Somebody has to set up the joke so the funny guy can deliver the punch line. That's the Straight Man. He rarely gets the funny lines, but has to have impeccable timing and delivery so that the comic (the other half of a comedy duo) can hit it out of the park. Bud Abbott (widely considered the greatest Straight Man of all time) had to say, "[[WhosOnFirst Who's On First]]" with just the right degree of earnestness and irritation so that Lou Costello could get big laughs saying, "Whaddya askin' me for?".

The best Straight Men are so good they can sometimes get laughs just by delivering a straight line so well the audience knows what's coming. (This is essentially the basis of Bob Newhart's "telephone" routines: he was playing the Straight Man to ''nothing'') Other straight men in comedy duos have included George Burns, with Gracie Allen; Dean Martin, with Jerry Lewis, and Dan Rowan, with Dick Martin of ''[[{{Rowan And Martins Laugh-In}} Laugh-In]]''.

The term can apply to women, but comedic foil is a more popular unisex term.

In TV comedy, a StraightMan is frequently one half of an OddCouple.

See also {{Unfunny}}, StraightManAndWiseGuy and OnlySaneMan. See also DeadpanSnarker, which quite a few comedic foils are.

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] a heterosexual man.

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[[foldercontrol]]

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Yomi, ''AzumangaDaioh''.
* Kagami from ''LuckyStar'' plays the "straight man" to Konata.
* Kyon is the straight man for [[SuzumiyaHaruhi Haruhi's]] crazyness. Though it has to be noted that [[DeadpanSnarker Kyon is damn hilarious on his own]], too.
* Tenten, from ''{{Naruto}}'', seems to be a Straight Man for her genin team, since Neji is the [[ArrogantKungFuGuy arrogant kung fu guy]] (and [[{{Filler}} occasional]] [[{{Unfunny}} unfunny]]), and Gai and Lee are... Gai and Lee.
** Although after his HeelFaceTurn, Neji sometimes joins her and they form a collective straight pair (no pun intended) to Gai and Lee.
* In Sailor Moon Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask is everyone's straight man.
* In ''MahouSenseiNegima'', anyone with darkness as a personality trait (Negi, Evangeline) or who has [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience Black]] as their ''tonus'', or [[TransformationTrinket Pactio]] colour (Setsuna, Yue, Chisame) will fill this role.
** Eishun fills this role during the flashbacks, and Akira occasionally fills this role within the group of {{Muggle}} girls.
* In ''[[TheSlayers Slayers]]'', Gourry plays the straight man to Lina, and Zelgadis is the straight man for Amelia.
* [[{{Tsundere}} For some reason]], Teana of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' usually gets this role in FanWebComics. This was pretty much acknowledged by the people behind the franchise when they gave us an official ''Nanoha'' parody {{Yonkoma}} where Teana played the straight man for everyone. Even [[{{Kuudere}} Fate]]. [[http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/422/nanohaforce0113aeng.jpg See]].
* Chika to everyone but especially Miu in ''IchigoMashimaro''.
* Watanabe is the straight man for the somewhat hyperactive [[TheLeisureSuitLarry ladies-man wannabe]] Iwata in ''ExcelSaga'', and, arguably, Sumiyoshi acts like this for both of them.
** Excel and Hyatt actually play Straight Man to each other, as both have their bizzare quirks that rarely overlap.
* In ''NerimaDaikonBrothers'', the very sedate Ichiro typically plays the straight man for the other two members of the group--although he has some of his own strange quirks.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films]]
* Margaret Dumont, the classic foil for the MarxBrothers, especially Groucho. Zeppo Marx himself was a straight man for his brothers, as he had a non-comedic stage persona, but all the requisite timing and skill.
* In an innovative subversion, ''{{Airplane}}!'' had no comedic actors; in effect the entire cast was straight men reacting to the ridiculous situations they're put in (except Johnny, the fruitloop in the control tower). Yes, even Leslie Nielsen. Before ''Airplane'', he primarily acted in horror B-movies (anyone remember ''Creepshow''?).
** ''Creepshow'' came two years after ''Airplane!'', which makes his turn as a murderous cuckold all the more unsettling.
** He was in ''Forbidden Planet'', however. That was anything but a comedy.
*** One GenreSavvy journalist even went so far as to say that Nielsen's job description was unchanged for his early dramatic roles and the comedic roles which he became better known for: both hinged on his ability to say completely ridiculous lines with a straight face.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* On the ''{{Discworld}}'', Rincewind and Sam Vimes seem to play the straight man [[OnlySaneMan for the entire world]].
* The trope is lampshaded and identified by name in the ''DresdenFiles'' novel ''Blood Rites'' when Harry observes that one of the incidental characters is a born Straight Man and could provide some enterprising wise guy with perfect straight lines for life.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''MontyPython'' often subverted this by making the Straight Man even stranger. A recurring character called The Colonel often served this role, shutting down a sketch partway through because he felt that he hadn't delivered a single funny line.
** Graham Chapman, generally, played the role straight, although, he had a more active role in the humor than most straight men.
* Mindy on ''MorkAndMindy'', as the only human who can deal with Mork's silliness without feeling threatened by it.
* Larry on ''PerfectStrangers''.
* Oscar is usually the Straight Man to Felix on ''TheOddCouple'', except when the joke is based on Oscar's messy habits; then the roles are reversed.
* On ''TheDailyShow'', Jon Stewart plays the straight man to the various fake correspondents, who themselves tend to conduct interviews where they make their subjects unwitting straight men. Stewart also uses footage (sometimes out of context) and reports of various politicians, newmakers and media whores as straight men for his own punchlines, but it could be argued that sometimes what they are doing is so outrageous that he can only react as an incredulous straight man even for them.
* From the second series onwards, Rowan Atkinson's portrayal of ''{{Blackadder}}'' was more or less a straight man for the characters of Baldrick, Percy and George. Except when he was saying something [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]].
* Burton "Gus" Guster is Straight Man to Shawn Spencer on ''{{Main/Psych}}''.
* Hugh Laurie would usually (though by no means always) fill this role on ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie''. This is appropriate, because [[IncrediblyLamePun Stephen Fry is not a straight man]].
** Flipped around on ''{{Jeeves and Wooster}}'', where Fry plays the incomparable [[TheJeeves Jeeves]] to Laurie's goofy Wooster.
* Jamie is the Straight Man to Adam's eccentricity in ''{{Mythbusters}}''.
** According to the other wiki, Adam was cast for co-host of the show because Jamie felt he would be too dry of a host on his own.
* Similarly, James May to both Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond on ''TopGear''.
* Everyone at the [[{{MASH}} 4077th]] can fill this role for Hawkeye when needed, but the classics were [[ButtMonkey Major Burns]] and [[{{Jerkass}} Col. Flagg]].
* A casual glance at ''{{Morecambe and Wise}}'' often leads people to conclude Ernie is the Straight Man, but in fact the two of them often exchanged and transcended the role, as in this exchange:
-->'''Eric:''' How are we going to play the Three Musketeers when there's only two of us?\\
'''Ernie:''' Easy, I'll play one, and you can play the other two.\\
'''Eric:''' Can I really? That's very good of you, Ern!
* Rene Auberjonois' character on ''BostonLegal'' is a combination Straight Man and OnlySaneMan.
* The comedic duo ''Mitchell and Web'' generally have Mitchell as the straight man.
* Ironically, Jerry is usually the straight man to his wacky friends on ''Seinfeld''. despite being a stand-up comedian himself.
* This gets used ''a lot'' in the shows ''YesMinister'' and ''YesPrimeMinister''. Essentially, Hacker and Humphrey are ''both'' playing the Straight Man role to Bernard. The actor who played Bernard has even gone so far as to say in an interview that, though his role was technically the most minor of the three main roles, he feels that he got the best job, because Hacker and Humphrey would often have extremely long sections of memorized, straight dialogue (which, given Humphrey's penchant for SesquipedalianLoquaciousness, is all the more impressive) before he jumped in with a short, but often hilarious, punchline.
* [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Castiel]] on ''{{Supernatural}}'', especially in Season 5. He doesn't understand when the other characters are being funny and/or sarcastic, which makes his sincere replies hilariously adorable.
* Gordon Kaye as Rene Artois on English sitcom ''AlloAllo'' was the OnlySaneMan in a small town in Nazi-occupied France, forever getting caught up in hare-brained schemes by ThoseWackyNazis and members of LaResistance.
* The calm, introspective Sargeant Wilson was straight man to the bombastic Captain Mainwearing on ''DadsArmy'', another WWII English sitcom (this time about the Home Guard).
* ''{{Friends}}''. Although Chandler was more of a DeadpanSnarker, he was definately the straight man to Joey's foil. In one case, he was able to pull it off without even saying anything, as a the group prepared to head to London:
-->'''Chandler:''' You got your passport?\\
'''Joey:''' Yeah, in the third draw of my dresser. Wouldn't want to lose that.\\
'''Chandler:''' ''(just stares at him)''\\
'''Joey:''' ... Oh! ''(runs back to his room)''
* Jim, Pam, Toby, Stanley, and Oscar on the US version of ''TheOffice'' all serve as as Straight Man/Woman to the wackiness that emanates from various corners of the office.
** This makes Oscar a StraightGay StraightMan. ([[IncrediblyLamePun You may groan now]]).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* One of the all-time great straight men is Bert, the Straight Man to Ernie on ''SesameStreet''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* {{Bob and Ray}} were an exception to this, as each man could ''simultaneously'' be the straight man and the goof, all in the same routine.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Stand-up Comedy]]
* Initially, George Burns had his wife Gracie Allen in the Straight "Man" role in their comedy act... until he realized most of the laughter was at her set-up lines and not the actual jokes. He switched roles with her and spent the next several decades as one of the classic straight men.
* Carl Reiner to Mel Brooks' 2000-years-old man is another classic of the trope.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Phoenix Wright in the [[PhoenixWrightAceAttorney series of the same name]], who appears to act as the straight man for ''everyone''.
** And in the fourth game, Apollo takes on this role, even playing the straight man to Phoenix.
* Peter Puppy in ''EarthwormJim'', who also qualifies as a DeadpanSnarker at times is usually more serious and sensitive than Jim.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In the original ''RedVsBlue'' series, this role generally fell to Church, Grif, Simmons and Tex (although Tucker and Sarge had their moments too). In the spinoff, ''Reconstruction'', while the old characters are unchanged, Agent Washington, the new guy, fits the bill much more so.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Gamal from the webcomic ''{{Men in Hats}}''.
* Can't leave Roy from the ''{{The Order of the Stick}}'' off this list. As the OnlySaneMan in a party with a [[HeroicSociopath sociopathic halfling]], a SpoonyBard, a greedy rogue (is there any other kind?), a dwarf who's afraid of trees, and a power-obsessed elf, Roy has played the Straight Man to each at least once and countless times for most, especialy Belkar and Elan. Roy has proven to be so essential to the comedic chemistry of the ''The Order of the Stick'' that [[spoiler:his death has left the group fractured and not nearly as funny as normal]].
** [[spoiler:Not as funny as normal in what context? If you mean the comic's comedic value has truely declined because of that... I'd say YourMileageMayVary. If you mean the group doesn't act as funny, happy or go-lucky as cohesively on account of that, that is true.]]
* Cherry is the Straight Man to Hero in the webcomic ''[[http://rpgworldcomic.com/ RPG World]]''. She is, in fact, ''prophesied'' to be the Straight Man for the entire world, as she is the only one who thinks there's something strange about a world where all battles are turn-based and groups look like their most important member when viewed from afar, also making her TheChosenOne.
* ''{{Shortpacked}}'' has theorised that Batman can make anything funny, because he is the ultimate Straight Man. When you consider that his arch-nemesis is ''The Joker'', we may have the oddest OddCouple in history...
* Zoe often takes up the Straight Man role in ''SluggyFreelance'', thanks to being the [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]].
* Ozy in ''{{Ozy and Millie}}'' is usually this to Millie. And his dad. And Avery. Millie is sometimes this to Felicia.
* Elliot or Sarah in ''ElGoonishShive''. Susan counts more as a DeadpanSnarker.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''{{KateModern}}'' season 1, Tariq is often this to Gavin.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Huey Freeman of ''{{The Boondocks}}'' had become the straight man of Riley Freeman, Robert "Granddad" Freeman... and even Uncle Ruckus. This troper personally thinks that the second season eroded Huey's roles in the series for cheap laughs. [[YourMileageMayVary However, your mileage may vary]], and the episode where Robert's car was stolen was actually funny.
* Carey Means, who plays Frylock on ''AquaTeenHungerForce'', has the added privilege of playing the Straight Man to lines that usually don't even make sense spoken by anthropomorphic food items and stoned two-dimensional aliens.
* Ditto for [[NotSoHarmless Charles Foster Ofdenson]], who plays Straight Man to Dethklok and OnlySaneMan to the ''{{Metalocalypse}}'' universe.
* Raffles the border collie from ''RoverDangerfield'' is easygoing and slightly naive compared to the titular joker.
* The concept is parodied in the first episode of ''TinyToonAdventures'' when Hampton is being interviewed by Buster and Babs in which he rattles off a list of characteristics of the straight man, presenting them as his own personal qualities.
* Ulrich of ''CodeLyoko'' often plays the Straight Man to Odd's antics.
* [[spoiler:Puck]] of ''{{Gargoyles}}'' said of his [[spoiler:Owen]] persona, "The Trickster has played many roles, but [[AccidentalInnuendo never that of the straight man]]."
** The fangirls immediately [[HoYay latched on that one]].
[[/folder]]

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