History Main / TalkerAndDoer

A variety of two-person ensemble where one person has technical or artistic expertise but lacks social and commercial skills to advertise them, while the other, though lacking geeky know-how, has [[TheFace a silver tongue and a keen profit sense]]. They are partners who bicker a lot (especially about the Doer's habit of "DoingItForTheArt") but grudgingly acknowledge needing each other.

See also OddCouple and OddFriendship. Compare RedOniBlueOni and AloofLeaderAffableSubordinate.

* George and Lennie, the protagonists of ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen'', form such a team. Lennie is incredibly strong, and would hence be extremely employable on the farms where they are looking for work; except that he's also extremely stupid, too stupid to pass a job interview, so he needs George to speak to the farmers on his behalf.

That will give your gift the needed lift.\\

* In ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks'', Mr. Brown proposes this setup with Miss Price when he suggests that they use her magic to go into show business, with him as the talker and her as the doer, and sings a whole song about it. They never actually pursue it, but he describes it to a T.

* ''Film/TommyBoy'': Tommy is the talker, standing in for his father "Big" Tom Callahan, a noted auto parts CEO and salesman; Richard is the doer, having served as Big Tom's right-hand man for some time. They start out struggling to sell their brake pads due to both Tommy's inexperience with sales and Richard's InsufferableGenius tendencies annoying everybody. They make their breakthrough [[CentipedesDilemma when Tommy realizes he was trying too hard to emulate his father, and as he starts acting naturally, the two start getting along and successfully selling break pads]].

* ''Film/TommyBoy'': Tommy is the talker, standing in for his father "Big Tom" Callahan, a noted auto parts CEO and salesman; Richard is the doer, having served as Big Tom's right-hand man for some time. They start out struggling to sell their brake pads due to both Tommy's inexperience with sales and Richard's InsufferableGenius tendencies annoying everybody. They make their breakthrough [[CentipedesDilemma when Tommy realizes he was trying too hard to emulate his father, and as he starts acting naturally, the two start getting along and successfully selling break pads]].

* ''Film/TommyBoy'': Tommy is the talker, standing in for his father Big Tom Callahn, a noted auto parts CEO and salesman; Richard is the doer, having served as Big Tom's right-hand man for some time. They start out struggling to sell their brake pads due to both Tommy's inexperience with sales and Richard's InsufferableGenius tendencies annoying everybody. They make their breakthrough [[CentipedesDilemma when Tommy realizes he was trying too hard to emulate his father, and as he starts acting naturally, the two start getting along and successfully selling break pads]].

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''FanFic/GFSerendipity'': Stan is the talker and Fiddleford is the doer. Stan can talk people into buying Fiddleford's inventions and Fiddleford can make products that are so good Stan doesn't need to lie about them in advertisements.
[[/folder]]

* Webcomic/OHumanStar: Brendan Pinsky and Alastair Sterling. Alastair is a repulsive genius and Brendan is a charismatic front man.

* Phineas and Ferb from ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles2'', the world-class telecommunications company that wants to sponsor the Parrs to bring Superheroes back to the spotlight is run by BrotherSisterTeam Winston and Evelyn Deavor. Evelyn is the GadgeteerGenius who creates the technology, while her brother is the company's face who sells her inventions to great success.

See also OddCouple and OddFriendship. Compare RedOniBlueOni.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles2'', the world-class telecommunications company who wants to sponsor the Parrs to bring Superheroes back to the spotlight is run by BrotherSisterTeam Winston and Evelyn Deavor. Evelyn is the GadgeteerGenius who creates the technology, while her brother is the company's face who sells her inventions to great success.

* From ''Literature/ACivilCampaign'', Mark Vorkosigan, the business genius and Dr. Enrique Borgos the Escobarran scientist who was going to be sent to prison for his debts (he didn't really understanding how selling stocks works). Together they are trying to market genetically engineered cockroaches which vomit out cheap, sanitary, highly nutritious "bug butter"-- but have ''at least'' as much of a public relations problem as that short description makes it sound.

* In ''Literature/TheFearIndex'', Dr. Alex Hoffman is a technical genius who has invented a whole new way of automating finance but is generally introverted and awkward, while Hugo Quarry is a fast-talking, profit-headed business genius with no technical knowledge at all

Compare OddCouple and OddFriendship.

[[folder: Fan Works]]

[[folder: Films -- Animated ]]

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In ''Literature/TheFearIndex'', Dr Alex Hoffman is a technical genius who has invented a whole new way of automating finance but is generally introverted and awkward, while Hugo Quarry is a fast-talking, profit-headed business genius with no technical knowledge at all.

[[folder: Live Action Television ]]

* Hank and Evan Lawson in ''Series/RoyalPains''. Hank is a great doctor, but isn't very willing to sell himself. Accountant Evan declares himself "CFO of [=HankMed=]," and handles the business and marketing side of Hank's concierge doctor services.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* From ''Literature/ACivilCampaign'', Mark Vorkosigan, the business genius and Dr. Enrique Borgos the Escobarran scientist who was going to be sent to prison for his debts (he didn't really understanding how selling stocks works). Together they are trying to market "butter bugs" which produce a nutritious and fairly inexhaustible supply of "bug butter".

* Hank and Evan Lawson in ''RoyalPains''. Hank is a great doctor, but isn't very willing to sell himself. Accountant Evan declares himself "CFO of [=HankMed=]," and handles the business and marketing side of Hank's concierge doctor services.

* Malcolm Corley and Adrian Ripburger seem to have this dynamic in ''VideoGame/FullThrottle''.

* This comes up a lot in murder-of-the-week PoliceProcedurals. The victim will be the one who made stuff (the doer), and the partner will by the one who made the company run (the talker). Or less often, vice-versa. Either way, the still-living partner will say that s/he doesn't know how the company will be able to survive without the dead partner (when the partner isn't the Perp).

* Similarly, in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' DLC ''Dragonborn'', a treasure hunter named Ralis Sedarys offers you a partnership to excavate the Kolbjorn Barrow for the ancient relics contained within. You provide the funding ([[CashGate a total of 11,000 gold in four chunks]]) and the muscle whenever the miners run into the draugr, while he manages the dig day-to-day and [[WeHaveReserves hires more miners and mercenaries to replace the losses]]. [[spoiler:In the end, however, you discover that Ralis had been mind-controlled by an undead Dragon Priest buried in the barrow since before you first met him and had quite possibly been sacrificing the miners to him with his own hands.]]

** In ''ComicBook/{{Magekiller}}'', Marius is a natural mage hunter, while his partner Tessa, although not a slouch in a fight, either, is much better at negotiating contracts and talking to clients.

* Master smith Wade and merchant Herren from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', ''you'' (as [[PlayerCharacter Hawke]]) can become the Doer to Hubert Bartiere's Talker, if you follow up on his SidequestSidestory and agree to co-own the Bone Pit mine. "Doing" in this case mostly boils down to clearing out the mine infestation by increasingly nasty creatures [[OncePerEpisode once per Act]].

* From The ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', Mark Vorkosigan, the business genius and Dr. Enrique Borgos the Escobarran scientist who was going to be sent to prison for his debts (he didn't really understanding how selling stocks works). Together they are trying to market "butter bugs" which produce a nutritious and fairly inexhaustible supply of "bug butter".