There's a long list of contenders, so I'll just stick a few up to get you started. I'm not looking for Academy Awards in tearjerkers; just good old fashioned belly laugh-inducers.
Stan Laurel
The British half of the great double act. Imperious timing, a gigglesome grin and 107 features, shorts and cameos.
Charlie Chaplin| Click to see full-size image. |
Legend has it he shared a cabin on the boat to America with Stan Laurel. The definitive silent film actor (sorry Buster Keaton)
Leslie Nielsen
Airplane! The Naked Gun trilogy. Dracula: Dead and Loving It. A seemingly insurmountable portfolio of playing dry slapstick with killer lines.
Will Ferrell
Prolific. Anchorman must be the most quoted comedy of its generation.
Peter Sellers
Leslie Nielsen also played the Pink Panther, but there can only ever be one of those.
Jim Carrey| Click to see full-size image. |
Boundless energy. You'd think there were three of him on a relay. He made the appalling Ace Ventura: Pet Detective into one of the funniest films of its time.
Robin Williams| Click to see full-size image. |
Perhaps the most open performer. You got him mind, body and soul in front of the camera and that's why you kept coming back for more. Screen presence aplenty and the actor you'd eagerly wait for in his cameo appearances.
Would you choose none of the above? Who'd be your top silly actor? Would you put an actress higher?
Over to you.
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