Weber and Fields

Abbott and Costello. Laurel and Hardy. Martin and Lewis. Cheech and Chong!

The double act had been a comedy tradition since the late 1800s. There are two men... (Almost always men, with rare exceptions.*) One is tall, the other short. One is smart, the other stupid. One is the funny man, the other the straight man. One is usually with red hair?

Before those aforementioned icons (and also Chong), someone had to be the first... Well, the first and second. And that might just have been Weber and Fields.

Weber (born Joseph Weber in New York): short, clever, funny man, dark hair. Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld in Poland): tall, stupid, straight man, red hair. Of course, Fields wasn't exactly stupid himself, but his character, Meyer, was. In a series called "Mike and Meyer", the two supposed German immigrants were always trying to make it big in America... There were a lot of accents.

Aykroyd and Belushi? Fry and Laurie? Key and Peele? It all goes back to Weber and Fields... Hopefully with fewer accents.

*Gracie Allen of Burns and Allen, Anne Meara of Stiller and Meara, Elaine May of Nichols and May. (Lots of Jews there!)

Verdict: **Jew**.

_September 19, 2025_