30 Questions/30 Days, Day 11

And here's Charles Coe returning to our line up with another question that promises I'm going to have to do some work, or at least some thinking:

Why has the classic comedy duo all but disappeared? Where are today's Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Rowan and Martin, and so on?

Well, I'm a big comedy fan, and as a kid, I didn't get into it until those type of acts were all but gone.  Aside from a brief Smothers Brothers show on TV in the 80's, that was it for "real time" acts I could view at night.  Mind you, I didn't think much about what was classical and what was modern at the time because UHF TV was the main outlet of a kid who had a strict bedtime and wasn't even allowed to watch "Benny Hill" at 7:30 (also a local UHF staple).  Even though shows could be old and in black and white, it all kind of felt "real time" to me.  I treated it all equally, absorbing what I could.

All that rambling was just to say I have no expert opinion, but I'll try to theorize without sounding like I'm blowing too much smoke.  Here comes another list, Charles:

1. I wonder if the demise started with shows like Laugh In and Saturday Night Live, which showed comic acts both greater and lesser that there is strength in numbers.Maybe the comedy troupe usurped the comedy duo.
2. Even without that, you can't forget how comedy had a boom in the 80's, which seemed to cultivate a one-man mercenary attitude.  Sure, you hear about comics forming bonds, especially in towns like Boston, but they were also ready to tour where they had to and, if asked, head out to Hollywood for the Big Deal.  With those circumstances, it was easier not to be anchored to a partner.
3. Aside from the duos you mentioned, I also think about teams like Martin and Lewis, Sonny and Cher, and who knows how many others that just didn't work out, or at least didn't end amicably with both parties better off for it.
4. Maybe the concept of the comedy duo doesn't translate to modern media as well.  Abbot and Costello got their start as Burlesque acts, Ray and Bob were on the radio.  
5. I think due to point 2, the comedy duo has evolved into one "public" partner and one "silent" or "secret" partner.  There are always rumors whispered when two comedians get to talking to each other (I love Marc Maron's podcast) about comedians who farm jokes from other comics.  I think there's an almost secret network of well known performers and lesser known talents who might not have stage presence but have the chops to contribute material (I thought I saw somewhere that Mario Joyner helped Chris Rock write material for Chris Rock's act, but damn if I can find that anywhere).  That way big stars remain fresh, and other lesser knowns have comfortable incomes.
6. Duos survived by being diversified as actors, singers, comedians, writers and so on.  That said, I think a number of duos have started to pop up over the past few years appropriating the schtick of other historical acts.  There's Tenacious D, Garfunkle and Oates, and you could even say that Opie and Anthony are descendants of the Bob and Ray school of radio duos (though that might peeve some people off).

I'll end this with a couple of clips of modern duos.