Robert Brackett Elliott (March 26, 1923 – February 2, 2016) was an American comedian and actor, one-half of the comedy duo of Bob and Ray. He was the father of comedian/actor Chris Elliott and grandfather of actress and comedians Abby Elliott and Bridey Elliott. He is most remembered by the character of radio reporter Wally Ballou.
Life and career
Elliott was born in Winchester, Massachusetts, the son of Gail Marguarite (née Brackett), a needleworker, and Fred Russell Elliott, who worked in insurance. Bob Elliott served In the U.S. Army in Northern Europe in WWII. On radio, he appeared in programs with his long-time partner Ray Goulding. These were in different series and time slots over decades, beginning in the late 1940s at Boston’s WHDH radio on the show Matinee with Bob and Ray.
“The funniest people in this country, these guys are also two of the keenest observers of the American scene and the finest interviewers in the business.”
—David Letterman said of the duo prior to one interview.
On television, Elliott and Goulding hosted Bob and Ray from 1951 to 1953. He appeared on a number of other television programs, including Happy Days; Newhart; and Bob & Ray, Jane, Laraine & Gilda in 1979 (with Goulding, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner); The David Steinberg Show; and Saturday Night Live. In 1982, Elliott was in Author! Author! as Patrick Dicker. He would star in made-for-TV-Movie’s such as Between Time and Timbuktu and FDR: A One Man Show. Elliott also made television commercials, and co-wrote some humor articles with Ray Goulding for Mad Magazine in the 1950s.
In 1970, the duo debuted in The Two and Only on Broadway. Bob and Goulding worked together up until Goulding’s death in 1990.
Solo works
In 1990, Elliott portrayed a bank guard in Quick Change. In 1990, he portrayed “Fred Peterson” in the television series Get a Life, which starred Chris as his son. Four years later, the elder Elliott appeared in the Tim Burton production Cabin Boy, playing Chris’s father again. In 2004, he appeared in a skit on the Air America radio program The O’Franken Factor.[citation needed] Elliott appeared on radio with Garrison Keillor in The American Radio Company of the Air.
Personal life
Elliott married Jane Underwood in 1943. They divorced in 1953, having no children. Bob and Ray writer Raymond Knight died in 1953. In 1954, Elliott married Knight’s widow, Lee (née Peppers). They were married for 58 years until her death in 2012. They had two sons, Chris Elliott and Bob Elliott Jr., and one daughter, Amy Andersen. They adopted Lee and Ray Knight’s two children, Colony Elliott Santangelo and Shannon Elliott. They had 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
In 1989, Elliott co-authored son Chris’s mock autobiography, Daddy’s Boy: A Son’s Shocking Account of Life with a Famous Father.
Death
Elliott died in Cundy’s Harbor, Maine on February 2, 2016, from throat cancer at the age of 92.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Test Dive Buddies | Bob | Short film directed by Ed Graham Jr. |
| 1960 | Kid Gloves | Bob | Short film directed by Ed Graham Jr. |
| 1971 | Cold Turkey | Hugh Upson/David Chetley/Sandy Van Andy | Satirical comedy film directed by Norman Lear. |
| 1980 | Vengeance | Luke | Directed and written by Bob Bliss. |
| 1981 | B.C.: A Special Christmas | Peter (voice) | American animated short film directed by Vlad Goetzelman. |
| 1982 | Author! Author! | Patrick Dicker | American comedy drama film directed by Arthur Hiller and written by Israel Horovitz. |
| 1984 | Kidco | Policeman #2 | Comedy film directed by Ronald F. Maxwell. |
| 1987 | The Gnomes’ Great Adventure | Fred | American animated film directed by Harvey Weinstein and released by Miramax Films. Based on The World of David the Gnome. |
| 1990 | Quick Change | Bank Guard | Crime comedy film written by Howard Franklin, produced by and starring Bill Murray, and directed by both. Despite not being a major commercial success, the film was well received critically. |
| 1994 | Cabin Boy | William Mayweather | Fantasy comedy film directed by Adam Resnick. Hip hop producer Dan “the Automator” Nakamura named his publishing company, Sharkman Music, after the film. |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951–53 | Bob and Ray | Co-Host | 15-minute television series on NBC. |
| 1972 | Between Time and Timbuktu | Bud Williams, Jr. | Made-for-TV-Movie Directed by Fred Barzyk. Based on a number of works by Kurt Vonnegut. |
| 1976 | The David Steinberg Show | Guest | Episode: “Episode #1.1 (Pilot)” |
| 1978 | Saturday Night Live | Interviewer | Episode: “Elliott Gould/Peter Tosh” |
| 1979 | Happy Days | Gil Crawford | Episode: “Here Comes the Bride, Again” |
| 1981 | The Steve Allen Comedy Hour | Guest | Episode: “Episode #1.22” |
| 1985 | Trapper John, M.D. | Zeke Rainey | Episode: “A False Start” |
| 1986 | Action Family | The Vendor | Made-for-TV-Movie Directed by Gary Weis. |
| 1987 | FDR: A One Man Show | Make-Up Man | Made-for-TV-Movie Directed by Matt Wickline. |
| 1988 | Coming of Age | Guest | Episode: “Hale to the Chief” |
| Newhart | Bill Loudon | Episode: “I Came, I Saw, I Sat” | |
| 1990–92 | Get a Life | Fred Peterson | Contract role |
| 1999 | LateLine | Wally Van Horn | Episode: “The Minister of Television” |
| 2008 | King of the Hill | Edgar Hornsby (voice) | Episode: “Square-Footed Monster” |
