My Favorite TV Comedy Couples: An Affectionate Look at Second Bananas

Supporting actors are critical to the success and watchability of a show. There are numerous single, double, and bunches of second bananas that have helped make our favorite sitcom stars funny over the years. I humbly offer a highly subjective list of my top six:

Fred and Ethel from I Love Lucy
Lucille Ball was hilarious in each and every of her many sitcoms, but I have a predilection for the old I Love Lucy episodes which feature her landlords, Fred and Ethel Mertz. Vivian Vance and William Frawley, who played the Mertzes, had impeccable comic timing. Their horrified expressions were always amazing to watch as Lucy blundered into her various predicaments. My favorite episode is when the Ricardos and Mertzes are thrown into a French jail on suspicion of passing counterfeit francs.

Ed and Trixie Norton from The Honeymooners
Without the steadiness of his friend Ed Norton, the easygoing upstairs neighbor, Ralph Kramden would be just another frustrated and angry busdriver. Without Trixie to back her up, I used to worry when I was little that Ralph really was going to punch his wife Alice, "right in the kisser!" Kramden's character had a bit too short of a fuse to be funny in my opinion, but I watched the show because of the Nortons. Art Carney played Ed Norton and Joyce Randolph picked up the Trixie character after it was originated by Elaine Stritch.

Meathead and Gloria from All in the Family
Archie Bunker's daughter and son-in-law, played by Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner, regularly called Archie to task for his political incorrectness. Without them, the show would not have had the confrontational edginess that made it one of the most controversial sitcoms of its time.

Thurston and Lovey Howell of Gilligan's Island
"The Millionaire .... and his wife," crooned the intro music to Gilligan's Island. The gag was that the Howells maintained their status as the wealthiest couple on the island even though there was nothing they could buy. Thurston Howell III was played, of course, by the multitalented Jim Backus, also known as the voice of Mr. Magoo, and Lovey was played by Natalie Schafer.

Mr. and Mrs. Roper of Three's Company
In Three's Company, Janet, Chrissie and Jack were roommates who had to contend with snoopy landlords played by veteran character actors Norman Fell and Audra Lindley. The running joke was Mr. Roper's obsessive suspicions about Jack's true sexual orientation. Jack pretended to be gay so Mr. Roper would be less conflicted about allowing him to share an apartment with two attractive young women. Mr. Roper would pop up at the appropriate comedic moment, do a double take, and stand there puzzling it out until the long-suffering Mrs. Roper appeared and led him away, wondering yet again why Mr. Roper showed so little interest in their marriage.

Wilbur and Carol of Mr. Ed
Without Wilbur and Carol Post, played by Alan Young and Connie Hines, Mr. Ed would just be another sad and bitter horse making prank phone calls from the isolation of his lonely stall.