Example: Zeppo Marx (Herbert Manfred Marx) vs The Other Marx Brothers.

To make his brothers look all the more ridiculous, Zeppo donned the persona of the romantic, sappy, music hall lead, slipping into a suit and tie whenever the opportunity arose. Compare his po-faced dress sense to Groucho’s ‘tache, tails and cigar; mute Harpo’s curly wig and top hat and Chico’s fisherman’s cap, and Zeppo’s straight-laced attire makes them even funnier in comparison.

And yet he was purportedly the funniest off camera; the wittiest, cleverest one of all of them, and a genuine jack-of-all-trades: a mechanic, an actor, an agent, a singer, and the only one capable of filling in for the other brothers when they were off sick. In fact, he was so talented Groucho has been reported as saying: "When I had my appendix out, Zeppo took over for me. He was so good that it made me get better quicker."

See also: Dean Martin (vs Jerry Lewis), Shaun from Shaun Of The Dead, Mark from Peep Show, Stephen Fry (vs Alan Davies) on QI, and Jack Lemmon in The Odd Couple.