Voting Station

Bob and Ray

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Comedians

The Resume

    Bob Elliott (March 26, 1923-February 2, 2016), born in Boston, Massachusetts
    Ray Goulding (March 20, 1922-March 24, 1990), born in Lowell, Massachusetts
    Hosted various radio shows on NBC, CBS, Mutual Broadcasting and NPR (1946-87)
    Hosted the TV shows ‘Bob and Ray’ (1951-53) and ‘The Name’s the Same’ (1955)
    Wrote the children’s book ‘Linda Lovely and the Fleebus’ (1960)
    Appeared on Broadway in ‘The Two and Only’ (1970)
    Inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame (1995)

Why he might be annoying:

    They explained that Bob was billed first because their first radio show was called ‘Matinee with Bob and Ray,’ whereas if ‘matinob’ had been a word they would have been called Ray and Bob.
    They mocked commercials while simultaneously lending their voices to beer pitchmen Bert and Harry Piels.
    During their short-lived radio game show ‘Pick and Play with Bob and Ray’ (1954-55), they were sometimes booed by a studio audience not familiar with their deadpan style of humor.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Unlike many comedy teams, they took turns playing straight man in their sketches.
    As regulars on NBC Radio’s ‘Monitor,’ they were often called on to improvise on short notice when the program’s planned segments ran into technical problems.
    Some of their radio sketches were adapted into graphic story form for ‘Mad’ magazine.
    They parodied Senator Joe McCarthy as blowhard Commissioner Carstairs in their soap opera spoof ‘Mary Backstayge.’
    Ray said, ‘We’ve spent all these years trying to entertain each other. And that’s a good way to earn a living.’
    ’Raised on Radio’ noted that they never turned ‘angry, cruel, snide, bitter, or self-satisfied. They didn’t bludgeon their targets to death; they kidded human folly and bombast without feeling a need to destroy their objects.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 69.23% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 12 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 11 Votes: 18.18% Annoying