Ii yu dana zenin shûgô!!

These geniuses started earlier though.

They were originally a music act and opened for the Beatles when the fab four made their first trip east. I wonder what Liverpool's finest made of this bunch of guys.

Later got famous on TV for their weekly show. Full of classic comedy bits it was.

The late Chosuke Ikariya was your classic straight man. The poor guy getting zapped by the other guys antics. Kato Cha was the funniest man in Japan at one point.

Koji Nakamoto and Takagi Bu (oink in Japanese) were your supporting roles. Bu was also a classic victim. And yes, he's the fat one.

Arai Chu (also RIP) was the original bullyboy. He was later replaced by Ken Shimura who made a great second comedy man with Kato.

This is Japan's greatest comedy group. I write this in the hopes the world finds out about them. Hail to the Drifters.