Bob & Ray Show

The Bob & Ray Show was an iconic American comedy duo that spanned five decades, composed of comedians Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding. The duo’s format typically involved satirizing 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 were a serious broadcast.

Elliott and Goulding began as radio announcers in Boston, with their own separate programs on station WHDH. Their informal banter was so appealing that WHDH would call on them, as a team, to fill in when Red Sox baseball broadcasts were rained out. Elliott and Goulding (not yet known as Bob and Ray) would improvise comedy routines all afternoon, and joke around with studio musicians.

WHDH gave them their own weekday show in 1946, titled Matinee with Bob and Ray, which was originally a 15-minute show, soon expanding to half an hour.

The Stars

Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding were the stars of the show, playing the roles of “Bob” and “Ray,” the hosts of an ostensibly serious radio program. They lent their voices to a variety of recurring characters and countless one-shots, creating a multilayered world that parodied the real-life world of radio broadcasting. Some of their most memorable characters included the inept news reporter Wally Ballou, the drawling cowboy singer Tex Blaisdell, and the home-economics expert Mary Margaret McGoon, among many others.

Key Dates

• The Matinee with Bob and Ray show was broadcast Monday through Saturday on WHDH, with the weekday half-hours being broadcast live and the Saturday shows usually 25 minutes long and sometimes recorded in advance.
• The duo’s success in Boston led to them being discovered by NBC in New York, and they continued on the air for over four decades on the NBC, CBS, and Mutual networks, as well as on various New York City stations.
• Their last incarnation was on National Public Radio, ending in 1987.

Other Information

Bob and Ray were known for their extensive use of commercial parody, with “sponsors” such as the Monongahela Metal Foundry, Einbinder Flypaper, and the United States Mint. They also frequently spoofed other radio programs, including soap operas, game shows, and children’s shows, with their parodies often becoming better known than the original programs.

In addition to their radio work, Bob and Ray had a successful television series on NBC in the early 1950s, and they also appeared on various other television shows throughout their careers, including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Johnny Carson Show, and The David Letterman Show. They also starred in a pair of two-man stage shows, The Two and Only on Broadway in 1970 and A Night of Two Stars at Carnegie Hall in 1984.

Bob and Ray were highly acclaimed for their work, winning three Peabody Awards over the years and being inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Their unique brand of humor and satire has continued to influence and inspire comedians and writers to this day.