Ed and Larry
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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. Their most notable feature is that they are never seen apart from each other, in which respect they are similar to Lenny Leonard and Carl Carlson on The Simpsons.
Their position within the White House is never made clear, although they often function in an operational role under Josh Lyman. They have also been seen, however, attending 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 Encyclopedia Brittanica. They once helped write jokes for one of President Bartlet's speeches, contributing a joke that involved an impression of John Wayne and a sock puppet.
Very few fans of The West Wing know which of them is which, a fact which has been acknowledged onscreen by C.J. Cregg, who admitted she could not tell the difference between them. Ed and Larry have themselves said that it doesn't matter. There is three points in the series at which the distinction can be properly deduced. In one of the President's daily briefings during the campaign for re-election, the causcasian member of "Ed and Larry" appears along-side Sam Seaborn to staff the President during the meeting. The President adresses him as Ed, and is corrected by the staffer, who claims to be Larry. This appears in the final scene of Season Four, Episode One, "20 Hours in America, Part 1". During H. Con-172 the caucasian mentions that he is Larry and the other is Ed, although the lighthearted nature of the scene could indicate they were joking so as to confuse Sam Seaborn. In the Season Four episode Angel Maintenance, President Bartlett directs Larry to talk to the press aboard Air Froce One. The causcasian member acknowledges the order and turns to leave. In addition, the last name of neither character is known. Their last names are conspicuously absent in the season 7 episode "Here Today," when Toby writes down their full names instead of saying them aloud when the White House Counsel asks for them.
