The stages and films term "prop", an abbreviation of "property", refers to any object an actor handles in the course of a performance.
Though some form of prop comedy has likely existed as long as there have been comedians, the genre reached its zenith in the vaudeville era.
The vaudeville team Olsen and Johnson used prop comedy extensively in their long running Broadway revue Hellzapoppin.
Prop comics are sometimes looked down upon by other comedians, and the term is sometimes used derisively.
Props are any items that the comedian or comic uses in an absurd way.