Straight man
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A straight man is a role in a comedy double act where a performer works with a comedian by setting up the situations or feeding the lines that allow their partner to make a joke. This usually occurs in the setting of a comedy team.
A woman who plays such a role might wryly be termed a "straight man", but other terms, such as "comic foil" would be more common.
Famous straight men:
- Bud Abbott - straight man to Lou Costello
- Desi Arnaz - straight man to Lucille Ball
- Joey Bishop - straight man to The Rat Pack
- Bob the Tomato - straight veggie to Larry the Cucumber
- Sonny Bono - straight man to Cher
- George Burns - straight man to Gracie Allen (early in their comedy career, these roles were reversed)
- Tommy Cannon - Straight man to Bobby Ball
- Pam Dawber - comic foil to Robin Williams in Mork & Mindy
- Margaret Dumont - comic foil of The Marx Brothers, especially Groucho
- Larry Fine - straight man in The Three Stooges
- Allan Jones - straight man of The Marx Brothers in Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races
- Syd Little - straight man to Eddie Large
- Dean Martin - straight man to Jerry Lewis
- Zeppo Marx - straight man of The Marx Brothers
- Frank Shuster - straight man to Johnny Wayne
- Dick Smothers - straight man to his brother, Tom Smothers
- Ernie Wise - generally regarded as a straight man to Eric Morecambe