????兩年前，喜劇演員喬伊?迪亞茲可一點也笑不出來。這位憑借在NBC電視臺的肥皂劇《我叫厄爾》（My Name is Earl）和亞當?桑德勒的電影《最長的一碼》（The Longest Yard）中的龍套角色而成名的演員時年已經53歲，卻淪落到為年輕人暖場的地步，影視方面也不見起色，正在考慮職業轉型。

????但在網上發布一個時長一小時的專題作品《你和牧師，誰有問題》（It's Either You or the Priest）之后，他已經枯木逢春，星途一片坦蕩。卡通頻道（Cartoon Network）也注意到他，邀請他擔任《兒童醫院》（Children's Hospital）的經常角色。其它影視角色也隨之而來，包括《憤怒的公牛》的續集（Raging Bull II）。5月份，他擔綱的3城市喜劇巡回演出門票也一售而空。

????從家喻戶曉的大牌到初出茅廬的新秀，越來越多的獨角滑稽秀演員開始利用網絡來擴大觀眾群，并從銷售中分得更大一杯羹。迪亞茲就是他們其中的一員。雖然喜劇小品數年前就已經在網上掀起熱潮，比如《慵懶星期天》（Lazy Sunday）和其它數碼短片，但獨角滑稽秀演員如今才開始跟上潮流，在網上直接銷售其作品。就這樣，他們顛覆了觀眾追捧演藝名人和演員成名的方式。

????自打電視時代以來，獨角滑稽秀演員的成名之路一直就是漫長而崎嶇的：在贏得付費演出機會前，你得在籍籍無名的酒吧摸爬滾打，然后為杰?雷諾或者大衛?萊特曼的夜場秀暖場，而極少有人能達到滑稽秀演員的最高境界：在HBO之類的電視網安排黃金時段的專題節目。那時，你就會得到6位數的定金，然后是DVD銷售，甚至iTunes下載的版稅。

????現在這條路已經發生了變化，而且不僅僅是對初創演藝圈的新秀而言。去年12月份，知名喜劇演員Louis C.K.繞開傳統電視網，在其個人網站發布最新專題節目《燈塔劇院現場秀》（Live at the Beacon Theater），每次下載收費5美元。

????彼時，C.K稱那只是“一次有趣的嘗試”，目的是為了讓更多粉絲能夠欣賞到自己的才藝。他們可以下載節目，隨時觀看，而不像在喜劇中心（Comedy Central）那樣的電視網上只有一次欣賞機會。

????這次嘗試空前成功。僅僅兩個月之內，C.K實現22萬次下載，收入超過100萬美元，扣除25萬的制作費用，凈利潤高達75萬美元。（此外，他在紐約的現場演出售票收入并未披露。）本周，他宣布將通過個人網站直接發售39個城市的巡回演出門票，完全把售票公司Ticketmaster晾在了一邊。

????另一位滑稽秀明星吉姆?加菲根也在網上招徠觀眾。4月份，加菲根的新專題《宇宙先生》（Mr. Universe）在其個人網站初次亮相，而不是將放映權出售給收費電視網HBO或Showtime。加菲根不愿透露銷售額，但是宣稱兩個月內已經超過傳統電視網合同的收入。他還向在線視頻網站網飛 (Netflix) 出售了放映權，觀眾可以在線播放。

????Two years ago, comedian Joey Diaz had little to laugh about. The then 53-year-old Diaz was opening for younger comedians, struggling to land acting gigs, and considering a career switch.

????But after releasing his work online, Diaz, a comic best known for bit roles in NBC's "My Name is Earl" and the Adam Sandler film "The Longest Yard," has revitalized his career. Soon after uploading his hour-long special "It's Either You or the Priest" online, Diaz attracted the attention of the Cartoon Network, which cast him as a recurring character on "Children's Hospital." Other TV and film roles followed, including a part in "Raging Bull II." In May he headlined a sold-out, three-city comedy tour.

????Diaz is part of a growing circle of stand-up comedians—from household names to people just starting out -- who are using the web to build their audiences and claim a bigger slice of sales. While sketch comedy found the web years ago -- think "Lazy Sunday" and other digital shorts -- stand-up comedians are catching on, moving their bits online and selling directly to viewers. In the process, they're upending the way that audiences find talent, and stand-ups become stars.

????Since the earliest days of television, stand-up comedians have weathered a long and often painful road to stardom: performing for free in obscure clubs, before earning paid gigs, then opening for Leno or Letterman, and in the rarest of cases, reaching the holy grail of stand-up success: a prime-time special on a network like HBO. They'd earn a six-figure advance for the show, followed by royalties from DVD sales and eventually, iTunes downloads.

????But today that path is changing, and not just for comedians trying to break in to the business. Last December, comedian Louis C.K. bypassed traditional networks and released his special, "Live at the Beacon Theater," on his personal website, charging $5 per download.

????At the time, C.K called his decision "an interesting experiment" that allowed more fans to see his shtick. They could download and watch the special whenever they wanted, rather than view it once on a network like Comedy Central.

????But the experiment worked— big time. In two months C.K. brought in over $1 million online—the equivalent of 220,000 downloads— netting $750,000 on a show that cost $250,000 to produce. (He also earned an undisclosed payout in ticket sales for the live event in New York.) This week he announced that he's selling tickets to his upcoming, 39-city tour directly through his website, cutting out Ticketmaster in the process.

????Jim Gaffigan, another stand-up star, is also targeting his audience online. In April Gaffigan debuted his hour-long special, "Mr. Universe," on his website, rather than sell the broadcast rights to HBO or Showtime. Gaffigan won't disclose sales, but says that in two months he's already out-earned what we would have made from a traditional network TV contract. He also sold the broadcast rights to Netflix (NFLX), which allows viewers to stream the show online.