Category Archives: Comedians

The PeekScores of the Hosts of Saturday Night Live’s 38th Season

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What is PeekScore?: PeekScore is a rank from 1 to 10, assigned to every person. The higher someone’s score, the “more important” they are on the web. In calculating your PeekScore and updating it often, PeekYou takes into account your known presence and activity on the Internet, including but not limited to; your blogging, participation in social networks, the number of your friends, followers, or readers, the amount of web content you create, and your prominence in the news. For first time visitors a more in-depth explanation of what the PeekScore is, and how to increase your own, can be found by clicking through here.

On May 18th NBC’s Saturday Night Live will wrap its 38th season. Now that all of the remaining episodes’ guests have been booked and announced, we decided it would be fun to put all of this season’s hosts to the PeekScore test and compare their digital footprints (a concept explained in brief in this entry’s header, and more in depth here).

Our first place finisher will surprise few, if any, who are at all acquainted with this thing we call the internet. The enormously popular SNL host who is the runner up on our list isn’t bound to raise many eyebrows for his lofty spot either. But after that, there are some surprises to be found. Check it out.

Rank Picture Name Hosted PeekScore
1

Justin Bieber February 9, 2013 10.00 / 10.00
2

Justin Timberlake March 9, 2013 10.00 / 10.00
3

Bruno Mars October 20, 2012 9.99 / 10.00
4

Anne Hathaway November 10, 2012 9.94 / 10.00
5

Jennifer Lawrence January 19, 2013 9.47 / 10.00
6

Ben Affleck May 18, 2013 9.40 / 10.00
7

Daniel Craig October 6, 2012 9.38 / 10.00
8

Adam Levine January 26, 2013 9.35 / 10.00
9

Joseph Gordon-Levitt September 22, 2012 9.25 / 10.00
10

Jamie Foxx December 8, 2012 9.25 / 10.00
11

Seth MacFarlane September 15, 2012 9.02 / 10.00
12

Kevin Hart March 2, 2013 8.69 / 10.00
13

Kristen Wiig May 11, 2013 8.51 / 10.00
14

Louis CK November 3, 2012 8.42 / 10.00
15

Vince Vaughn April 13, 2013 8.35 / 10.00
16

Christoph Waltz February 16, 2013 8.32 / 10.00
17

Jeremy Renner November 17, 2012 8.31 / 10.00
18

Melissa McCarthy April 6, 2013 8.30 / 10.00
19

Zach Galifianakis May 4, 2013 8.29 / 10.00
20

Christina Applegate October 13, 2012 8.27 / 10.00
21

Martin Short December 15, 2012 8.09 / 10.00

Which of 2012′s Biggest Headline Grabbers has made the Greatest Impact in Cyberspace?

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What is PeekScore?: PeekScore is a rank from 1 to 10, assigned to every person. The higher someone’s score, the “more important” they are on the web. In calculating your PeekScore and updating it often, PeekYou takes into account your known presence and activity on the Internet, including but not limited to; your blogging, participation in social networks, the number of your friends, followers, or readers, the amount of web content you create, and your prominence in the news. For first time visitors a more in-depth explanation of what the PeekScore is, and how to increase your own, can be found by clicking through here.

As it winds down, and we find ourselves nearly ready to ring it out, we can’t help but opine that 2012 – here in PeekYou‘s homeland of the United States, on the greater world stage, and in cyberspace alike – has not been a boring nor an unmemorable year to date. What we’ve done with this PeekScore list here is take some of the very biggest names from the news this year and see how they measure up here on the web, digital footprint-wise (you can find the “digital footprint” concept outlined in brief above, or more in depth by clicking through here).

What were some of your favorite stories from this year? Any 2012 luminaries we overlooked? Let us know in the comments.

Rank Picture Name Served PeekScore
1

Barack Obama Newly re-elected President of the United States 10.00 / 10.00
2

Hillary Clinton U.S. Secretary of State 10.00 / 10.00
3

Mitt Romney 2012 GOP candidate for president 10.00 / 10.00
4

Lance Armstrong Possibly disgraced, cancer surviving bicyclist 9.65 / 10.00
5

Paul Ryan 2012 GOP candidate for vice president 9.55 / 10.00
6

Jay-Z Mega-successful rapper and entrepreneur 9.38 / 10.00
7

Bashar al-Assad President of Syria 9.32 / 10.00
8

James Holmes Alleged gunman in the “Dark Knight” shootings 9.22 / 10.00
9

Chris Christie New Jersey governor who made headlines for his open praise of the president, on the eve of election day, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy 9.21 / 10.00
10

Michael Phelps Olympic swimmer, and as of 2012 the most decorated Olympian of all time 9.16 / 10.00
11

Joss Whedon Director and writer of 2012′s biggest film, The Avengers 9.10 / 10.00
12

Adele Her album, 21, while released at the start of 2011 has been 2012′s biggest album to date 9.05 / 10.00
13

Felix Baumgartner Set the world record for skydiving an estimated 39 kilometres, breaking the speed of sound while doing so, on October 14, 2012 8.97 / 10.00
14

David Petraeus Retired Army general, and former director of the C.I.A. 8.95 / 10.00
15

Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel 8.87 / 10.00
16

Michael Bloomberg New York City mayor, made headlines this year for his junk food bans, and also for his outspokenness in the wake of Hurricane Sandy 8.85 / 10.00
17

John Roberts Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 8.77 / 10.00
18

Kim Jong Un Supreme Leader of North Korea 8.71 / 10.00
19

Tim Cook CEO of Apple, Inc. 8.68 / 10.00
20

Scott Walker Sitting governor of Wisconsin whose current term was put to a recall election in June 8.61 / 10.00
21

Psy Korean rapper responsible for “Gangnam Style,” the most viewed YouTube video of all time 8.61 / 10.00
22

Todd Akin Missouri congressman who gained mostly negative attention for comments made during his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat 8.20 / 10.00
23

Mohamed Morsy President of Egypt 8.14 / 10.00
24

Sandra Fluke Women’s rights activist 8.13 / 10.00
25

Marissa Mayer CEO of Yahoo! 8.11 / 10.00
26

Malala Yousafzai 15 year old Pakistani anti-Taliban activist and blogger, shot by the Taliban in October 8.03 / 10.00
27

Gabby Douglas Olympic gold medalist, and the first African-American in Olympic history to become the individual all-around gymnastics champion 8.02 / 10.00
28

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula Director of Innocence of Muslims, the YouTube video accused of prompting demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa 7.98 / 10.00
29

Xi Jinping Leader of the Communist Party of China 7.83 / 10.00
30

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (of Pussy Riot) Russian political activist, and member of punk rock collective Pussy Riot 7.81 / 10.00

The PeekScores of the Cast of Saturday Night Live’s 38th Season

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What is PeekScore?: PeekScore is a rank from 1 to 10, assigned to every person. The higher someone’s score, the “more important” they are on the web. In calculating your PeekScore and updating it often, PeekYou takes into account your known presence and activity on the Internet, including but not limited to; your blogging, participation in social networks, the number of your friends, followers, or readers, the amount of web content you create, and your prominence in the news. For first time visitors a more in-depth explanation of what the PeekScore is, and how to increase your own, can be found by clicking through here.

Here’s a pretty straightforward, annual PeekScore list for you folks. SNL‘s back on NBC as of a couple of weeks ago, for its 38th consecutive season. We’ve decided, as we normally do here on this blog, to put the current cast through the PeekScore rigors and see how they shake out.

The list seems relatively consistent with, and proportionate to, the fame of each castmember, although we know that’s highly arguable. For the most part it’s a relatively tight race, with even the victor none too far ahead of the pack. Not surprisingly, the internet likes this show and this bunch, and the scores reflect this.

Who’s your favorite of the current cast? Who’s your favorite SNL castmember of all time? Who don’t you care for all that much? Let us know in the comments.

Rank Picture Name Featured or In the Cast Since Current PeekScore
1

Jason Sudeikis
2005
 8.46 / 10.00
2



Fred Armisen
2002
 8.23 / 10.00
3

Bill Hader
2005
 8.15 / 10.00
4

Kenan Thompson
2003
 8.15 / 10.00
5

Seth Meyers
2001
 8.12 / 10.00
6

Jay Pharoah
2010
 7.92 / 10.00
7

Bobby Moynihan
2008
 7.59 / 10.00
8

Nasim Pedrad
2009
 7.37 / 10.00
9

Vanessa Bayer
2010
 7.21 / 10.00
10

Taran Killam
2010
 7.19 / 10.00
11

Kate McKinnon
2011
 7.09 / 10.00
12

Aidy Bryant
2012
 7.05 / 10.00
13

Cecily Strong
2012
 7.04 / 10.00
14

Tim Robinson
2010
 7.00 / 10.00

The 50 Stand-Up Comedians with the Largest Digital Footprints

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What is PeekScore?: PeekScore is a rank from 1 to 10, assigned to every person. The higher someone’s score, the “more important” they are on the web. In calculating your PeekScore and updating it often, PeekYou takes into account your known presence and activity on the Internet, including but not limited to; your blogging, participation in social networks, the number of your friends, followers, or readers, the amount of web content you create, and your prominence in the news. For first time visitors a more in-depth explanation of what the PeekScore is, and how to increase your own, can be found by clicking through here.

This is a survey we’ve been wanting to do for a long while, and the time just seemed right. We went through the hundreds and hundreds of stand-up comedians PeekYou has indexed, to determine which 50 are currently the most prominent and impactful here in cyberspace. This isn’t a gauge nor a comparison of their successes, and surely we are offering no commentary on the quality of their jokes. This is a look at the impressions each of these men and women have made and are making on the Web (their digital footprints, if you will, a concept explained in brief in the disclaimer above and more in-depth at the blog entry you can find by clicking through here).

We decided to keep it to active, performing stand-up comics, or at least those who have been active as stand-ups in more recent years. Some notable and important living stand-ups who are missing include Woody Allen, David Letterman, Jim Carrey, Albert Brooks, and more notably Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy – two of the most popular stand-ups who ever lived – as it seemed that once we started including those who hadn’t done stand-up in decades, we’d be forced to include every actor or performer who’d ever done stand-up at all (and those ranks number quite a few). We tried to keep it to those who are at least somewhat, or recently, active as live performers.

Any favorite comics you would have expected to see below? We have the full top 100 comics list compiled, and may be posting it in its entirety shortly. Many of those comics you believe missing from this list may just be bubbling under the top 50. Let us know if you want to see that 100.

Edited to add (8/12/12): Many commenters have come to the blog over the past day or so to make their assorted opinions on the list known (“lame list,” said one charming user, another asked if the list was compiled by a box of hair, which – while the meaning is not quite clear to us – we’re sure implies something bad). Two commenters, fairly enough, noted the absence of Joe Rogan from the list. He was surely involved in our original compiling, but simply at that time had a PeekScore which found him just out of the top 50. Upon receiving these comments, however, we checked again to see that Rogan’s score as of this writing – three weeks past when the list was initially compiled – finds him in the top 50. To minimize the quite possible wrath we might incur from additional readers, we’ve revised the list to now include Joe Rogan with his up-to-date PeekScore (no strangers to Internet commenters as we are, we’re already certain this will satisfy few if any).

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Rank Picture Name Bio Current PeekScore
1

Russell Brand Arena headlineer in the UK, author of the best-selling My Booky-Wook, ex-husband of Katy Perry, star of numerous Hollywood flicks, and two time host of MTV’s VMAs.

9.73 / 10.00
2

Ellen Degeneres Host of daytime talk show Ellen. 9.49 / 10.00
3

Bill Cosby Creator and star of The Cosby Show, the first African American actor to be featured in a lead role on American TV (in I Spy), and legendary stand-up. 9.25 / 10.00
4

Chris Rock The creative force behind such classic stand-up specials as Bring the Pain, and star of numerous films. 9.22 / 10.00
5

George Lopez Host of the relatively recently canceled Lopez Tonight talk show on TBS. 9.16 / 10.00
6

Jay Leno Host of NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and notoriously NBC’s failed The Jay Leno Show. 9.08 / 10.00
7

Robin Williams Academy Award winning actor, and star of the 70s sitcom Mork & Mindy. 9.07 / 10.00
8

Kathy Griffin Star of the Bravo reality series Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. 9.07 / 10.00
9

Tracy Morgan Sometimes controversial star of NBC’s 30 Rock and former Saturday Night Live castmember. 9.03 / 10.00
10

Jon Stewart Long-time host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. 9.03 / 10.00
11

Ricky Gervais Co-creator and star of BBC’s The Office, multiple-time host of the Golden Globes, podcasting giant, and the co-creator of HBO’s Life’s Too Short. 9.02 / 10.00
12

Dane Cook Arena headlining comic. 8.88 / 10.00
13

Ray Romano Star of the long-running and hugely high rated sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond. 8.71 / 10.00
14

Kevin Hart Has done many highly successful stand-up specials for Comedy Central and was the creative force behind the short-lived 2004 sitcom The Big House. 8.69 / 10.00
15



Scott “Carrot Top” Thompson Oft ridiculed Las Vegas prop comic stalwart. It’s worth noting that unlike other pseudonymous mega-comics (such as Larry the Cable Guy and Earthquake) Carrot Top’s celebrity is great enough to find him with this large a PeekScore even under his real name. 8.66 / 10.00
16

Louis C.K. Very much “the comic of the moment,” he is the writer, producer, director, and star of FX’s critically praised Louie. 8.65 / 10.00
17

Sarah Silverman Writer and star of the stand-up film Jesus is Magic and the co-creator and star of Comedy Central’s now cancelled The Sarah Silverman Program. 8.58 / 10.00
18

Joel McHale Star of NBC’s Community and host of E!’s The Soup. 8.51 / 10.00
19

Katt Williams Recently retired from a massively successful stand-up career, played Money Mike in the film Friday After Next, and is the father of 8 children (7 of whom are adopted). 8.50 / 10.00
20

Russell Peters Indian-Canadian comic, currently one of the biggest comedy draws in the English speaking world. 8.47 / 10.00
21



Bill Maher Former host of Politically Incorrect, current host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, and the main creative force behind the documentary Religulous. 8.46 / 10.00
22

Eddie Izzard A rare arena headliner in both the UK and (at least parts of) the US, he’s also acted in such films as Ocean’s Twelve and Shadow of the Vampire. 8.42 / 10.00
23

Jerry Seinfeld Co-creator and star of the legendary and widely beloved and quoted sitcom Seinfeld. 8.42 / 10.00
24

Joan Rivers Groundbreaking, veteran comic and the subject of the recent, critically acclaimed documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. 8.39 / 10.00
25

Roseanne Barr Currently a blogger, activist, and presidential candidate, she was the main creative force behind most of the run of the enormously successful sitcom Roseanne. 8.34 / 10.00
26

Chelsea Handler Host of E! Entertainment Television’s Chelsea Lately. 8.34 / 10.00
27



Jim Gaffigan Best known for such incredibly popular stand-up specials as Beyond the Pale, King Baby, and his most recent self-released special Mr. Universe. 8.32 / 10.00
28



Dave Chapelle Famously exhibited nearly unheard of integrity by walking away from mega-stardom and his outrageously popular sketch program Chapelle’s Show. Briefly held the stand-up comedy endurance record after performing a 6 hour and 12 minute set in December of 2007. 8.30 / 10.00
29

Jimmy Carr A hugely popular stand-up and television presenter in the UK, with a bit of a following in the states as well. 8.29 / 10.00
30



Lisa Lampanelli Massively popular “insult comic.” 8.29 / 10.00
31



Daniel Tosh Star of Comedy Central’s high rated Tosh.0. 8.28 / 10.00
32



Janeane Garofalo Popular stand-up, political activist, and star of films such as Reality Bites and The Truth About Cats & Dogs. 8.28 / 10.00
33



Lewis Black Popular stand-up and the personality behind the long-running “Back in Black” segments on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show 8.27 / 10.00
34

Patton Oswalt Part of the cast of CBS’ The King of Queens and the voice of Remy in Pixar’s Ratatouille. 8.25 / 10.00
35

Aziz Ansari Co-creator and castmember of MTV’s popular sketch show Human Giant and part of the cast of NBC’s Parks and Recreation. 8.24 / 10.00
36

Brian Regan While never the subject of overt buzz, a hugely well respected and also quite popular veteran stand-up. 8.24 / 10.00
37



Kevin James Star of the popular sitcom The King of Queens. 8.23 / 10.00
38



Joe Rogan Former cast member of NewsRadio, host of Fear Factor, and UFC commentator. 8.21 / 10.00
39



Steve Harvey Current host of Family Feud and former host of It’s Showtime at the Apollo, he’s one of the comics featured in Spike Lee’s 2000 concert film The Original Kings of Comedy. 8.16 / 10.00
40

Peter Kay One of the most popular comics ever in the UK. During his 2010-2011 UK concert tour he did multiple night stands in nearly every major city’s arena, including a whopping 20 sold out nights at his hometown of Macnhecter’s Manchester Arena. 8.16 / 10.00
41

Tim Allen Did the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s Toy Story trilogy of flims, and was the star of the popular sitcom Home Improvement 8.16 / 10.00
42



Margaret Cho Comic, actress, author, musician, she has appeared in such TV programs as Drop Dead Diva and her own 1994 starring vehicle, the short-lived All-American Girl. 8.15 / 10.00
43



Demetri Martin Star of the Comedy Central show Important Things with Demetri Martin and the 2009 Ang Lee movie Taking Woodstock. 8.15 / 10.00
44



Donald Glover Star of NBC’s Community, former writer for 30 Rock, popular rapper under the name Childish Gambino, and member of the Derrick Comedy sketch troupe behind numerous viral videos and the 2009 film Mystery Team. 8.14 / 10.00
45



David Cross One half of the team behind HBO’s Mr. Show with Bob and David, and an actor in numerous TV shows and films. 8.14 / 10.00
46



Mindy Kaling Writer and performer on NBC’s The Office and an avid and popular user of Twitter. 8.14 / 10.00
47

Artie Lange Troubled former member of Howard Stern‘s on air crew, and the author of the book Too Fat to Fish. 8.09 / 10.00
48

Ken Jeong Featured castmember of NBC’s Community. 8.09 / 10.00
49

Lee Evans Massively popular, arena headlining comic in the UK, and featured in such Hollywood filims as There’s Something About Mary and Mouse Hunt. 8.08 / 10.00
50



Whitney Cummings Creator and star of the NBC sitcom Whitney, and co-creator of the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls. 8.08 / 10.00
51



Marc Maron
 Host of the popular, mostly stand-up-centric podcast WTF. 8.05 / 10.00

The PeekScores of the Cast of Saturday Night Live’s 37th Season

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What is PeekScore?: PeekScore is a rank from 1 to 10, assigned to every person. The higher someone’s score, the “more important” they are on the web. In calculating your PeekScore and updating it often, PeekYou takes into account your known presence and activity on the Internet, including but not limited to; your blogging, participation in social networks, the number of your friends, followers, or readers, the amount of web content you create, and your prominence in the news.

Here’s a pretty straightforward one for you guys. SNL‘s back on NBC, on September 24th, for the launch of its 37th consecutive season. We’ve decided, as we normally do here on this blog, to put the current cast through the PeekScore rigors and see how they shake out.

The list seems relatively consistent with, and proportionate to, the fame of each castmember, although we know that’s arguable. For the most part it’s a tight race, with even the victor none too far ahead of the pack. Not surprisingly, the internet likes this show and this bunch, and the scores reflect this.

Who’s your favorite of the current cast? Who’s your favorite SNL castmember of all time? Who don’t you care for all that much? Let us know in the comments.

Rank Picture Name In the Cast (or Featured) Since Current PeekScore
1

Kristen Wiig
2005
 8.74 / 10.00
2

Jason Sudeikis
2005
 8.68 / 10.00
3

Andy Samberg
2005
 8.50 / 10.00
4

Bill Hader
2005
 8.29 / 10.00
5

Seth Meyers
2001
 8.25 / 10.00
6



Fred Armisen
2002
 8.16 / 10.00
7

Kenan Thompson
2003
 8.15 / 10.00
8

Abby Elliott
2008
 8.02 / 10.00
9

Jay Pharoah
2010
 8.02 / 10.00
10

Bobby Moynihan
2008
 8.01 / 10.00
11

Nasim Pedrad
2009
 8.01 / 10.00
12

Vanessa Bayer
2010
 8.00 / 10.00
13

Paul Brittain
2010
 7.87 / 10.00
14

Taran Killam
2010
 7.56 / 10.00

The PeekScores of the Cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

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What is PeekScore?: PeekScore is a rank from 1 to 10, assigned to every person. The higher someone’s score, the “more important” they are on the web. In calculating your PeekScore and updating it often, PeekYou takes into account your known presence and activity on the Internet, including but not limited to; your blogging, participation in social networks, the number of your friends, followers, or readers, the amount of web content you create, and your prominence in the news.

On September 15, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns to American cable network FX for its highly anticipated seventh season. In our view the show is far too funny for us to pollute its good name with our own faint attempts at wit, so we’re just going to keep this short and sweet.

Below are the five principal cast members listed by their PeekScores. The whole cast, apart from series creator Rob McElhenney, is active and well-followed on Twitter, and the healthy PeekScores below reflect this.

Are you curious about the online lives and presences of the casts of any other TV shows? Are there any other comedies you’d like to see us give the PeekScore treatment? Let us know in the comments. Sometimes, we do take requests.

Rank Picture Name Character PeekScore
1

Danny DeVito Frank Reynolds 8.24 / 10.00
2

Glenn Howerton Dennis Reynolds 8.21 / 10.00
3

Charlie Day Charlie Kelly 8.20 / 10.00
4

Kaitlin Olson Deandra “Sweet Dee” Reynolds 8.19 / 10.00
5

Rob McElhenney Mac 8.09 / 10

The 14 “Funny People” with the Highest PeekScores

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What is PeekScore?: PeekScore is a rank from 1 to 10, assigned to every person. The higher someone’s score, the “more important” they are on the web. In calculating your PeekScore and updating it often, PeekYou takes into account your known presence and activity on the Internet, including but not limited to; your blogging, participation in social networks, the number of your friends, followers, or readers, the amount of web content you create, and your prominence in the news.

This list is an interesting one for us as it gets right to the heart of what PeekScores are, and illustrates what kinds of stories they can actually tell. They don’t tell us who’s the most famous, or the best. They tell us who is – at a given moment in time – making the most impact here in cyberspace. We went through all the highest PeekScored profiles (all of those with a PeekScore of 10) – of all of the 250,000,000 people PeekYou has indexed – and assembled a list of the 14 comedy-related folks with the highest PeekScores. Make no mistake, we are not suggesting that a single person on this list is even a little bit amusing (although we are hardly insisting otherwise either; opinions on each vary throughout the palatial PeekScore offices). We are only acknowledging that it is the intention of every single person on this list to be funny, in their professional works, a majority of the time.

The incredibly tech-friendly Stephen Fry‘s number 2 finish speaks a bit to the PeekScore’s (and therefore the web’s) lack of national bias. While known in the states, he’s hardly anything approaching as well known as the folks between whom he’s nestled on the chart. In the U.K., however, he’s a household name and regarded as something of a national treasure. He’s on this list most of all, though, for his enormous Twitter following – from wherever they may originate – and his generally formidable online presence.

Many comedy legends and superstars are nowhere to be found, while more niche and cult performers dominate the list. Your mom, or even your co-worker, might never have heard of, say, Michael Ian Black, but 1,620,245 Twitter followers have. PeekScores don’t care how funny, or even conventionally famous, you are. If you have a million people following you on Twitter, then in the world of PeekScores you’re Richard freakin’ Pryor.

Who would you have expected to see higher? Who are some of your favorite comedians? What “funny people” do you follow on Twitter, or “like” on Facebook? Talk to and/or at us in the comments.

Rank Picture Name Bio PeekScore
1

Ellen Degeneres Likable talk-show host, and stand-up comedian. 10.00 / 10
2

Stephen Fry World-class wit, renowned polymath, respected performer, and generally fascinating guy. 10.00 / 10
3

Jimmy Fallon Former SNL cast member, and late-night talk show host. 10.00 / 10
4

Conan O’Brien Late-night talk show veteran. 10.00 / 10
5

Chelsea Handler Stand-up comedian and talk show host. 10.00/ 10
6

Russell Brand British superstar, moderately well-known elsewhere, stand-up, actor, and general “personality.” 10.00 / 10
7

Jim Carrey Massive movie star. 10.00 / 10
8

Joel McHale Host of American cable network E!’s The Soup, and star of the sitcom Community. 10.00 / 10
9

“Weird” Al Yankovic Veteran pop song parodist, and pop-culture satirist. 10.00 / 10
10

Kevin Smith Filmmaker, podcaster, and narcissistic raconteur. 10.00 / 10
11

Penn Jillette One half of the comedy-magic team Penn & Teller, and generally blustery “personality.” 10.00 / 10
12

Stephen Colbert Host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report 10.00 / 10
13

Michael Ian Black Sketch comedian, stand-up, and talking head on countless cable “list” shows. 10.00 / 10
14

Dane Cook Obscenely popular stand-up comedian. 10.00 / 10

The Digital Footprints of 11 Famously Elusive Celebrities

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What is PeekScore?: PeekScore is a rank from 1 to 10, assigned to every person. The higher someone’s score, the “more important” they are on the web. In calculating your PeekScore and updating it often, PeekYou takes into account your known presence and activity on the Internet, including but not limited to; your blogging, participation in social networks, the number of your friends, followers, or readers, the amount of web content you create, and your prominence in the news.

Don’t call them recluses, although some in the media will portray them as such. They are mostly just men and women who are content to let their works speak for themselves. Below is a list of 11 artists, all of whom work (or have worked) in popular media, and all of whom have achieved incredible success in their chosen fields. They are also men and women who have little interest in living their lives in a constant state of exposure and self-promotion, contrary to the prevailing mentality of our culture’s popular artists. Some have retired, some have sadly gone a little off the deep end, but for the most part these are men and women who have not shunned success, and who, to this day, are continuing to create and work hard at their crafts. They have simply chosen to live their lives on their own terms.

There are no Twitters, Facebooks, or blogs to be found among the individuals on this list (although there are some personal websites, mostly set up by corporate partners, or – as is the case with Ms. Bardot’s site – affiliated with charity work). And yet, so admired are their works, and/or so enduring are their iconic statuses that each of them has still made a significant mark here in the world wide web. The PeekScore measures the “digital footprint” of an individual, meaning it quantifies the full breadth and scope of his or her impact on the web. The score is based largely on a given individual’s own activity on the web, but as the above disclaimer states, it also factors in an individual’s “prominence in the news.” The works of the men and women on this list are so celebrated, written about, discussed, and enduring that each of them has left a large digital footprint without even directly contributing to it themselves. We felt that this phenomenon was worthy of notice. Here we are, after all, writing about these people.

Are there any famously press-shy/media-hostile artists who you think we should have included below? Are there any we shouldn’t have? Let us know.

Rank Picture Name Bio PeekScore
1

Terrence Malick There’s little doubt that the hubbub surrounding his most recent film, The Tree of Life, is why he’s topping our list today. Our media-shy friend here has been making films for nearly 40 years, and thus far he’s managed to make only five. In his defense, though, they are all pretty good. 8.30 / 10
2

Thomas Pynchon “My belief is that recluse is a code word generated by journalists meaning he doesn’t like to talk to reporters”, the brilliant author of Gravity’s Rainbow, and The Crying of Lot 49 once said. He lives openly in a city of over 8 million people, he’s done voices for The Simpsons, has made other appearances over the years, and apparently leads a quite normal life. He just doesn’t court the media and its adjacent brouhaha. 8.08 / 10
3

Bill Watterson The creator of the extraordinary, and extraordinarily popular, Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. After drawing the strip for ten years, he walked away to “work at a more thoughtful pace, with fewer artistic compromises.” Notoriously unwilling to give autographs, a few years back he would occasionally sneak autographed copies of his books onto the shelves of a small bookshop in his Ohio hometown, just for fun. 8.03 / 10
4

Lana Wachowski (representing both Wachowskis) Lana (formerly Larry/Laurence) is one half – along with her brother Andy – of The Wachowskis, the writing/directing team responsible for the sprawling The Matrix franchise, and the (ahem, frankly underrated) Speed Racer film. While their press-shyness has contributed to their carrying about them something of a mystique, many who have worked with the pair have described them as extremely approachable and fun people. They just don’t have much interest in publicly talking about themselves or their lives. 8.01 / 10
5

Steve Ditko Some find religion and withdraw from the limelight, Ditko – the co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange (and a man whose artwork is positively worshiped by hardcore comic geeks) – instead found Ayn Rand. His story is worth investigating, if you have the time. 7.71/ 10
6

Dave Chapelle As is well known, he admirably abandoned his wildly popular Chappelle’s Show for a number of reasons both personal and artistic. “I want to be well rounded and the industry is a place of extremes. I want to be well balanced.” He still works as a stand-up comedian, which is his true craft and first love. 7.53 / 10
7

Daniel Day-Lewis “How can you be a recluse in a house full of children, even if you had the inclination to be, which I don’t?” While he shuns the publicity machine, for all the reasons any sane man would, he leads what he insists is an entirely normal life; only with the boatloads of cash you have on-hand when you’re a big, fancy movie star. 7.52 / 10
8

Brigitte Bardot She retired from entertainment in 1973, but what an iconic legacy she left behind. She has dedicated herself to animal rights causes in the subsequent decades, and in more recent years made headlines for expressing political opinions viewed by some as controversial. 7.49 / 10
9

Harper Lee After writing the inconceivably celebrated To Kill a Mockingbird, she then assisted Truman Capote in his researching In Cold Blood, and soon thereafter all but vanished from public view. Next to the now deceased J. D. Salinger, she may very well be modern times’ most famously media-shy author. 7.35 / 10
10

Sly Stone A pop musician of nearly incalculable importance and brilliance, during the 70s he apparently developed numerous drug and personal problems, which precipitated a decline and recession from public view. He has only emerged from hiding sporadically in the decades since, and never to much commercial or artistic avail. Of all the individuals on this list, he is the only one whose story has a tragic undercurrent. We couldn’t see compiling a list of this nature without including him, but let’s move on. 7.24 / 10
11

Cormac McCarthy He appeared on Oprah, and has popped up here and there in more recent years, but the author of No Country for Old Men, The Road, and All the Pretty Horses is as famous for shunning celebrity and its hassles as any artist you can name. 7.19 / 10

Cast of “The Big Bang Theory”

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What happens when colleagues, best friends and roommates with an affinity for geekery end up living together? You end up getting the hit show, “The Big Bang Theory.” If you’re a self-professed nerd, dive into comic books, get stoked on the newest sci-fi flick and immerse yourself in video games like it’s an extension of “real life,” then perhaps you’ll relate to the characters in this show. So set up your DVR, make some time in your schedule between other nerdtastic activities and may the geeks live on!!

Image: Actor: Character: PeekScore:

Kaley Cuoco Penny

Johnny Galecki Leonard Hofstadter

Jim Parsons Sheldon Cooper

Kunal Nayyar Raj Koothrappali

Simon Helberg Howard Wolowitz

Cast of “Two and a Half Men”

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While the show “Two and a Half Men” has been getting more attention as of late, longtime fans are going to have to say “goodbye” for now. Charlie Sheen, the star of the show has let some “extracurricular activities” take precedent over his sanity, er career and it seems as though the executives and producers over at CBS aren’t interested in dealing with Charlie’s outbursts any longer. Either way, we hope Charlie gets the help he needs (though he has offered up some interesting quotes in the press recently) and perhaps this happy family can be taken off the shelf…..we shall see.

Image: Actor: Character: PeekScore:

Charlie Sheen Charlie Harper

Jon Cryer Alan Harper

Conchata Ferrell Berta

Holland Taylor Evelyn Harper

Marin Hinkle Judith Harper

Angus Jones Jake Harper