Evening, all ‘ye lovers of light!
Don’t look now, but when you wake up tomorrow, we’ll have less than three weeks left until the sun says, “Yo, yo, I’m back!” (Well, something like that.)
Anyway, now that we’ve reached Countdown Day 22, I thought we could look at some famous duos. Yeah, let’s talk some wild double-deuce types – alive or dead, real or imagined, good cop/bad cop teams, maybe. No limits here.
Needless to say, without you guys, I’m a ship out at sea, with no particular port in mind, so please send me ideas via text or email, make comments on Facebook and Linkedin, etc.
MY TOP TWENTY DYNAMIC DUOS (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
1. Zan & Jana – The Wonder Twins from the Hall of Justice cartoons, with a wildly enthusiastic rallying cry of “Wonder Twin powers activate,” while simultaneously executing a double knuckle bump, Jana could transform into any animal, while Zan’s gift was to morph into water in any state.
2. Laurel & Hardy – From Another Fine Mess to Babes in Toyland, these beloved bumblers never let us down.
3. Steve Martin & Martin Short – These lifelong buddies/comedians turned well-respected actors have always shown us the depth of their talent.
4. Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers – This famous duet treated us to “Islands in the Stream,” 1983.
5. Siegfried Fischbacher & Roy Horne – Starting in 1990, this lion & tiger-taming duo started headlining at the Mirage,
Las Vegas, NV.
6. W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan – This libretto writing duo co-composed 14 famous comic operas, including The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore and The Yeomen of the Guard.
7. Phileas Fogg & Passepartout – These resourceful travelers showed us the world, traveling on the Orient Express, on their way to countless adventures.
8. Brian Piccolo & Gale Sayers – This unlikely duo both thrilled us on the gridiron, while breaking our hearts, when Piccolo fell victim to cancer.
9. Jack Sprat & and his wife – Skinny Jack and his nameless overweight wife showed us that it was probably better to go without food than to be compromised by debt.
10. Tony Orlando & Dawn – This “duo” in name was actually a trio, featuring Tony O., Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent, giving us mega hits like “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” and “Knock Three Times” during the 1970s.)
11. Bullwinkle & Rocky – This animated twosome, hailing from Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, made us laugh, as they out smarted Boris and Natasha.
12. Tom & Jerry – These two spent most of their time feuding, but they wowed us with their various games of one-upmanship.
13. Nightshade & Dark – This creepy duo (with the “creepy” element coming solely from Nightshade) showed us whimsical (and scary!) weirdness, courtesy of Nobel Prize-winning author Ray Bradbury.
14. Freebie & The Bean – This big screen/cop buddy pair (James Caan and Alan Arkin) kept us laughing in many different ways during December 1974.
15. Ralph Cramden & Ed Norton – The original “regular guy” story in every way, even though it only ran one season, “The Honeymooners” have given all of us years of laughs.
16. Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble – These Stone Age chums gave us an animated/modern version of “The Honeymooners” from 1960-1965, with multiple generations watching the hit show in syndication.
17. RL & KK – I’ll stick to initials so as not to embarrass these two guys (though the initials may well give away their respective identities), but when I arrived at the University of Richmond in Fall 1984, they were there to greet me. One of them sported a fisherman’s hat that only a true hardcore angler would wear, while the other was clad in a pair of perfectly pressed khaki shorts, complete with a knife-edge crease. And I’m happy/proud to say that they both have been among my dearest friends for nearly 40 years.
18. Larry Bird & Earvin “Magic” Johnson – They may have been fierce competitors on the hardwood, but their off-the-court friendship may have actually exceeded their stellar performances.
19. Susie Quatro & Christopher Norman – This pair of talented singers gave us a bouncy love song with “Stumblin in” (1978). Perhaps a more catchy title than simply “Falling in Love,” this Top 4o hit was featured in movies like Mask (1985) and Licorice Pizza (2021).
20. Daryl Hall & John Oates – This long-lasting, Philadelphia, PA-based musical duo debuted in 1972, posting six different number 1 singles. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. And in a testament to their musical longevity, they recently announced tour dates for 2024.
21. Jackson Brown & Clarence Clemons – The now-75-year-old Brown and the late Clemons scored a top-20 hit with “You’re a Friend of Mine” back in Fall 1985.
22. Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow – Last on our list, but certainly not least, are Depression-Era bank robbers who became folk heroes over the years. After two-plus years of robbing banks, businesses and even funeral homes, the two were shot to death in rural Louisiana in May 1934. Though they were immortalized in the 1967 Oscar-winning, eponymous film, neither Parker nor Barrow lived to see age 25.
Well there you have it, friends, my top cats. As above, I hope you will share some of your faves with me. Always fun to compare notes.
Somewhat unrelated to our Day 22, but relevant to our journey towards the return of the sun, I share this picture with you. Just a little bit of nature’s symphony for you, as we head into the weekend.
Back to it tomorrow.
JFish
@Copyright 2023 by John L. Fischer