What Was I Saying...?

Actually, it was pioneered by the oldest of theater forms that can be traced to our own comedies: La Commedia Dell'Arte, which was basically a play of archetypes. Il Duottore ALWAYS carried the Stupidity Ball and was always outdone by Arlechinno, who ALWAYS carried the Smart-as-all-get-out Ball. Eventually, the archetypes got fleshed out and, for example, Arlechinno became the Figaro of the Beaumachais comedies, and Il Duottore became Doctor Bartolo and -later in "The marriage of Figaro"- the Count Almaviva himself, who progresses from the Smart Lover to the Dumb Older Man.