Post by Richard Kimble on Apr 14, 2018 10:19:00 GMT
Bob and Ray were an American comedy duo whose career spanned five decades. Composed of comedians Bob Elliott (1923–2016[1]) and Ray Goulding (1922–1990), the duo's format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, such as conducting radio or television interviews, with off-the-wall dialogue presented in a generally deadpan style as though it was a serious broadcast.
Wikipedia
Bob Elliott obit (NY Times)
Complete Bob and Ray program - WOR radio, January 9 1976:
0:00 - 'This Place For Heroes' A dramatized account of the police (Ray) wanting shopkeeper Lloyd Mellinger (Bob) to testify against gangster Choker Gerrard. Followed by an interview with the current-day Mellinger.
This episode of 'This Place For Heroes' was done almost word-for-word on the 'Bob & Ray Present The CBS Network' show that aired sixteen years earlier, on December 30th, 1959.
4:50 - 'The Life Of Blimmix' Private investigator Joe Blimmix (Ray) is asked to attend the Private Investigator's Annual Picnic, scheduled for that midnight. Could it be a trap?
Joe Blimmix is a satire of Joe Mannix, the TV detective played by Mike Connors. The music that plays at 4:50 is the theme from 'Mannix', which had just ended its eight-season run nine months before this broadcast, on April 13, 1975.
8:55 - 'Show-Biz Corner' An interview with sick comic and ventriloquist Eddie 'Ha-Ha' Bostwick, and his dummy 'Eric'.
12:10 - 'Anxiety' Commander Neville Putney (Bob) introduces the story of a railroad engineer, Quincy Titus, and his fireman, Titus Moorehead, who suddenly discover that the throttle of their locomotive is stuck. Will they escape? You'll have to listen to find out.
'Anxiety' is a take-off of the CBS Radio series 'Suspense', whose climaxes were usually a bit more suspenseful. Here, the familiar tagline "...a tale well-calculated to keep you in... Suspense" is changed to "...a tale well-designed to keep you in... Anxiety".
Bob and Ray were not the first ones to satirize this line; in its earliest years, MAD Magazine's cover featured the line (in all-caps) "Tales Calculated To Drive You MAD".
The character name 'Titus Moorehead' may be a tip-of-the-hat to Suspense's most prolific star, Agnes Moorehead, who appeared in thirty-three episodes.
16:45 - 'Mary Backstage, Noble Wife' - It's the following day, and Harry Backstage (Bob) is to take his first dance lesson. It's a minuet, and Harry must first be fitted for his costume, including a peruke.
Peruke: a wig style of the 1600s to the early 1800s, long with great waves or rolls of white hair, often associated with European nobility, (British judges, and baroque composers.)
