I think every comedian has "the fixed patterns of actions or lines" or "the routine way of getting a laugh", which are repeated many times. What is the normal way to call them?
Basically I want to say "Doing something is someone's famous _____." or "This line is known as a _____ to English-speaking people.", and I need a phrase that fits here.
My research yielded several candidates: "shtick", "formula", "gag routine", "signature gag", etc., but I have no idea about the nuances.
In particular, the word "shtick" seems good according to this Wikipedia article, but this term is new to me. Googling shtick basically lists the definitions in many online dictionaries and glossaries, rather than the actual occasions of this word in news headlines, etc., which gave me the impression that this word is used rather infrequently.
Best Answer
A schtick refers to a comedian's style and choice of topics in general, and could include facial expressions or actions as well as words or style of delivery. It doesn't refer to a specific gag that is repeated often (although a repeated gag might be part of a comedian's schtick). It also often distinguishes a comedian's on-stage role from their actual personality:
A running gag is a joke that is repeated in a given work (book, film, tv show, etc.) or series of works. It's not necessarily spoken by the same actor at each occurrence.
"gag routine"(*) is not a commonly used idiom in English.
A signature gag would be immediately understood to have the meaning you suggest, but it isn't an idiomatic phrase, it's just two words used together that mean what you want. However, the phrase is "signature line" is probably more common than "signature gag". For example,
A catchphrase is another related term, meaning a particular phrase used by a performer (not necessarily a comedian) throughout their career. This could include Henny Youngman's "Take my wife," or John Wayne's calling people "pilgrim". (Thanks @JoeSteele)