Foster Brooks

At the very top of the list of funny film and TV drunks, alongside the likes of Dean Martin, Dudley Moore in "Arthur," and W.C. Fields, there was also stand-up comic Foster Brooks. The comedian's deft impersonation of a tipsy, floundering fool was first introduced to national audiences by talk show host Steve Allen in the '60s. Famously, Brooks presented himself as a film producer of such classics as "The Three Commandments." Later on, Brooks was a regular on "The Dean Martin Comedy Hour," earning an Emmy Award nomination for his efforts in 1974.

Much of Brooks's act was based on his own real-life struggles with alcohol, which he was able to only sporadically abstain from. His comedy also involved a lot of wordplay. A comedy album in 1976 sourced his nickname, "The Loveable Lush," while other classic gags mangled famous terms, turning for example Alcoholics Anonymous into Alcoholics Unanimous. In the '80s, Brooks was introduced to a new audience via a small but critical three-episode turn as Mindy's boss on the hit ABC-TV sitcom "Mork and Mindy."