From Cosby to Keaton, a who's who of laughs

Classic and contemporary comedy were cited in the survey.
By TRACEY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
The results are in. Valley residents have revealed what cracks them up.
Would you believe it's Chevy Chase? Well, he does star in the top movies that were chosen.
But the real king of comedy in the Mahoning Valley is Bill Cosby. Other top vote-getters include Carol Burnett and "All In the Family."
Respondents to a survey printed in The Vindicator on April 1 listed their favorite funny movies, TV shows, comic actors/actresses and stand-up comedians.
They suggested 123 different movies as the funniest they've ever seen, but the majority of votes went to National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies, a series of movies that include "Vacation," "Christmas Vacation" and "European Vacation." The movies, starring Chevy Chase, depict the vacation mishaps of the Griswold family. A fourth movie, "Vegas Vacation," was not done by National Lampoon.
Second place
The second most votes went to "Caddy Shack," a 1980 golf comedy featuring Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield and Ted Knight.
"Some Like it Hot," a classic starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, came in a close third. Other favorites that garnered several votes included "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "The Jerk."
Of the 88 TV shows suggested by readers, top honors for the funniest went to "All in the Family," the 1970s sitcom that revolved around bigoted, opinionated, blue-collar worker Archie Bunker and his family. "I Love Lucy" came in second, and "Everybody Loves Raymond" was third. Other high-scoring favorites were "The Honeymooners," "Seinfeld" and "The Andy Griffith Show."
Survey respondents chose Carol Burnett as funniest actress or actor, with Don Knotts coming in second and Steve Martin taking third. The Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy and Jim Carrey also received a high number of votes.
Comedians
Finally, of the 83 stand-up comedians receiving votes, Vindicator readers overwhelmingly chose Bill Cosby as the funniest. Jerry Seinfeld took second place and Ellen DeGeneres came in third. George Carlin, Chris Rock and Whoopi Goldberg all tied for fourth place.
The survey indicates that Funny Farm owner Dave Robich's comment that "families rule" in Youngstown does seem to hold true.
Several respondents noted that they prefer comedians who don't use foul language. Al Novak of Youngstown wrote that his video/DVD collection includes classics with W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, the Little Racals, and Buster Keaton. He said the best part about his collection is his children can watch the movies with "absolutely no fear of "R" ratings or nudity."