In it’s simplest definition, the “straight man” is the person in a comedy duo who gives the lines so the other can deliver the punchline of the joke. Someone must set the joke up. Enter the straight man.
So as many of you know, this blog is primarily a mishmash of things, often technically related in some way. (It even says so in the subtitle of the page, and since I wrote it…well…draw your own conclusions.) And, as many of you know, I am also a serious aficionado of old radio shows. Enough of one to have amassed a 16000+ collection of them, many copied straight from old 16″ transcription discs. Lines, sayings, style, or even comedic devices from vaudeville and radio have therefore managed to sink their way into my own character over the years and make up part of who I am. Or is it who I am that draws me to these things?…that’s another discussion for another time.
The silly dream.
For whatever reason, in this dream I am tasked with teaching some kids about this sort of comedy. Don’t know why. It’s a silly dream, remember? So I get to the point of discussing roles suited to a “straight man” when some kid questions me, implying that I am somehow discriminating against people who aren’t straight. “No. Nothing of the sort…” …and I begin to explain what a “straight man” (or woman) is in the routine. About this time, George Burns walks up. (yeah, really!) Burns was a true legend. One of the greatest straight men in the business of laughs. He and his wife, Gracie Allen, were an incredible team. So I think to myself, “This is great! Who better to explain than George Burns himself, right?” It seemed plausible when I was asleep. Really. So George begins to explain, in his own way. The kid says, “You mean you don’t have to be gay?” To which George responds, “Of course you do. No one can successfully do this job for long if they are not happy doing it.” …and then something about a gay straight man vs one who might be gay but isn’t because he’s sad…..and on and on, back and forth and into a spiral of words with multiple meanings (another way to exact a laugh). The kid was clearly learning something even if he had no idea he was being schooled. It rapidly turned into a routine between the three of us that would have made Bud Abbott and Lou Costello proud–proud of the fact they kept their discussion confined to arranging their baseball team!
Yep. Silly and stupid dream. But any day you awake beginning to laugh can’t be all bad, right?