Deadpan

Deadpan is a form of comedic delivery in which something humourous is said or done by a person, while not exhibiting a change in emotion or facial expression.

Origin

The term "Deadpan" first emerged as an adjective or adverb in the 1920's, as a compound word combining "dead" and "pan" (a slang term for "the face"). It was first recorded as a noun in Vanity Fair in 1927; a dead pan was thus 'a face or facial expression displaying no emotion, animation, or humor'. Finally, the verb deadpan 'to speak, act, or utter in a deadpan manner; to maintain a dead pan' arose by the early 1940s, apparently as a journalistic coinage rather than a theatrical one. It must be noted that today its use is especially common in humour from the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Notable deadpan comedians

Television

Conan O'Brien frequently makes use of deadpan humour, often performing an unscripted skit on his television show called "Small Talk Moment", in which he and band leader Max Weinberg exchange small talk about some random subject before Max says "This topic sure is interesting," and Conan replies with "It sure is, Max" at which point the camera switches between the two of them staring at each other in a deadpan manner.
Weekend Update, a long-running Saturday Night Live sketch, is famous for its anchors delivering fake news in a deadpan manner, most notably by Kevin Nealon and Norm MacDonald.
Jack Benny and Johnny Carson were famous for their "takes," blank stares toward the camera in response (or nonresponse) to something funny that had just happened.
Geoffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a black English butler who hates his job.
Tom Green, known for his blank expressions while performing outrageous stunts on The Tom Green Show
Stephen Colbert is one of today's most noted deadpan comedians for his performances as a correspondent on The Daily Show and host of The Colbert Report.
The characters in Fawlty Towers, in particular Basil Fawlty, say outrageously funny things completely seriously.
Paul Merton of Have I Got News For You.
The members of Monty Python were known for their sincere performances of utter lunacy, and ability to stay calm in absurd settings.
Rowan Atkinson is the English comedian famous for the characters Mr. Bean and Blackadder
Pat Paulsen spoke in a blank monotone with heavy eyelids, usually opening with, "Good evening, I'm really excited to be here."
Bob Newhart is known for his deadpan delivery and his slight stammer, as featured on The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart, and in classic standup routines.
Steve Carell became known for his comedic deadpan delivery in the American version of The Office as well as in many of his movies.

Film

Buster Keaton, known as the "Great Stone Face", became famous for never cracking a smile in any of his films.
Peter Sellers, most famously in his portrayal of bumbling french police inspector Jacques Clousseau in the Blake Edwards's Pink Panther series.
Bill Murray, most of his work entails him delivering overtly humorous lines with a genuine look of disinterest or indifference on his face.
Leslie Nielsen progressed from being a dramatic actor in films such as The Poseidon Adventure to a comedic actor due in large part to his seriousness in delivering nonsensical lines in movies such as Airplane! ("Surely you can't be serious!" "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.") and The Naked Gun series.
Ben Stein, a university professor in real life, found a new career as a comedy actor by exploiting the stereotype of the dull academic, often acting as a straight man.
Rick Mercer is known for using this type of humour in This Hour has 22 Minutes and 'Talking to Americans' (by making outlandish claims about Canada).

Stand-up comedians

Steven Wright is an American stand-up comedian whose act is filled with deadpan.
Mitch Hedberg was an American stand-up comedian known for his odd subject matter, stylistic elocution, deadpan delivery, and memorable routines that often consisted of a string of one-line non sequiturs.
Dave Allen, a pessimistic Irish stand-up comedian.
Jackie Vernon caricatured the typically boring slide-projector presentation of vacation photos.
Dave Hughes, a well known Australian stand-up comedian.

Other

Mark Twain is Mark Twain as saying: "The humorous story is told gravely; the teller does his best to conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it."
Gordon Strachan, the manager of the Celtic Football Club is known for his deadpan comedy in interviews.
Humphrey Lyttelton, jazz musician and radio-personality, as chairman of ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue