Richard Russo (born July 15 1949) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist. Born in Johnstown, New York, and raised in nearby Gloversville, he earned a B.A. (1967), a M.F.A. (1980), and a Ph.D. (1979) from the University of Arizona. His novel "Empire Falls", published in 2001, won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He has written four other novels: "Mohawk", "The Risk Pool", "Nobody's Fool", and "Straight Man", …

William Alexander “Bud” Abbott was an American actor, producer and comedian born in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He is best remembered as the straight man of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Lou Costello.

Joey Bishop

Herbert Manfred Marx (February 25, 1901 - November 29, 1979) is best known as Zeppo Marx, the name he used when he performed with his brothers, The Marx Brothers. There are different theories to where Zeppo got his stage name: Groucho once said that the name was derived from the Zeppelin, a new invention at the time of his birth. However, it is more commonly suggested that the name derived from that of another vaudeville performer a chimpanzee, named Mr.

Ernest Wiseman OBE (November 27, 1925 - March 21, 1999), better known by his stage name of Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became an institution on British television, especially for their Christmas specials. Wise's real name was Ernest Wiseman, but he changed his name (as did his partner) to go into show business –- which he did at an early age, …

Richard "Dick" Smothers (born November 20, 1939) is an American comedian, composer and musician from New York, New York, now residing in Sarasota, Florida. Smothers is best known for being half of the musical comedy team The Smothers Brothers with his brother, Tom Smothers. Where Tom played the annoying dolt, Dick played the straight man trying to get through songs and acts without incident. The brothers graduated from Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California, …

Henry McGee was a British actor best known as straight man to Benny Hill for many years. McGee also served often as the announcer on Hill's TV programme, delivering the upbeat intro "Yes! It's "The Benny Hill Show!" Born in South Kensington, London, McGee hoped to become a doctor, but the death of his father when he was 17 put financial strains on the family that forced the abandonment of his plans.

Allan Jones (born October 14 1907 in Old Forge, Pennsylvania - died June 27 1992 in New York, New York) was an American actor and singer. For many years he was married to actor Irene Hervey; their son is American pop singer Jack Jones. Jones starred in many film musicals during the 1930s and 1940s. The best-known of these were "Show Boat" (1936), and "The Firefly" (1937) (in which he sang the popular "Donkey Serenade").

Kenny "The Jet" Smith (born March 8 1965, in Queens, New York City) is a retired American professional basketball player and current TV announcer. He attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, graduating in 1983. When Smith graduated from North Carolina in 1987, he held the school record for most assists with 768. Smith played ten seasons in the NBA. During his career, Smith played for the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, …

Julius "Nipsey" Russell was an African-American comedian, best known today for his many appearances as a guest panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, especially "Match Game", "Password", "Hollywood Squares", "To Tell the Truth" and "Pyramid". His appearances were distinguished in part by the short, humorous poems he would recite during the broadcast.

Mark Linn-Baker (born June 17, 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American actor and director famous for his role as Larry Appleton on the television sitcom "Perfect Strangers". The show paired Linn-Baker with Bronson Pinchot (as Balki Bartokomous), creating a Laurel & Hardy-like comedy duo. They played distant cousins who meet for the first time when Balki travels to Chicago from his native island of Mypos.

Jerry Desmonde (July 20, 1908 – February 11, 1967 suicide) was a British actor best known as a straight man to Norman Wisdom. Jerry is sometimes credited as Jerry Desmond. Born James Robert Sadler in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, Jerry Desmonde was a stage, film, and television actor principally in comedies, drama and crime. He first appeared on stage at the age of eleven and later became part of his family's act "The Four Sadlers", …

Thomas Derbyshire (b. 27 June 1938, Oldham, Lancashire, England), better known as Tommy Cannon, is a comedian and the feed member of comedy double act Cannon and Ball, along with Bobby Ball. He was chairman of Rochdale F.C until 1988

Syd Little (born Cyril Mead, 19th December 1942 in Blackpool, England) is an English comedian and straight man in the double act Little and Large, along with Eddie Large. After leaving Yew Tree Secondary Modern School, Wythenshawe and working as an interior decorator. He started as a singer and guitarist in Manchester pubs before teaming up with Eddie Large.

Paul Eddington, CBE (18 June 1927 – 4 November 1995) was an English actor best known for his appearances in popular television sitcoms of the 1970s and '80s. A Quaker, Eddington began acting with Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) which was set up to entertain British troops during World War II, but was asked to leave when it became known that he was a pacifist and a conscientious objector.

Tim Heidecker (born February 3, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, and one half of the comedic duo of "Tim & Eric", the other being his partner Eric Wareheim. Like Wareheim's, Heidecker's comedic style is often conveyed in a very deadpan manner mixed with hints of realism and often comes across as seeming more serious than it usually should be. Heidecker also enacts physical comedy routines along with Eric, as part of their double act, …

Eric Wareheim (born April 7 1976 in Audubon, Pennsylvania) is an American comedian and actor. He is one half of the comedy team of "Tim and Eric". Wareheim attended Temple University, where he met future comedy partner Tim Heidecker. Wareheim and Heidecker are the creators, writers, and stars of "Tom Goes to the Mayor", a limited animation that airs on the Adult Swim programming block on Cartoon Network.

Arthur Mullard (19 September 1912?-11 December 1995) was an English comedy actor. His exact year of birth seems uncertain, quoted as 1908, 1910, 1912 and 1913 from various sources.

Wallace Greenslade (ca. 1913 Formby, Merseyside - 21 April 1961 Weybridge, Surrey) was a BBC announcer and newsreader, but is mostly remembered for being the straight man in "The Goon Show". He was born at Formby in Lancashire. During the Second World War, he served as a Lieutenant commander in the Royal Naval Reserve for two and a half years and was then a purser with the P&O Line before joining the staff of the BBC in 1945.

Sahan Arzruni is an Armenian pianist born in Istanbul on June 8, 1943. Arzruni has appeared in many television broadcasts including the Johnny Carson and Mike Douglas Shows, a number of PBS specials, and has recorded for European radio networks, including the BBC. Mr. Arzruni has given command performances at the White House, as well as the British, Danish, Swedish, and Icelandic courts.

General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton, a midget who achieved great fame under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum. Stratton was a son of a Bridgeport, Connecticut, carpenter. He was born in Bridgeport, CT. Born to parents of medium height, he was ironically quite a large baby, weighing 9 pounds 2 ounces (4.14 kg) at birth. He developed and grew normally for the first six months of his life, …

Philip Ober (23 March 1902 in Fort Payne, Alabama - 13 September 1982, Mexico City) was an American actor. Ober often appeared in roles as a straight man in farcical circumstances. From 1954 to 1967 he frequently appeared in television series. He was married to actress Vivian Vance, who portrayed Ethel Mertz in the series " I Love Lucy".

Avril Angers (18 April, 1918 - 9 November, 2005) was an English comedian and actor. She was one of the first stand up comedians, and was equally capable of playing a straight man role as a foil to established (male) comics including Frankie Howerd and Arthur Askey. As her career developed, her accomplished facility for a very wide variety of acting roles became evident. Angers was born in Liverpool.

Howard Philips was an early employee of Nintendo of America. He was especially known for his red bow tie, red hair and freckles and acted as a spokesman for Nintendo. While working in the original Tukwila warehouse in the mid 80's, he was spotted as a potential corporate spokesman. He was instrumental in the forming of Nintendo Power magazine, as well as being its first editor.

Lon McEachern is a poker analyst who provides play-by-play commentary on The World Series of Poker. McEachern, who graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in communications, is also the host of FOX network’s "On the Pole." He has been appearing on ESPN's poker coverage since the late 1990s. McEachern has been teamed with sportswriter Norman Chad since 2003 on ESPN's poker coverage.

Bob likes to pick up heavy objects and then set them down. Steve jumps into his shorts. Jared likes to drink a blueberry smoothie before every show. Tommy is an improv whore.