I think it would be fair to call the silent film era the "Golden Age" of film comedy, from the classical perspective, because so much of the basics of film comedy came up during that period. "Greatest Era" I find a little more trouble agreeing with.
Our favorite comedies tend to come from our formative years, usually films we experienced as teens and young adults. I believe that's why we're so split on what the greatest era is - it varies with the viewer.