TV Guide (September 25, 1953)

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Audrey Meadows joins Bob and Ray: when the sketch calls for a gal, Audrey's the one. legally changed for you; sweaters come in two styles, turtle-neck or V-neck. State what kind of a neck you have.”), deep freeze lockers, “deep enough to accommodate a family of four.” The Kind Hunter’s Kit was of¬ fered for “softhearted people who love to hunt but hate to kill.” It contained bullets that drop to the ground and are packed with vitamins for the ani¬ mals. In an effort to find the right slot for Bob and Ray, NBC shunted the boys around, spotting them here and there. Some of the program switches were unfortunate ones. The team’s initial dip into TV was stormy. When the popular Kukla, Fran and Ollie were cut to 15 min¬ utes, Bob and Ray were given the vacated spot. Which, of course, prompted outraged K.F.O. fans to brand the two radio comics as pup- pet-haters. They departed this early evening show a few months after¬ ward. When the boys finally landed a sponsor on a late-evening program, they ran into agency trouble or spon- soritis. It seems the men who sign the paychecks didn’t dig their com¬ edy stars and asked them to dish up a more obvious form of humor. “Throw pizza pies at each other,” was one of the suggestions. After 13 weeks, when option time rolled around, Bob and Ray left the show by mutual consent. The team is probably best remem¬ bered for its regular guest stints on Dave Garroway’s morning show. To¬ day. Garroway, a B. & R. fan, would solemnly introduce the two and the boys cortducted interviews, with Bob generally handling the straight lines and Ray providing the answers. Although their own ratings are modest. Bob and Ray have no qualms about spoofing some of the TV per¬ formers who boast tremendous audi¬ ences. Their favorite target is Arthur Godfrey—or, as portrayed by'Bob— “Arthur Strudley and His No Talent Scouts.” Dressed in a sailor suit, a First World War aviator’s hat and strumming a ukulele. Bob gives a devastating impersonation — complete with “by gollys” and informal God- frey-type commercials for “Metchni- koff’s Caviar Teabags.” Their take-offs on Ed Sullivan (“We’ve flown in from the Middle East for their first American per¬ formance the only two-man Arabian drill team in the world. Let’s give the boys a warm New York welcome.”); Ed Murrow (“See It Now and Then”); Dragnet (“Fishnet”) and the Stork Club (Ray in a one-sided conversa¬ tion with two store dummies), rank as unequaled TV satires. Like caviar and rutabagas, Bob and Ray don’t appeal to all tastes. But lots of people consider TV’s top satirists as pretty wonderful fare. Now if the Elliott-Goulding fandom can only convince the right people that ratings don’t mean a thing . . . 17