Write If You Get Work: The Best of Bob and Ray

“Bob and Ray’s jokes were remarkably literary, being fun to read as well as to hear… They are so twangingly attuned to their era and to each other that they can go on being extremely funny almost indefinitely.” –Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., from the Foreword After twenty-nine years of making America laugh by way of radio, television and the theater, here, in glorious triumph, are Bob and Ray, “those two extraordinarily creative and hilariously witty men” (Alec Wilder), in their first book. Bob and Ray were an American comedy duo whose career spanned five decades. Composed of comedians Bob Elliott (1923–2016) 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. From the first memorable radio appearances in Boston and New York, to their television shows, to their inspired commercials, to their uproarious Broadway show, here are dozens of their very best pieces, which, as the Wall Street Journal said of them on Broadway, “gently, relentlessly, hilariously pierce the protective armor of just about every red-blooded American type you can think of.” Within these pages, embellished with photographs and cariactures, are such classics as Mary Backstayge, Noble Wife; Emer W. Litzinger, Spy; Prodigy Street (featuring Mr. Wise Old Owl andWally, theWord Man); and the amazing Mr. Science (“You wouldn’t try to slip me the old rubber peach just because I’m a gullible child, would you, Mr.Science?”). Not to mention visits with such notable gentlemen as Bert and Harry Piel, Lawrence Fechtenberger, and the redoubtable Tippy, the Wonder Dog. Pick up their book, open it and enjoy – welcome to the incomparable world of “the last true gentlemen of comedy,” Bob and Ray.