Pop Culture Famous Duos, Part 2

This comic strip, about a six-year-old boy and his talking stuffed tiger best friend, originally launched in 1985 and ran for ten years, and its popularity spawned 18 books and collections. Only Calvin can see Hobbes as anthropomorphic (others just see him as a stuffed animal), and both have remained best buddies, even 35 years later.

Husband-and-wife duo Sonny Bono and Cher started their career in the mid-1960’s as backing singers until they found fame in 1965 with the songs “Baby Don’t Go” and “I Got You Babe.” Cher has continued to have a successful solo career, but sadly, Sonny passed away in 1998 after a skiing accident.

Although their relationship has never been explicitly verified, Mickey and Minnie are assumed to be significant others. Mickey is a Disney icon and a mascot for the company, as he is the cartoon character that “started it all.” But no one can change the world on their own, so it’s only fitting he has a partner along for the ride.

Wild West outlaws Robert Leroy Parker (aka Butch Cassidy) and Harry Longabaugh (the Sundance Kid) appear in the movie of the same name, which is loosely based on a true story. They’re on the run from a string of train robberies and flee to Bolivia. Although the film received mixed reviews, it went on to win four Academy Awards, solidifying its importance in pop culture history.

King and Goffin are one of the most prolific songwriting teams in modern music, churning out hundreds of hit songs for artists in the early to mid 1960’s, including Aretha Franklin (Respect), the Monkees (Pleasant Valley Sunday,) The Drifters (Some Kind of Wonderful), and Little Eva (The Loco-Motion.) Unfortunately, they divorced in 1968, and Goffin died in 2014. But their music continues to influence songwriters today.

This comedic duo, made up of Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong, found success in the 1970’s and 1980’s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films about the hippie and free love era as well as drugs and counterculture. Although Cheech pursued a solo career in the mid 1980’s, they reunited in the early 1990’s. Now they occasionally make appearances together, but they’ll always be remembered most for their previous comedy bits.

“Wayne’s World” was originally a sketch on the comedy show Saturday Night Live starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, but due to its popularity, it evolved into a 1992 film and a 1993 sequel. The two are obsessed with rock music and host a public-access television show from Wayne’s parents’ basement. A commercial success, it became the eighth highest-grossing film of 1992 and still remains the highest-grossing film based on a Saturday Night Live skit.

Singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis were hugely popular in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, becoming the kings of comedy on stage, television, and in movies, before contemptuously parting ways after ten years. They didn’t speak to each other for the next two decades, all the while each finding fame on their own. After an attempt to reconcile in 1976 through mutual friend Frank Sinatra, they officially made up in 1987, and spoke on and off until Martin’s death in 1995. Lewis passed away in 2017 at the age of 91.

Best friends Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) are characters in the 1991 female buddy road film Thelma & Louise. Thelma, a flighty housewife, and Louise, a sharp-tongued waitress, find themselves in a bit of trouble while on a weekend vacation. The film has seen its share of controversy because of how men are portrayed, but those who love the film praise its message of feminism. The movie won an Academy Award for “Best Original Screenplay” and was nominated for five others.

These sharp-witted television mother-daughter/best friends Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) spoke a mile a minute, spouted obscure pop culture references at a drop of the hat, ate nothing but junk food, and drank coffee like it was water. They lived in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut with a quirky group of residents, just thirty minutes away from Hartford, where Rory eventually went to college at Yale. But she would often visit on weekends, the two never being farther than a car ride away.

From musicians to cartoon characters to comedians, dynamic duos are everywhere. Some of us even have our own partner-in-crime, ready to call on whenever in need.

Source: Wikipedia