Until Next Time, This Was Bob Elliott

Or

Had a Life

Bob Elliott, best remembered for being ashamed of his son Chris in the TV series Get a Life, in the movie Cabin Boy, and in life, has died of throat cancer at the age of 92. The long-time comedian started in radio, pairing with Ray Goulding in the late 1940s in Boston, peppering their programming with fake ads like Monongahela Metal Foundry - “Steel ingots cast with the housewife in mind” and Einbinder Flypaper - “The flypaper you’ve gradually grown to trust over the course of three generations.” Radio was the YouTube of its day, and Bob and Ray parlayed their success in local radio into national radio broadcasts and then their own TV show, bringing their deadpan satire and cast of inept reporters, dimwitted anchors and blowhard sports announcers to ever broadening audiences. They later starred in several sketch comedy specials as well as two Broadway shows. Elliott also appeared as a bank guard in Quick Change, and had other supporting roles on TV and in movies, but spent most of his time cleaning up after Chris.