end man

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The person at the end of a line or row.
• noun The man in a minstrel show who sits at one end of the company and engages in banter with the interlocutor.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A man at one end of a row or line; hence, an extremist; one who takes the most advanced view of anything.
• noun Specifically In minstrel-troupes, a man who sits at an end of the semicircle of performers during the opening part of the entertainment.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a man at one end of line of performers in a minstrel show; carries on humorous dialogue with the interlocutor
• noun a man at one end of a row of people