Dumb Guys and Sitcoms

I can think of a possible counterexample. Matt LeBlanc from Friends played a proverbial "dumb guy" but didn't seem to have much post-Friends success.

OK guys this is the precise topic where you really need to consult TVtropes website.


Sitcom Character Archetypes - TV Tropes

The Goofball — This role is typically filled by The Ditz or the Cloudcuckoolander, but the character could also be generically zany or a Blithe Spirit rather than outright ditzy. Could also be a Pollyanna, with naivety serving as the defining trait; if so, expect this to be the youngest character (see also The Precocious) or a Naïve Newcomer. In Dom Coms this can be an air-headed child — typically a daughter — and a (sometimes) milder incarnation can take the form of a Bumbling Dad.



Straight Man and Wise Guy - TV Tropes

Moral Orel said:

Donald Glover from Community

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Took me a while to figure out/ remember who you were talking about without Googling it. The fact he had a parallel successful career as a rapper is an important contextual point. I didn't watch the show till after it was over, and did so on streaming but really loved it watching at least 3 times all the way through.

Moral Orel said:

Does anyone else think that there's a strong correlation between "the dumb guy character" on a sitcom, and the actor's success after the show ends?

1. Woody Harrleson from Cheers
2. Thomas Hayden Church from Wings
3. Joe Rogan from Newsradio

Anyone else have any other examples I haven't listed? How about counterexamples?

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It's like role playing games, if you get minimum intelligence and maximize charisma, it's the same effect.

TV is very Charisma.

Moral Orel said:

But what if minimum intelligence is maximum charisma?!

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It's a balance of appearing intelligent. So if you have charisma but the intelligence of a grade schooler, your conversation options are limited and the charisma wasted.

It's kind of like how people who are excessively selfish appear to have 30 points of IQ lower than actual, but are cunning none-the-less.

Moral Orel said:

Does anyone else think that there's a strong correlation between "the dumb guy character" on a sitcom, and the actor's success after the show ends?

1. Woody Harrleson from Cheers
2. Thomas Hayden Church from Wings
3. Joe Rogan from Newsradio

Anyone else have any other examples I haven't listed? How about counterexamples?

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Depends on how good an actor they are. To use Woody as an example, he is very good. Outstanding in True Detective. Went to to toe with McConoughey in that. Not to mention Three Billboards. And I watched him a few days ago in The Highwaymen with Costner (the film isn't too bad). And Costner is no slouch. He's the one that draws the eye. But if you watch them together, you can see Costner acting. The camera loves him. And he loves the camera. But with Woody...you can't see the joins.

And hey, he's the coolest of cool dudes.

The sitcoms I watched as a kid were all in the 50s/60s. The dumb guys were sometimes sidekicks of the leading characters. Anybody remember these:

Ed Norton, played by Art Carney on The Honeymooners. He was the sewer-worker friend of bus driver Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason.)

Maynard G. Krebs, played by Bob Denver, on the old Dobie Gillis show. He was Dobie’s beatnik buddy.

Jethro Bodine, played by Max Baer on The Beverly Hillbillies. Jed Clampett’s dim-wit nephew.

Still, I think the funniest character ever in a TV sitcom has to be Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball was a comic genius.

Moral Orel said:

I've heard of Bob Denver, never heard of Maynard G Krebs. Would you say that's an example of the actor playing the dumb guy having more success than the rest of the cast after the show?

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Absolutely. Bob Denver, who was 2nd fiddle on Dobie Gillis, got the lead role of Gilligan on Gilligan’s Island. Which was a hit show. And it’s the character for which he’s best known.

Moral Orel said:

Gah! That's where I know the name! I was wracking my brain trying to think of where.

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Playing a character on a hit show can work against you. You can be typecast and have trouble finding work. That’s what happened to Max Baer, who played Jed’s dimwit nephew Jethro on Beverly Hillbillies. After the show ended, he had real difficulty getting hired for other roles because he was so strongly identified as a big, dumb, lug.

It's probably that actors who gravitate toward those roles tend to have a wide appeal to people. Like Joe Rogan is known for being relatively smart but he kind of plays it down. I think Americans especially tend to prefer people who are, or at least seem, "down to earth".

Michael Crawford in the British comedy "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" was the proverbial dumb-guy in that show, but it didn't hurt his career.

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em - Wikipedia

Michael Crawford - Wikipedia

Michael Scott (Steve Carell) The Office (American version).

Homer Simpson.

jayem said:

Playing a character on a hit show can work against you. You can be typecast and have trouble finding work. That’s what happened to Max Baer, who played Jed’s dimwit nephew Jethro on Beverly Hillbillies. After the show ended, he had real difficulty getting hired for other roles because he was so strongly identified as a big, dumb, lug.

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From what I understand he's not suffering for money though. I read he got into the real estate business and has done very well.