarily signify brilliance, though few would agree with your assessment.

I thought the actor playing the cab driver in What's Up Doc in that scene with Khan and Ryan O'Neal was pretty funny.

He nailed his line "yes, Eunice." brilliantly.

Oh dear, r108....

Julia could never have pulled off Troop Beverley Hills, the Brady movies or the Bette collaborations, Shelly IS a national treasure.

I can't think of one thing JLD does extraordinarily well that would signify great talent. Feel free to like her all you want but don't confuse that kind of identification with talent. She's praised for what she represents - success in TV - not for who she is (a hack who shows up prepared, competently delivers the lines written expressly for her and hit her marks).

Shelly Hack is the only hack around here!

Fuck no, OP.

Bette White has her beat by miles and miles and miles....

I found her funny on Seinfeld due to the writing, and the hapless character of Elaine. And I enjoyed her first post-Seinfeld series.

Haven't gotten into her since then. She seems rather one-note. Can she do characters? Can she do physical comedy? Who knows...

[...]

R111, it's one thing to say she's overrated. To say she's a hack is ludicrous, but you're welcome to your minority assessment.

And yes, R115, JLD can do characters. What is Selina Meyer on VEEP but a character? Did you see her in the movie with Gandolfini? She was also very funny on "Arrested Development."

She's top tier, for sure. Many have mentioned O'Hara, Kudrow, Ullman, Golden Girls, etc. above. I'd throw in Megan Mullally and Jane Lynch, too.

OP is a troll, probably here to add clicks.

SO many threads with silly premises obviously posted to generate outrage, loud dismissals and general "are you kidding?" responses.

No no you’re all wrong. Op is correct. JLD is the greatest. Long live Julia. Hurrah.

Who is this obsessive dude who keeps going on and on about JLD's bottom teeth? LMAO

[R119] Agreed because the notion of labeling JLD "the greatest comedic actress of all time" is patently ludicrous. She wouldn't be in the top 20.

Her Arrested Development character had all the regular tics of every character she’s ever played, she maybe talented, but she severely lacks range.

Your opinion, of course, R122. If there were a nationwide poll conducted of the top 20, you can bet she'd be on it.

[R124] If you polled critics who know acting and "history" stretching back before JLD appeared on the scene in the '90's she wouldn't be on the list. Not by a long shot. We're talking "greatest of all time." Jesus.

[...]

We just watched “Downhill”, with JLD and Will Ferrell. More than anything, it reminded me of a Woody Allen movie. Affluent people in luxurious places, being neurotic and pondering their relationships and moral quandaries.

It was listed as a comedy-drama. Several times I laughed out loud while cringing. But it also struck me.

Anyway, she can do drama, too.

She was BRILLIANT on "VEEP." She deserved every single Emmy she received for that show.

Saw her in a movie with James Gandolfini that was released after his death. She was quite good. She’s by far had the most successful post Seinfeld career. And she beat cancer!

Pretty much, R128.

[quote] I struggle to come up with a handful of comedic actresses who have been in the regular cast of two successful shows, let alone three. The closest I guess would be Betty White, Bea Arthur, and Lucille Ball.

I can think of a few more that have have been in the cast of at least two successful shows: Bea Benaderet, Mary Tyler Moore, Rue McClanahan, Annie Potts and Patricia Heaton. If you include spin offs you could include Isobel Sanford, Esther Rolle, Charlotte Rae, among others.

Imogene Coca was fantastic. Better than most of the people mentioned here.

I could get on board with "greatest female star of SEINFELD" (regular cast) - of all time!

I wish I had hair like her.

R111, a little harsh, but you have a point.

In the pilot of VEEP, secret service come to Selena and tell her the president's taken ill and JLD's reaction is classic Elaine

"Oh, really? hohohohoho"

It's smart of actors to take on roles that emphasize their strengths

The year JLD won for new adventures of old Christine (2006), she had solid competition:

Debra Messing Will & Grace

Jane Kaczmarek Malcolm in the Middle

Lisa Kudrow The Comeback

Stockard Channing Out of Practice

Except for Stockard (the show tanked; she's great), all formidable.

Imogene Coca is one for the truly elder-eldergays, but she really was pretty amazing.

Mary Tyler Moore has individual scenes (both on her show and Dick Van Dyke) that I don't think JLD could have pulled off.

R77, you are enough stupid cunts to keep a gynecologist living in a gated community for the rest of his life.

I watched her [italic]Family Ties[/italic] episode recently. For a Jennifer-centric episode, she wasn't so bad. At least Courteney Cox wasn't around to stink it up. I'm not surprised she wasn't in it; it was the episode where Jennifer got in trouble for a book report on [italic]Huckleberry Finn[/italic].

Mary Tyler Moore

Meghan Mallally

Madeline Kahn

Delta Burke

Cloris Leachman

I like JLD, but Jennifer Elise Cox is the funniest woman I have ever seen. There isn't a single bit of hers that's bombed.

She is delightful!! Funny and gorgeous.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus certainly picked two of the great comic scripts of her time. I do like her, but it's a stretch to say that this makes her the greatest comic actress.

She was so good on Veep.

"you are enough stupid cunts'

Oh, dear, R137.

Not just for that, but for the ultimate in having one's taste up one's ass, you win Dumbest Cunt On A Thread Award.

Congrats!

She had a good run, she should count herself extremely lucky.

Don't know if one of the greatest, but I love Anna Faris and would keep watching whatever dud she's in just for her.

R140, that was hilarious thanks for sharing; I needed a laugh.

Unfunny - to not cause laughter Synonyms: Julia Louis-Dreyfus

"Mary Tyler Moore has individual scenes (both on her show and Dick Van Dyke) that I don't think JLD could have pulled off."

But Mary could have pulled off Elaine, r136?

I kinda liked Watching Ellie, at least in its first season with the 22 minute countdown clock. The retooled version was dreck.

I watched Seinfeld bloopers / outtakes on YouTube. Seemed like JLD was the actor who messed up the most (started laughing). Kramer actor (Michael Richards) seemed like he could have done his scenes in one take. Richards did not seem 100% amused by JLD breaking character. Seemed like he wanted to just get it done and go home.

That said, I did enjoy JLD on Seinfeld. I can see Jerry Seinfeld (as a person) liking her.

"Seemed like JLD was the actor who messed up the most (started laughing)."

We don't need the explanation of what "messed up" means, dear R151. And news flash: breaking character during takes is no indication of a lack of talent.

Never liked her or any of the characters on Seinfeld really. I catch an episode here and there and for the life of me, cannot understand why it was so popular.

R145. I was a student at Northwestern when she was there. She played the role of Sheila, the mother of the severely disabled little girl in Joe Egg (it was an MFA directing project). She was hilarious and heart-breaking—sometimes both at the same time. A year or two later she played Mary in an off-Loop production of Merrily We Roll Along (which was better than the Broadway production—I saw both) and she had solid musical theatre chops and found a depth to the character that is not there in the writing. While I love her TV work, I’ve always been a bit sorry she hadn’t done more drama, whether onstage or in film—the film with Gandolfini showed she could still do it. And I only knew her from her stage work at NU, so my admiration for her work is not a friend’s loyalty.

Was pleasantly surprised to see her in today's episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier. She was giving Kathryn Hahn-levels of deviousness.

JLD is the most talented comic actress to come along since Lily Tomlin.

R23 Betty White starred in even a 5th sitcom, her second already in the 1950s: A Date with the Angels.

R156 Christ, we’re not going to have that tortured discussion yet again are we?

Luv Ullmann always cracks me up—especially in Cries and Whispers

Never saw a frame of Old Christine until this weekend. Marathon on Logo. Six or seven episodes and honestly laugh free. Clearly not shot before an audience or they just didn't laugh because there's a bad laugh track. How the Hell did this run 88 episodes? It was genuinely bad.

I love all the female cast on 'Web Therapy' - hilarious.

JLD is one note.

J L-D is a boss.

All her characters are played the same way. I really liked her in Seinfeld, though.

Tracey Ullmann and Jan Hooks

Madeline Kahn was very funny.

r153 what a humourless cunt you are. i bet you are a blast to be around.

[quote] Selina Meyer is the single greatest performance of comedic television ever. Period. Nothing before or since has come close.

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO

Carol

MOTHERFUCKING

Burnett

would

like

a

word

Those who are tardy do not get fruit cup.

R42- hands down.

Would SO take Madeline Khan, Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Gilda Radner, Julie Brown, Elizabeth Banks, Mo Collins, Amy Poehler, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Cheri Oteri,Kim Wayans, Rachel Dratch, Mary Tyler Moore, ANY of the Golden Girls, Ana Gastayer, Jan Hooks Tiffany Haddish, Melissa McCarthy, Chelsea Handler and Jackée Harry over wet blanket Julia Louis-Dreyfus any day!

Cloris Leechman and Jackée are more fun to watch!

I would never want to spend time with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She'd be a total nag and a killjoy.

I think Regina Hall in the Scary Movie movies was very funny. Best part of those movies.