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They say the 1st comedian in the world(or at least in America) was Charlie Case in 19th century

Posted by theoneKris on 2/19/2026, 3:08 pm

1st stand up comedian(thought to have been a mulatto) in the world was Charlie Case(photo below) was an American vaudeville performance artist who delivered the first known example of stand-up comedy in the late 1880s, delivering humorous monologues directly to the audience while standing in one spot without props or costumes.

Many historians credit Charley Case, a Black American with inventing the modern style of stand-up. While the origins of stand-up comedy are multifaceted, historical evidence strongly supports that Black American performers played a foundational role in inventing and shaping the art form.

There are however key points regarding the role of Black Americans in the invention of stand-up comedy.

Re: They say the 1st comedian in the world(or at least in America) was Charlie Case in 19th century

Posted by gm on 2/19/2026, 5:07 pm, in reply to "They say the 1st comedian in the world(or at least in America) was Charlie Case in 19th century"

"They say the 1st comedian in the world(or at least America) was Charlie Case in 19th century.."
Nahhh, this makes no sense, especially in the 19th century? Nah!!

Even in Africa, before the slave trade, there have always been "stand up comedians", in terms of standing before a group of people and entertaining them. The Irish were famous for this!
Maybe labeling it "stand up comedy" is what's new, but that art form has been around ever since.

Listen Mr TheOne, I think joining with Kris (theOnekris?) to post this did you in - you were bamboozled, taken, checkmated etc. He made you believe he discovered & labeled it as stand-up comedy, paid a couple historians, and used a mulatto to make the point.
Now you need to apologize to the LLC Board!

Re: They say the 1st comedian in the world(or at least in America) was Charlie Case in 19th century

Posted by theone on 2/20/2026, 5:27 am, in reply to "Re: They say the 1st comedian in the world(or at least in America) was Charlie Case in 19th century"

"""Maybe labeling it "stand up comedy" is what's new, but that art form has been around ever since""""

Great observation, totally agreed, and thats what I thought since I clearly wrote in parentheses(at least in America), not the world. I've disagreed on the spot that Charlie Case was the 1st comedian in the world coz thats impossible, but "maybe" he is the first in America in terms of the "Stand-Up" back in the late 19th century.

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