Weber and Fields

Vaudeville comedians and theatrical producers. They perfected a long-running act (1877-1904) that involved song-and-dance, dialect, slapstick, and routines in which Fields was the bullying partner and Weber the fall guy - the inspiration for many such duos as Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello.

At their peak they co-managed Weber and Fields Music Hall, parodying serious plays and musicals. They split up in 1904, and although they re-formed in 1912 and went on to musicals and even films they never regained their original popularity. They were both born in New York City and went to school together in the Lower East Side.