Ray J. Johnson
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Raymond J. Johnson, Jr. is a character created by comedian Bill Saluga. His schtick is to become annoyed when addressed as "Mr. Johnson", exclaiming in a loud voice, "You can call me RAY; or you can call me JAY", and so on listing other names he could be called, until finally finishing, "but you doesn't hafta call me JOHNSON!"
Capitalizing on the relative fame of Raymond J. Johnson, Jr., in 1979, Saluga released a disco single called "Dancin' Johnson." That same year, Bob Dylan quoted Johnson's schtick in the song "Gotta Serve Somebody" ("You may call me R.J./ you may call me Ray…") on the Slow Train Coming LP.
Saluga performed Raymond J. Johnson, Jr. on Redd Foxx's eponymous variety show [1], and later on television commercials for Miller Lite. The character received attention anew in 1993 and again in 1999 when mentioned (as Ray Jay Johnson) on the TV program The Simpsons. In the 1993 episode, Krusty the Klown mentions that the only bad show he put on was when Johnson co-hosted, saying "That bit was funny for three seconds." In 2002, Saluga appeared as Johnson in an episode of the show, singing (in a Branson theater), "You can call me Ray / Or you can call me Jay. / Just don't call me washed-up / I do three shows a day!".
Johnson can also be glimpsed briefly, via a television commercial, in the film Being There.
[edit] External links
- The "You can call me Ray" bit in RealAudio format, from tvparty.com
- Bill Saluga at the Internet Movie Database
