Ed and Larry

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.

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 gag. 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.

See also

• The West Wing
• List of characters on The West Wing
• List of politicians on The West Wing
• List of The West Wing episodes