Chewbacca/Han Solo
Vince Vega/Jules Winfield
Ed Norton/Ralph Cramden
I was thinking the same thing with Butch Cassidy/Sundance Kid
Eddie Murphy (Reggie) to Nick Nolte’s cop (Jack) in 48 hours
Tom Arnold was pretty awesome as a sidekick to Arnold Schwarzenegger in “True Lies”
Jack Burton, ostensible hero of Big Trouble In Little China, but actually sidekick to…
Wang Chi, the plot’s pivotal character as well as the “invincible action hero who gets the job done.”
“Indeed!”
Good grief, Penfold.
Other two are Spock and Bullwinkle, already mentioned.
My first choice, followed by:
[ul]
[li]Sallah to Indianna Jones [/li][li]Vir to Londo Molari in Babylon 5[/li][/ul]
Johnny Staccato and Waldo
Gary Hobson and Marissa Clark
Gary Hobson and Chuck Fishman
Wallace, sidekick to Gromit
Bob Denver as Maynard G Krebs
Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson
Alan Hale Sr as various sidekicks to Errol Flynn
No Kato Kaelin fans here I guess.
I’m not into film or TV; so my favourite three are from novels (series, or stand-alone) – perhaps a bit obscure, as against the universal all-time greats.
From C.J. Sansom’s Shardlake 16th-century-set thrillers: Matthew Shardlake’s clerk and back-up in the frightening political-type imbroglios which they always seem unwillingly, to get into – Jack Barak. Jack is short-tempered, intolerant, foul-mouthed, and highly impulsive, often unwisely so; but basically good-hearted, very bright, and a physically big and strong “man of his hands” – very useful for the frail and hunchbacked Shardlake, when things get violent.
In Lois McMaster Bujold’s “Vorkosigan” novels: Miles Vorkosigan’s cousin Ivan Vorpatril, when they’re on the same planet and Miles is not off huge distances away commanding his freelance mini-space-navy. Miles is brilliant, extremely “driven”, unstoppably energetic, a perfectionist, and given to great highs-and-lows of mood (he’s physically handicapped, much of the foregoing proceeding from that circumstance); Ivan is sharp and intelligent, but essentially an ordinary, rather lazy, unambitious, laid-back guy. His very different perspective on things – and his basic calmness vis-a-vis the frenetic Miles – often prove helpful / corrective for Miles, re the latter’s coping with life and achieving his objectives.
In Watership Down by Richard Adams: Campion, second-in-command (and ultimately successor) to General Woundwort, tyrannical ruler of the aggressive, belligerent, very un-rabbit-like warren of Efrafa. Although a member of the hierarchy of a totalitarian state, Campion is – by the standards of such places – sane (unlike his boss), and relatively humane – if that word can be applied to rabbits. He is, as it were, Khrushchev to Woundwort’s Stalin; and after Woundwort’s death, he scales-down Efrafa’s nastiness: his polity, and the Watership warren, are able to become neighbours on fairly good terms with each other.
I came into this thread for the first time, and searched for Kato, thinking how could anyone not have Bruce Lee at the top of the list.
Wrong frickin’ Kato, dude.
Boltie, from Super.
My three favorite sidekicks are all from the same book, Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon. They’re all minions to Molly, a wicked witch: the Majordomo (sort of a cross between Frankenstein’s monster and Igor), the Cook (a Minotaur), and Pins (hard to describe exactly what he is, but he’s Molly’s tailor.)
I’m forced to name 4 in real life. My dogs. Good sidekicks.
For TV and movies, I’m going to go outside the box (all the good ones are already mentioned): The Waco Kid from Blazing Saddles
Chief Dan George in both Josey Wales and Little Big Man
Igor from Mary Shelly’s Frankenhole “You got it!”
I liked the Joe Pesci character in Lethal Weapon.
South African consulate guy: “But, you’re black!”
Joe Pesci (to Danny Glover): “You are”.
Joe Pesci (to consulate guy): “He is.”
In no particular order,
W.W. Beauchamp
Samwise Gamgee
Raul Endymion
Andy Devine as “JIngles”, but I don’t recall which singing cowboy he sidekicked. Roy Rogers?
Wild Bill Hickok.
Sorry, I ought to have provided context.
W.W. is sidekick to the Duck of Death in Unforgiven, played by Saul Rubinek. I just think he’s cute, and it’s endearing how he’s way the hell out of place, out of his element, but attempts to keep pursuing his trade (writing dime novels) anyway.
Samwise, sidekick to Frodo, I think needs no introduction.
Raul Endymion is the sidekick to architect messiah Aenea in the 3rd and 4th books (Endymion and The Rise of Endymion) of the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons (the novels from whence the name Siri was taken for that phone app). Aenea is the heroine of the story, and I think one of the greatest characters in fiction ever. Endymion is just one of her sidekicks, but the story is narrated from his perspective and frames him as the protagonist. I had to think about that one, and realized that some stories have a sidekick as the protagonist with the hero a supporting character.