Comedy and Satire
Shows sporadically (1946 - 87)
 The duo Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding were the quiet comedy team. They were never headliners, and spent most of their career
carrying on the tradition of old time radio with a series of characters
that are classics. Wally Ballou, Roving Reporter is always among
the favorites of every Bob and Ray fan, for he was the"on-the-scene"
reporter of all the Bob and Ray radio productions. Many of
Bob and Ray's sketches are famous, such as their lampoon of Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, called Mr. Trace, Keener
than Most Persons. They did "One Feller's Family, a takeoff
on One Man's Family. Bob
and Ray loved to skewer radio soap operas with The Gathering
Dusk, and Mary Backstage, Noble Wife (based off Mary
Noble, Backstage Wife of course!).
Biff Burns handled sports
in the Sports Room, and Steve Boscoattempted sport reporting as
well as pleas for money.They had shows on local Boston and New York stations.Some of the material presented here is from their wonderful
Boston live old time radio show in the afternoon, when they would
run through routines and ad-lib with musical accompaniment
to pass the time.  So much of the fun of these live shows
is how effortlessly the patter is ad-libbed, and the near-mental
telepathy that the two have created in their comedy, regardless
of the topic.Also included in this collection are some of their spoof shows, such as Mary Backstage. The rest is from perhaps the most polished
period of Bob and Ray, the Radio series of the mid
1950s. Here we have the great characters and routines,
great sound and production. What a wonderful collection
for the true fan of Bob and Ray! John Dunning in "On
the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio,"says
of the 1959-60 show, "But at their best, in their 1959-60
daily 15 minute series .. they were as funny and fresh,
as clever and witty, as anyone who ever used the medium."
Bob and Ray are really singular talents, but if
you like them, you might enjoy the Americana odd-personality
serial humor of Vic and Sade,
the verbal fireworks of the Marx
Brothers.
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