William Saluga (born September 16, 1937), aka Ray Jay Johnson, is an American

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

and founding member of the improvisational comedy troupe Ace Trucking Company. He has appeared on several television programs, including ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

''.

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

, native Saluga is best known for his cigar-smoking, zoot-suit-wearing television character Raymond J. Johnson Jr., famous for his catchphrase "You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay, or you can call me…" The character then proceeds to list almost every conceivable permutation of his name before finishing with "…but you doesn't has to call me Johnson!"

Raymond J. Johnson Jr.

Saluga's

shtick A shtick ( yi, שטיק) is a comic theme or gimmick. The word entered the English language from the Yiddish ''shtik'' (שטיק), in turn derived from German ''Stück'' and Polish ''sztuka'' (both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *''stukkiją'') ...

would be, when someone would refer to him as "Mr. Johnson" or by the common generic nickname "Johnson," to exaggeratedly feign offense and list off all permutations of the name Raymond J. Johnson Jr. and nicknames thereof that do not mention the word "Johnson:"

"NOOO!!! You don't have to call me Johnson! 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. . . but you doesn't hasta call me Johnson!"

He would then smugly turn away and begin puffing on his cigar. The spiel received more widespread attention in the late 1970s after being used in a series of commercials for

Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV light American lager beer sold by Molson Coors (previously MillerCoors) of Chicago, Illinois. The company also produces Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life. Miller Lite competes mainly with Anheuser-Busch's Bu ...

beer, and subsequently, in the early 1980s for

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...

Natural Light beer. Saluga appeared alongside comedian/pitchman

Norm Crosby Norman Lawrence Crosby (September 15, 1927 – November 7, 2020) was an American comedian born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was often referred to as "The Master of Malaprop". Career Crosby went solo as a stand-up comedian, adopting a friendly, ...

echoing (in a roundabout way) Norm's advice to unknowing customers on how to more easily order the lengthily-named beer: "Well, y'doesn't hasta call it Anheuser Busch Natural Light Beer, and y'doesn't hasta call it 'Busch Natural.' Just say 'Natural!'" Saluga then later launches into the "You can call me Ray" routine after Crosby warns not to ask Johnson his name. Saluga, as Raymond J. Johnson Jr., was also a frequent guest on Chuck Barris' ''

The Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1 ...

'' during 1977 and 1978. During 1977-78, Saluga appeared regularly as Raymond J. Johnson Jr. on

Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movement. ...

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

. Saluga as Johnson also made appearances on ''

This Is Tom Jones ''This Is Tom Jones'' is an ATV variety series starring Tom Jones. The series was exported to the United States by ITC Entertainment and was networked there by ABC. The series ran between 1969 and 1971 to total 65 colour episodes. Jones was no ...

'', ''

Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...

'' and ''

The David Steinberg Show ''The David Steinberg Show'' is the title of two separate shows which featured stand-up comedian David Steinberg. The David Steinberg Show (1972) The first iteration of ''The David Steinberg Show'' ran on CBS television in the United States for fi ...

''. A novelty disco single was based around Johnson's schtick was released in 1978.

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

references the "you may call me" schtick in his 1979 hit, "Gotta Serve Somebody," when he sings, "You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy / You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy / You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray / You may call me anything, but no matter what you say / You’re gonna have to serve somebody." The idea for the verse originated from

Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

, who suggested it during the recording sessions for ''Slow Train Coming''. Saluga sent his Johnson persona up in episodes of both ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' in 2002 and ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'' in 2010.

Bibliography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saluga, Bill 1937 births Living people People from Youngstown, Ohio Comedians from Ohio American sketch comedians American television personalities