Editing Comedian (section)

===Radio===
{{Main|Radio comedy}}
Radio comedy began in the United States when [[Raymond Knight (radio)|Raymond Knight]] launched ''[[The Cuckoo Hour]]'' on [[NBC]] in 1930,<ref name="Hickerson">Hickerson, Jay. ''The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide to All Circulating Shows''. Hamden, Connecticut: Jay Hickerson, Box 4321, Hamden, CT 06514, second edition December 1992, page 92.</ref> along with the 1931 network debut of [[Stoopnagle and Budd]] on [[CBS]]. Most of the Hollywood comedians who did not become dramatic actors (e.g. Bergen, Fields, [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]] and [[Chico Marx]], [[Red Skelton]], [[Jack Benny]], [[Fred Allen]], [[Judy Canova]], Hope, [[Martin and Lewis]]), transitioned to United States radio in the 1930s and 1940s.

Without a Hollywood supply of comedians to draw from, radio comedy did not begin in the United Kingdom until a generation later, with such popular 1950s shows as ''[[The Goon Show]]'' and ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]''. Later, radio became a proving-ground for many later United Kingdom comedians. [[Chris Morris (satirist)|Chris Morris]] began his career in 1986 at [[BBC Radio Cambridgeshire|Radio Cambridgeshire]], and [[Ricky Gervais]] began his comedy career in 1997 at [[London]] radio station [[Radio X (United Kingdom)|XFM]]. ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]'', [[Mitchell and Webb]] and [[The Mighty Boosh]] all transferred to television after broadcasting on [[BBC Radio 4]].