Editing Bob and Ray (section)

===Spoofs and parodies===
Spoofs of other radio programs were another staple, including the continuing soap operas "Mary Backstayge, Noble Wife", "One Fella's Family", and "Aunt Penny's Sunlit Kitchen" (which spoofed ''[[Backstage Wife]]'', ''[[One Man's Family]]'', and ''[[Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories]]'', respectively). "Mary Backstayge" was serialized for such a long period of time that it became better known to many listeners than the show it lampooned. Another soap opera spoof, "Garish Summit" (which Bob and Ray performed during their stint on National Public Radio in the 1980s), recounts the petty squabbles for power among the wealthy family members who own a lead mine.

They also satirized ''[[Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons]]'' with the continuing parody, "Mr. Trace, Keener than Most Persons". Each Mr. Trace sketch began with a simple plot that soon degenerated into total gibberish where the dialogue was concerned ("Mister Treat, Chaser of Lost Persons", "Thanks for the vote of treedle, Pete") and gunplay ("You... You've shot me!... I'm... dead."). Juvenile adventures were given the satiric treatment: ''Jack Armstrong'' became "Jack Headstrong", and ''[[Tom Corbett, Space Cadet]]'' became "Lawrence Fechtenberger, Interstellar Officer Candidate".

The quiz show "[[Dr. I.Q.]], the Mental Banker" was parodied as "Dr. O.K., the Sentimental Banker". Whereas the real Dr. I.Q. had several assistants with remote microphones, scattered through the audience to select contestants, Dr. O.K. (Bob) had to make do with a single assistant (Ed Sturdley, played by Ray), who eventually became exhausted from running around the theater. Other continuing parodies (both generic and specific) included game shows ("The 64-Cent Question"), children's shows ("Mr. Science", "Tippy the Wonder Dog", "Matt Neffer, Boy Spot-Welding King of the World"), self-help seminars ("Dr. Joyce Dunstable"), and foreign intrigue ("Elmer W. Litzinger, Spy").

In 1959 Bob and Ray launched a successful network radio series for CBS, broadcast from New York, known colloquially by a shortening of Goulding's wry introduction: ''Bob & Ray Present the CBS Radio Network.'' The CBS programming department frequently supplied scripts promoting the network's dramatic and sports shows, but Bob and Ray never read these scripts entirely straight, and would often imitate the character voices heard on these shows. ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' and ''[[Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar]]'' were frequent targets, and ''Johnny Dollar'' inspired a full-fledged parody, "Ace Willoughby, International Detective". In each installment, Willoughby (Ray, doing a letter-perfect impersonation of ''Johnny Dollar'' star [[Bob Bailey (actor)|Bob Bailey]]) traveled around the globe in pursuit of crooks, but always gave up when the crooks found him and kept beating him up. Bob and Ray revisited the Ace Willoughby format a decade later in a parody of the TV detective show ''[[Mannix]]''. Their version, called "Blimmix", featured a dimwitted detective and whatever thug served as the antagonist, with Blimmix being beaten up at the end of each segment.

In addition to parodies of specific programs and genres, many of Elliott and Goulding's sketches turned on the inherent absurdities of reportage and interviewing. One particularly enduring routine cast Elliott as an expert on the [[Komodo dragon]], and Goulding as the dense reporter whose questions trailed behind the information given.<ref>[http://www.mindspring.com/~biohaz/komodo.txt Komodo] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306150711/http://www.mindspring.com/~biohaz/komodo.txt |date=March 6, 2007 }}</ref> Another featured Elliott as the spokesman for the [[Slow Talkers of America]] ("headquarters" in [[Glens Falls, New York]]), whose lengthy pauses between words increasingly frustrate Goulding. The pair performed both of these sketches many times.

Their character known as "The Worst Person in the World" (a reference to ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine theatre critic [[John Simon (critic)|John Simon]], who gave their stage show a negative review) was, many years later, appropriated by MSNBC host Keith Olbermann.