Ed and Larry
Encyclopedia
Ed and Larry are fictional characters on the television
series The West Wing, played by Peter James Smith and William Duffy. They are secondary characters, both of whom work in the White House
. They rarely appear separately; this comical device is similar to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
in Hamlet
.
Their position within the White House is never made clear, although they often function in an operational role under White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman
. They have also been seen, however, attending White House Press Secretary
C.J. Cregg's staff meetings. Most likely, they work in the Office of Management and Budget
.
Over the years, they have worked on a wide variety of projects: They briefed several senior staffers on the India
-Pakistan
conflict, using information they claimed to have taken from the Encyclopædia Britannica
. They once helped write jokes for President
Bartlet
's White House Correspondence Dinner speech, contributing a joke that involved an impression of John Wayne
and a sock puppet.
. C.J. Cregg, admitted she did not know their individual names; Ed and Larry don't insist on senior staff getting it right.
There are at least six points in the series at which the distinction is clear: In "20 Hours in America, Part I
", during one of the President's daily briefings, Larry appears alongside Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn
to staff the President during the meeting. The President addresses him as "Ed", and Larry corrects him. In "H. Con-172
", while members of the staff are being assigned chapters of a book relevant to themselves to look over, they are each assigned the other's chapter - of which they make note while they switch the chapters between them. In "Angel Maintenance
", President Bartlet directs Larry to talk to the press aboard Air Force One. Larry acknowledges the order and turns to leave. In "The Fall's Gonna Kill You
", Ed and Larry catch Donna Moss
in the hallway to read her a humorous fax. Larry addresses Ed correctly. And finally, in "7A WF 83429
" White House Deputy Communications Director Will Bailey
correctly addresses Ed.
In addition, neither of the characters' last names have been revealed. Their last names are conspicuously absent in the season 7 episode "Here Today," when Toby Ziegler
writes down their full names instead of saying them aloud when the White House Counsel asks for them.
In the final episode
President Bartlet says goodbye, along with many other White House staffers, to each of them, and gets their names right.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series The West Wing, played by Peter James Smith and William Duffy. They are secondary characters, both of whom work in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. They rarely appear separately; this comical device is similar to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. They are courtiers who are set by the king to spy on Hamlet, using their claimed friendship with him to gain his confidence. The characters were revived in W. S...
in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
.
Their position within the White House is never made clear, although they often function in an operational role under White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
. They have also been seen, however, attending White House Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary
The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
C.J. Cregg's staff meetings. Most likely, they work in the Office of Management and Budget
United States Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget is a Cabinet-level office, and is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States .The current OMB Director is Jacob Lew.-History:...
.
Over the years, they have worked on a wide variety of projects: They briefed several senior staffers on the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
-Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
conflict, using information they claimed to have taken from the Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
. They once helped write jokes for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bartlet
Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...
's White House Correspondence Dinner speech, contributing a joke that involved an impression of John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and a sock puppet.
Distinguishing Ed and Larry
In the credits for episodes where Ed and Larry appear, Peter James Smith is credited as Ed and William Duffy is credited as Larry. Many viewers or fans of The West Wing, however, may not know which name belongs to whom, as confusing the two minor characters is a recurring gagVisual gag
In comedy, a visual gag or sight gag is anything which conveys its humor visually, often without words being used at all.There are numerous examples in cinema history of directors who based most of the humour in their films on visual gags, even to the point of using no or minimal dialogue...
. C.J. Cregg, admitted she did not know their individual names; Ed and Larry don't insist on senior staff getting it right.
There are at least six points in the series at which the distinction is clear: In "20 Hours in America, Part I
20 Hours in America, Part I
"20 Hours in America" is a double episode of The West Wing .-Plot:...
", during one of the President's daily briefings, Larry appears alongside Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn
Sam Seaborn
Samuel Norman "Sam" Seaborn is a fictional character portrayed by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is best known for being Deputy White House Communications Director in the Josiah Bartlet administration throughout the first four seasons of the series.-Creation and...
to staff the President during the meeting. The President addresses him as "Ed", and Larry corrects him. In "H. Con-172
H. Con-172
"H. Con-172" is the 54th episode of The West Wing, an American television series.-Plot:Leo defiantly rejects the Congressional Oversight Committee's offer of a public censure of President Bartlet that would finally bring an end to the investigation into Bartlet's concealment of his illness and...
", while members of the staff are being assigned chapters of a book relevant to themselves to look over, they are each assigned the other's chapter - of which they make note while they switch the chapters between them. In "Angel Maintenance
Angel Maintenance
"Angel Maintenance" is episode 84 of The West Wing. Angel is the Secret Service code name for Air Force One.-Plot:Returning to Washington, D.C. from Manila, Air Force One is forced to stay in the air after a minor malfunction.C.J...
", President Bartlet directs Larry to talk to the press aboard Air Force One. Larry acknowledges the order and turns to leave. In "The Fall's Gonna Kill You
The Fall's Gonna Kill You
"The Fall's Gonna Kill You" is the 42nd episode of The West Wing.-Plot:The episode begins with CJ being summoned to the office of the White House Counsel Oliver Babish, who menacingly questions CJ about the President's MS cover-up, despite the fact she had only been informed the night before...
", Ed and Larry catch Donna Moss
Donna Moss
Donnatella "Donna" Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. Donna is a recurring character during the first season, although she appears in every episode, making her a de facto regular...
in the hallway to read her a humorous fax. Larry addresses Ed correctly. And finally, in "7A WF 83429
7A WF 83429
"7A WF 83429" is episode 89 of The West Wing. 7A WF 83429 is the control number assigned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Zoey's kidnapping case.-Plot:...
" White House Deputy Communications Director Will Bailey
Will Bailey
William "Will" Bailey, is a fictional character played by Joshua Malina on the television serial drama The West Wing, holding various posts in the White House Office of Communications, Office of the Vice President and a backbencher Congressman .-Character biography:Will grew up in Belgium, as his...
correctly addresses Ed.
In addition, neither of the characters' last names have been revealed. Their last names are conspicuously absent in the season 7 episode "Here Today," when Toby Ziegler
Toby Ziegler
Tobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...
writes down their full names instead of saying them aloud when the White House Counsel asks for them.
In the final episode
Tomorrow (The West Wing)
"Tomorrow" is the 154th episode and the series finale of the American television show The West Wing. It originally aired on May 14, 2006.-Plot:...
President Bartlet says goodbye, along with many other White House staffers, to each of them, and gets their names right.