Straight man - Definition and Overview

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
• Zeppo Marx - straight man in The Marx Brothers
• Larry Fine - straight man in The Three Stooges
• Syd Little - straight man to Eddie Large
• Dean Martin - straight man to Jerry Lewis
• Dudley Moore - arguably straight man to Peter Cook
• 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