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On Monday 31, the Paley Center for Media honors legendary radio humorists Bob and Ray (Bob Elliott and the late Ray Goulding) with a panel titled “The Art of Media-Savvy Satire.” The pair’s deadpan mockery of traditional talk shows and TV newsmagazines planted the comedic seeds for everything from SNL’s Weekend Update and The Colbert Report to Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Olbermann, in fact, joins Elliott onstage Monday night, as does Elliott’s youngest son, Chris—yes, Cameron Diaz’s pus-boiled ex-boyfriend in There’s Something About Mary, who got his own media-mocking start as a Late Night with David Letterman contributor. In the early ’90s, Bob and Chris played bickering father and son on the latter’s cult-fave sitcom, Get a Life. For our Parents issue, TONY asked the Elliotts to collaborate again—on a conference call, with Bob dialing in from the UES apartment Chris grew up in, and Chris from his car in Connecticut. Unlike other famous families, though, the only thing these two are competitive about is complimenting each other.
[Editor’s note: Extended web interview]
What was it like living with a comedian for a father?
Chris Elliott: I remember trying to impress him with my sense of humor. I tried to make my older brother laugh, too, and that sense of humor was slightly more aggressive. When I went into the business, I combined both, and ended up being a bit more…
Bob Elliott: Edgy.
Chris: Edgy, yeah. Thanks, Dad.
Is he always punching up your lines?
Bob: I’m a good editor. Now, are you going to ask me what it’s like being the father of a comedian?
Absolutely.
Bob: I try to see everything he does.
Chris: I’m amazed that he catches it all, because I don’t announce it. I’ll talk to Dad a few days later, and he’ll say he saw me on this or that. And he doesn’t have TiVo!
Bob: I don’t have a TV set either. [All laugh.] But I certainly have great pride in what he’s done.
Chris: And I take constant pride in being his son. Whoever I work with, from Bob Odenkirk to Bill Murray, it comes up: “I’m a huge fan of your dad’s.” David Letterman said the nicest thing: If you’re not sure if you like a person, ask if they’re fans of Bob and Ray. If they are, they’re okay.Bob: We did create a name for ourselves, and a style that made a big impression on the youngsters.
Chris: There are comedians now who don’t even realize they’re doing Bob and Ray. In commercial work, I hear Bob and Ray bits all the time. It’s not like people are copying, it’s just, either through osmosis…
Bob: Or a subconscious memory of some kind.
But comedy doesn’t typically age well. Do you two see a generational gap in your humor?
Chris: I don’t feel a gap at all. The humor Dad produced was long-lasting.
Bob: Yeah, but I don’t think you could sell it now, with radio the way it is.
Chris, what’s the worst thing you did as a child?
Chris: That’s putting me on the spot! I mean, I did things that my dad doesn’t know about when I was home alone in the apartment.…
Bob: Son, from what I’ve heard, you had a good cleaning service.
Chris: Dad, do you remember my throwing eggs at the neighbor across the street? You and Mom were coming back from Maine, and he put a huge sign out aimed directly at your bedroom window that said, “Please stop throwing eggs.”
Bob: You were throwing them from my bedroom! That was the problem!
Bob, what was your disciplinary style like?
Chris: He had a strong, sarcastic streak—just a look or roll of the eyes. It was as bad as any whipping would have been.
Bob: About the worst thing I did was take Gilligan’s Island away from him for a couple of weeks.
Will there ever be a multigenerational Elliott project?
Bob: [Chris’s daughter] Abby, Chris and I have worked together. We just did voiceover work for King of the Hill.
Chris: He’s the judge and I’m a councilman or something. And Abby is a secretary. It must be soon that they’re going to air it.
Bob: It was quite an experience.
So which of you is funnier?
Chris: My dad is. There’s no comparison. My sense of humor, I definitely got it from Dad, but my performance abilities are nil. My whole act was based on not being able to act. My dad never did that; they committed to everything they did.
Bob: But in your case, you established a whole genre of comedy that was brand new. I see other people doing stuff that you did on Letterman. What you do is right with it today.
You two are such gentleman.
Bob: You’re humble too, Chris.
Chris: I was going to say that about you.
Bob: We finally agree.
