Comedian

A comedian (m), comedienne (f), or comic, is a comic performer who entertains an audience by making them laugh. This might be through joke or amusing situations, or acting the fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy. A comedian who stands alone and addresses an audience directly is called a stand-up comic. A comedian can be distinguished from a clown because clowns most often use slapstick, wear costumes and makeup, and engage in buffoonery, whereas comedians most often focus on a more verbal style of humor, telling jokes. A popular saying, variously quoted but generally attributed to Ed Wynn, is, "A comic says funny things; a comedian says things funny," which draws a distinction between how much of the comedy can be attributed to verbal content and how much to acting. Since the mid-1980s, a new wave of comedy, called alternative comedy, grew in popularity with its more offbeat and experimental style. This normally involves more experiential, or observational reporting, e... full article at wikipedia