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#REDIRECT [[Bill_Saluga]]
'''Raymond J. Johnson, Jr.''' is a character created by comedian [[Bill Saluga]].
==The shtick==
Saluga's [[shtick]] as Ray J. Johnson is to become annoyed when addressed as "Mr. Johnson", exclaiming in a loud voice, "My name is Raymond J. Johnson, Jr. Now you can call me Ray, or you can call me J, or you can call me Johnny, or you can call me Sonny, or you can call me Junie, or you can call me Junior; now you can call me Ray J, or you can call me RJ, or you can call me RJJ, or you can call me RJJ Jr." ultimately ending with, "but you doesn't hasta call me Johnson!"
The spiel got more widespread attention in the late 70s in a series of commercials for [[Anheuser-Busch]] Natural Light Beer. Saluga appeared alongside comedian/pitchman [[Norm Crosby]] echoing (in a roundabout way) Norm's advice to unknowing customers: "Well, y'doesn't hasta call it Anheuser Busch Natural Light Beer, and y'doesn't hasta call it 'Busch Natural.' Just say 'Natural!'" This before launching into the "You can call me Ray" tirade at the mere mention of the word "name".
In 1979, Raymond J. Johnson appeared in a TV commercial for a [[Simon (game)|Simon]]-like electronic game called Einstein.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySyqHYANV7o Einstein commercial] at [[YouTube]]</ref> "You don't have to call it Johnson! The game is ''Einstein''. Or you can call it ''ein'', or you can call it ''stein''..."
Capitalizing on the relative fame of Raymond J. Johnson, Jr., in 1979, Saluga, and Evilan Tom released a [[disco]] [[single (music)|single]] called "Dancin' Johnson". The single reached #115 in the Record World charts in a 15 week run.
Saluga performed Raymond J. Johnson, Jr. on ''[[This Is Tom Jones]]'', ''[[The David Steinberg Show]]'' and ''[[Sanford and Son]]'', as well as [[Redd Foxx]]'s [[eponym]]ous [[variety show]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvparty.com/foxx.html |title=Redd Foxx Show : Redd Foxx Comedy Hour |publisher=TVParty.com |date=1978-01-26 |accessdate=2014-07-13}}</ref> and later on [[television commercial]]s for Anheuser-Busch's Natural Light beer.
==Popular culture==
Ray J. Johnson was mentioned in 1993 and again in 1999 (as Ray Jay Johnson) on the TV show ''[[The Simpsons]]''. In the 1993 episode "[[Krusty Gets Kancelled]]",<ref>{{cite episode
| title = Krusty Gets Kancelled
| episodelink = Krusty Gets Kancelled
| series = The Simpsons
| serieslink = The Simpsons
| airdate = 1993-05-13
| season = 4
| number = 22 }}</ref> [[Krusty the Klown]] mentions that the only bad show he put on was when Johnson co-hosted, saying "That thing was funny for about three seconds." Later in the episode Krusty's rival Gabbo, a Hand-Puppet, asks what guests they have to compete with Krusty's comeback, and his head spun when he found out that all they had was Johnson. Lisa Simpson shared the same sentiment in the 1999 episode
"[[Mom and Pop Art]]",<ref>{{cite episode
| title = Mom and Pop Art
| episodelink = Mom and Pop Art
| series = The Simpsons
| serieslink = The Simpsons
| airdate = 1999-04-11
| season = 10
| number = 19 }}</ref> claiming "I'm sick of him already" after hearing Homer recite Johnson's bit. In 2002, Saluga himself appeared as Johnson in the episode "[[The Old Man and the Key]]".<ref>{{cite episode
| title = The Old Man and the Key
| episodelink = The Old Man and the Key
| series = The Simpsons
| serieslink = The Simpsons
| airdate = 2002-03-10
| season = 13
| number = 13 }}</ref> In the episode "[[Brother's Little Helper]]"<ref>{{cite episode
| title = Brother's Little Helper
| episodelink = Brother's Little Helper
| series = The Simpsons
| serieslink = The Simpsons
| airdate = 1999-10-03
| season = 11
| number = 2 }}</ref> Homer asks whether something is "Ray J. funny or [[O. J. Simpson|O. J.]] funny?"
[[Bob Dylan]] quoted Johnson's shtick in the 1979 song "[[Gotta Serve Somebody]]" on the ''[[Slow Train Coming]]'' [[Vinyl record|LP]].
In a post-season-13 episode of [[King of the Hill]], "Just Another Manic Kahn-Day,"<ref>{{cite episode
| title = Just Another Manic Kahn-Day
| episodelink = Just Another Manic Kahn-Day
| series = King of the Hill
| serieslink = King of the Hill
| airdate = 2010-05-06
| season = post-13 (syndication only)
| number = 4 }}</ref> Bobby Hill struggles to comprehend why the show's middle-aged characters consider Ray J. Johnson funny. After forcing himself to listen to a Ray J. Johnson [[vinyl record]] in his room multiple times, Bobby finally breaks out in [[epiphanous]] laughter.
Johnson's voice can be heard as backing vocals on Martina McBride's iTunes pre-order release of "I Can't Stop Loving You" from her 2009 album Shine.
In [[Sheriff Callie's Wild West]] in the episode "Callie's Blue Jay Blues" there are a couple of blue jays called
Ray Ray and Ray Jay, this could be a hidden reference to Ray J. Johnson
== External links ==
*[http://www.tvparty.com/sounds8/reddray.ram The "You can call me Ray" bit] in [[RealAudio]] format, from tvparty.com
*{{IMDb name|id=0759178|name=Bill Saluga}}
*[http://www.retroist.com/2009/02/18/you-can-call-him-ray-ray-j-johnson-commercial-and-disco-song/ Ray J Commercial and Disco Song Dancin' Johnson] at http://www.retroist.com
== References ==
<references/>
[[Category:Comedy characters|Johnson, Ray J.]]
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