Do comedians really need profanity to be funny?

Question

Do comedians really need profanity to be funny?
Funny men and story tellers such as Bill Cosby and Garrison Keillor seem to be the exception to the rule, but almost every comedian Ive seen recently on channels like HBO and Comedy Central seem to have jokes just peppered with more fourletter words than I can count. Other than shock value, is there a reason that that comics would want barrage their fans with this brand of humor when the jokes would be just as funny without the quotextraquot words? Im not out to censor what people want to hear, but can anyone name a successful comic that has a quotcleanquot act?

Answer

It depends on who you identify with. I, personally, identify with George Carlin better than Garrison Keillor, although theyre both funny to me. But, if your everyday speech tends to include four letter words, youll tend to listen to the comedian who uses them in their act.