The Best Comedy Directors in Film History

Updated September 18, 2020 13.0k votes 1.6k voters 82.4k views120 items

Titans of comedy! These kings of clowning are the best comedy directors ever to make side-splitting movies. This list includes film directors that specialize in hilarious slapstick, comedy-dramas, directing their own work, or just know how to capture perfect comedic timing. The prove comedy may be tough, but they're tougher, earning a spot among the top comedy directors in the entire world of film.

This list includes frequent Hollywood collaborators like the Farrelly Brothers (known for Dumb & Dumber and There's Something About Mary, among others) and Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker, responsible for Airplane!, one of the funniest movies of all time. This list of the funniest directors spans the history of the big screen, starting with Charlie Chaplin, who made his first silent movie in 1921.

Vote up the directors with the most successful comedies under their belts or who just make you laugh the most!

You might also enjoy this list of rom-com directors.

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106
Mel Brooks
Age: 94
Credits (Film): Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, Young Frankenstein, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, The Producers (1968)
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
The Producers (1968)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Silent Movie (1976)
History of the World, Pt. 1 (1981)
Spaceballs (1987)
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
2
326
94
Harold Ramis
Dec. at 70 (1944-2014)
Credits (Film): Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, National Lampoon's Vacation
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
Caddyshack (1980)
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Multiplicity (1996)
Analyze This (1999)
Year One (2009)
3
273
102
Charlie Chaplin
Dec. at 88 (1889-1977)
Credits (Film): Modern Times, The Great Dictator, City Lights, The Gold Rush
Birthplace: Walworth, United Kingdom
Nationality: England
The Tramp (1915)
The Kid (1921)
City Lights (1931)
Modern Times (1936)
The Great Dictator (1940)
4
260
123
Coen Brothers
The Ladykillers (2004)
Burn After Reading (2008)
A Serious Man (2009)
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
5
196
82
Terry Jones
Age: 78
Credits (Film): Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life
Birthplace: Colwyn Bay, United Kingdom
Nationality: United Kingdom
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
6
254
89
John Hughes
Dec. at 59 (1950-2009)
Credits (Film): Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Planes Trains & Automobiles, Weird Science, Uncle Buck
Birthplace: Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Weird Science (1985)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
She's Having a Baby (1988)
Uncle Buck (1989)
Curly Sue (1991)
7
222
78
Rob Reiner
Age: 73
Credits (Film): When Harry Met Sally, This is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
The Princess Bride (1987)
When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Rumor Has It... (2005)
The Bucket List (2007)
8
171
71
Billy Wilder
Dec. at 96 (1906-2002)
Credits (Film): Some Like It Hot, Sabrina, The Apartment, The Fortune Cookie
Birthplace: Europe, Poland, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Central Europe, Sucha County
Nationality: United States of America, Austria-Hungary
Sabrina (1954)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
One, Two, Three (1961)
Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)
9
295
93
Edgar Wright
Age: 46
Credits (Film): Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Birthplace: Poole, United Kingdom
Nationality: England
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
The World's End (2013)
10
212
96
John Landis
Age: 70
Credits (Film): Animal House, Trading Places, Coming to America, ¡Three Amigos!, The Blues Brothers
Birthplace: Chicago metropolitan area, Illinois, Chicago, United States of America, United States
Nationality: United States of America
The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
Animal House (1978)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Trading Places (1983)
Spies Like Us (1985)
¡Three Amigos! (1986)
11
109
34
Buster Keaton
Dec. at 71 (1895-1966)
Credits (Film): Sunset Boulevard, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Birthplace: Piqua, Kansas, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
Our Hospitality (1923)
The Three Ages (1923)
The Navigator (1924)
Sherlock Jr. (1924)
Seven Chances (1925)
Go West (1925)
Battling Butler (1926)
The General (1927)
Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)
12
140
54
David Zucker
Age: 73
Credits (Film): Airplane!, The Naked Gun, The Naked Gun 2 1/2, BASEketball, Top Secret!
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
Airplane! (1980)
Top Secret! (1984)
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
BASEketball (1998)
My Boss's Daughter (2003)
13
149
46
Terry Gilliam
Age: 80
Credits (Film): Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Life of Brian
Birthplace: Minneapolis, USA, Minnesota
Nationality: United Kingdom
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

14
200
86
Ivan Reitman
Age: 74
Credits (Film): Ghostbusters, Stripes, Kindergarten Cop, Twins, Dave
Birthplace: Komárno, Slovakia
Nationality: Canada, Slovakia, Czechoslovakia
Meatballs (1979)
Stripes (1981)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Twins (1988)
Ghostbusters II (1989)
Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Dave (1993)
Junior (1994)
Fathers' Day (1997)
No Strings Attached (2011)
15
104
33
Blake Edwards
Dec. at 88 (1922-2010)
Credits (Film): Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark, 10, The Return of the Pink Panther
Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
The Pink Panther (1963)
The Great Race (1965)
The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
10 (1979)
S.O.B. (1981)
Victor Victoria (1982)
Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)
Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)
That's Life! (1986)
Son of the Pink Panther (1993)
16
101
25
Robert Zemeckis
Age: 69
Credits (Film): Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
Back to the Future (1985)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Forrest Gump (1994)
17
223
139
Woody Allen
Age: 85
Credits (Film): Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, What's Up Tiger Lily?, Husbands and Wives, Bullets Over Broadway
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972)
Annie Hall (1977)
Manhattan (1979)
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Match Point (2005)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Midnight in Paris (2011)
To Rome with Love (2012)
Blue Jasmine (2013)
Café Society (2016)
18
166
93
Wes Anderson
Age: 51
Credits (Film): Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Birthplace: Houston, Texas, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
Bottle Rocket (1996)
Rushmore (1998)
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Isle of Dogs (2018)
19
143
72
Mike Judge
Age: 58
Credits (Film): Office Space, Idiocracy, Beavis and Butt-head Do America, Extract
Birthplace: Guayaquil, Ecuador
Nationality: United States of America, Ecuador
Office Space (1999)
Idiocracy (2006)
Extract (2009)
20
113
45
Frank Oz
Age: 76
Credits (Film): Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Little Shop of Horrors, What About Bob?, Bowfinger
Birthplace: Hereford, England
Nationality: United States of America, England
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
What About Bob? (1991)
Housesitter (1992)
In & Out (1997)
Bowfinger (1999)
The Stepford Wives (2004)
Death at a Funeral (2007)
21
201
119
Judd Apatow
Age: 53
Credits (Film): The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, This is 40, Funny People
Birthplace: Contiguous United States, New York, United States of America, United States, with Territories
Nationality: United States of America
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Knocked Up (2007)
Funny People (2009)
This Is 40 (2012)
Trainwreck (2015)
22
218
137
Kevin Smith
Age: 50
Credits (Film): Clerks, Dogma, Chasing Amy, Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Birthplace: Red Bank, New Jersey, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
Clerks (1994)
Mallrats (1995)
Chasing Amy (1997)
Dogma (1999)
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
Clerks II (2006)
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
23
145
80
Adam McKay
Age: 52
Credits (Film): Anchorman, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, Eastbound & Down, The Other Guys
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Step Brothers (2008)
The Other Guys (2010)
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

24
119
50
Chris Columbus
Age: 62
Credits (Film): Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, Adventures in Babysitting, Nine Months, Stepmom
Birthplace: Spangler, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
Home Alone (1990)
Only the Lonely (1991)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Nine Months (1995)
I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)
25
83
36
Frank Capra
Dec. at 94 (1897-1991)
Credits (Film): It's a Wonderful Life, It Happened One Night, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Arsenic and Old Lace, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Birthplace: Bisacquino, Italy
Nationality: Italy, United States of America
It Happened One Night (1934)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1946)
You Can't Take It with You (1938)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)