The 7 Best Comedy Duos Of All Time, Ranked
Comedy teams are an essential aspect of the comedic genre.
Allowing each performer a chance to bounce their creative energy off one another, comic teams hold a distinct place in the center of pop culture, dating all the way back to the early days of vaudeville in the latter 19th century. In the decades since, numerous comedy duos have come and gone, their impact on entertainment history shaping our collective appreciation for comedy itself. From iconic pairings like Abbott and Costello to more recent partnerships like Key and Peele, here are some of our absolute favorite comedic duos, ranked in order from worst to best.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
Saturday Night Live has produced plenty of comedic pairings over the years, from early duos like Aykroyd and Belushi to ‘90s fan-favorites like Spade and Farley. But even when compared to SNL’s most prodigious talents, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler simply possessed that rare chemistry that made their relationship heartily entertaining from the start. Revitalizing “Weekend Update” with their tongue-in-cheek humor and deadpan delivery, Fey and Poehler captured lightning in a bottle every time they appeared on-screen together. Whether maintaining playful banter on SNL or enjoying hilarious rapport in a film like Baby Mama, audiences could rest assured they were in for a good time whenever these two skillful comic performers were tossed together in a single project.
Key and Peele
Realizing the unique dynamic they shared during their time together on Mad TV, Jordan Peele and Keegan Michael-Key channeled their irreverent sense of humor into Comedy Central’s hit series, Key & Peele. Like all the best sketch shows, Key & Peele showcased its performers’ clear comic capabilities right off the bat, allowing them to convincingly play any character they were required to portray. Through their sharp-edged, surprisingly poignant portrayal of everyday topics, Key and Peele found a way to broach conversations about notably difficult talking points, from race relations and gender representation to U.S. politics and uncomfortable pop culture tropes.
Cheech and Chong
Next to Jeff Bridges’ iconic character The Dude in The Big Lebowski, few fictional stoners have earned such a distinguished place in pop culture as Cheech and Chong. Entering the entertainment industry in the early 1970s, Cheech and Chong pioneered a new branch of counterculture comedy, portraying recreational drug use not as some moral evil, but as a passive means of enjoyment. Through their work on films like Up in Smoke, Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie, and Nice Dreams, the cannabis-loving best friends influenced countless films and TV shows that followed, from Dazed and Confused and Harold and Kumar to That ‘70s Show and Friday.
Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor
In theory, it’s next to impossible to imagine two comedians as wildly different as Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. But it’s for this very reason that the duo made an effective combination, their opposing personalities and comedic styles making for an inexplicably powerful pairing. Between Wilder’s over-the-top performances and Pryor’s deadpan delivery, Wilder and Pryor managed to dazzle and delight viewers every time they worked on a joint project, from their first collaboration in 1976’s Silver Streak up to their comic achievements in 1980’s cult favorite Stir Crazy.
Martin and Lewis
Fine-tuning their act in the night clubs of Atlantic City, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ultimately found the perfect balance between Martin’s smooth vocal serenades and Lewis’s off-the-walls comedic energy. On paper, such a distinctly opposing combination shouldn’t have worked as well as it did, but thankfully, Martin and Lewis somehow translated their off-stage friendship to the public spotlight, making their act feel that much more authentic and well-rounded. Partnering together for 10 momentous years, Martin and Lewis redefined what a traditional comedy team could look like, fusing together each star’s individual strengths and paving the way to the most iconic comedy team of their generation.
Abbott and Costello
It’s no accident that people continue to talk about Abbott and Costello nearly 70 years after their final collaboration. The most popular comedic act of the ‘40s and early ‘50s, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello quickly found success in radio before their eventual emergence in film and television. Emphasizing rapid-fire delivery and humorous misunderstandings (such as their famous “Who’s on First?” routine), Abbott and Costello captivated mainstream audiences with their back-and-forth wisecracks and combative arguments. While each of their stand-up routines earned renown for the two decades of their tenure together, Abbott and Costello also ingeniously transposed their zesty wordplay to various cinematic genres outside of the comedic field, including science fiction (Abbott and Costello Go to Mars), fantasy (Jack and the Beanstalk), adventure (Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion), and horror (Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein).
Laurel and Hardy
Before Cheech and Chong, before Martin and Lewis, before even Abbott and Costello, there was the superhuman partnership of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Appearing alongside each other from 1927 to 1955, Laurel and Hardy’s antics found a welcome place in silent film before successfully transitioning into sound motion pictures. Working together in a total of 107 films and countless theatrical productions, Laurel and Hardy’s accolades helped lay the groundwork for what every traditional comedy team that followed. Between Laurel’s childlike attitude and Hardy’s absentminded bullying, Stan and Ollie proved to be a match made in heaven, selling out entire theaters, influencing numerous comedians, and forever changing the comedy genre in the first half of the 20th century.
