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Ace Trucking Company

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For the British series of comics, see Ace Trucking Co.

Ace Trucking Company was an American sketch and improv comedy team formed in New York City in 1969 and active through at least 1977, consisting of Michael Mislove, Fred Willard, George Memmoli, Patti Deutsch, and Bill Saluga. It was one of many splinter groups formed in this period by former The Second City performers, along with such groups as The Committee and The Graduates.[1]

Ace Trucking Company
Ace Trucking Company with (top row, left to right) Fred Willard, George Memmoli, Patti Deutsch, (bottom row, left to right) Bill Saluga, and Michael Mislove, in a promotional photo from March 1972.
MediumTelevision, stage, film, radio, records
Years active1969-1977
GenresSatire
Former membersMichael Mislove, Fred Willard, George Memmoli, Patti Deutsch, Bill Saluga

History

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The troupe was founded in January 1969 by Michael Mislove, who was performing regularly with Saluga and Memmoli at The Bitter End Cafe on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, and Budd & Silver Friedman's Improvisation Cafe (later known as The Improv). Mislove also invited Deutsch, who was appearing at The Upstairs at the Downstairs Cabaret at the Plaza Hotel, and Willard, who was performing in Jules Feiffer's black comedy play Little Murders, directed by and co-starring Alan Arkin, at the Circle in the Square Theatre's Bleecker Street location.[2][3]

The name Ace Trucking Company was chosen because one of their regular characters, played by George Memmoli, worked for a fictional Ace Trucking Company.[3] Fred Willard recollected that the name Ace Trucking Company was intended to sound very generic, and they were amused by the idea of a very generic name for a comedy group.[4][5]

Before they even had named the group, Ace Trucking Company was recruited to performed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,[6] which they performed on dozens of times between 1969 and 1975.[4][3] They performed their first paid engagement as a group on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 24, 1969.[7]

In 1970, Ace Trucking Company released an album of mostly improvised sketches on RCA Victor records.[8][9][2][10] The album consists of 12 tracks, two of which, Paqua Velva and The Electric Chair, were existing set pieces. The other 10 tracks were fully improvised in a single 5-hour session in the recording studio, running from 11:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m. the next morning.[8] A second album was announced but ultimately was never made.[10]

Ace Trucking Company were series regulars on the popular variety show This Is Tom Jones, performing in two dozen episodes.[9] [11] They also performed on The Ed Sullivan Show,[11][5] The Mike Douglas Show,[11][5] The Dick Cavett Show,[11][3] Burt Sugarman's The Midnight Special,[11][3] and Kennedy At Night.[11]

In the fall of 1972, Ace Trucking Company were featured on the 13-episode PBS series The Just Generation, hosted by University of California law professor Howard Miller, that aired on more than 200 public television stations nationally. On the series, Miller would introduce a legal topic, which Ace Trucking Company would then perform a comedic skit about, followed by a discussion with high school students, moderated by Miller.[12][13]

Ace Trucking Company also created a syndicated radio show, The News Cavalcade of the Airwaves, which was a 2.5 minute daily segment spoofing the news. 65 episodes of the 2.5-minute show were created, produced by the Dick Orkin team, and distributed by the Chicago Radio Syndicate.[14]

Ace Trucking Company also appeared in motion pictures including Dynamite Chicken, The Harrad Experiment, Harrad Summer, and Cracking Up.

Raymond J. Johnson Jr.

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Group member Bill Saluga (1937-2023) became known for the rest of his life for his comedy routine as character Raymond J. Johnson Jr., which started as an Ace Trucking Company skit.[15][16] In a 1982 interview, Saluga recollected that the character "really started when I was with the improv-group The Ace Trucking Company. But the roots of it go back to my days in the navy."[17] The character Raymond J. Johnson, Jr. is referenced in multiple episodes of The Simpsons, with Saluga appearing as himself in the 2002 episode "The Old Man and the Key".[18] The character is also the focus of a subplot in a 2010 episode of King of the Hill, in which Bobby struggles to understand why the routine is funny, and with Saluga contributing voice acting talent to the episode.[19][better source needed]

Discography

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Track listing

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Twelve tracks appeared on the album, seven on side 1, and five on side 2. Credited performers and runtimes are given on the album as follows:

  • Paqua Velva - Patti, Michael, Bill, Fred (3:35)
  • The Electric Chair - Patti, Michael, Bill, George, Fred (7:18)
  • Psychiatrist and Patient - Bill, Fred (1:15)
  • The Drugstore - Michael, George (1:25)
  • 10 to 5 to 5 - Michael, Bill, George, Fred (4:03)
  • $3.00 Quarterback - Michael, Bill, George (1:05)
  • The Soap Opera - Michael, Bill, George, Fred (6:55)
  • Constipation - Michael, Fred (2:48)
  • The Honeymoon Night - Patti, Michael, Bill, Fred (3:25)
  • The First Buffalo Hunt - Patti, Michael, Bill, George, Fred (5:56)
  • Othello - Michael, Bill (4:00)
  • The Last Supper - Patti, Michael, Bill, George, Fred (10:00)

Filmography

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Touring

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Ace Trucking Company toured and performed widely, typically staying in residence at a venue for a week or two at a time. Below are some of their known tour dates and locations, based on newspaper reports:

  • August 16-26, 1971 - The Glass Frogg, Clearwater Beach, Florida.[7]
  • June 22-27, 1976 - The Plantation Dinner Theater, St. Louis, Missouri.[20]
  • Week of October 13, 1978 - Buffalo Roadhouse, Tampa, Florida[21]

References

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  1. ^ "Chicago's Second City: A talent gold mine". Wilmington Morning Star. June 17, 1976. p. 22.
  2. ^ a b Robert Pegg (2002). Comical Co-Stars of Television. McFarland & Company. p. 361. ISBN 978-0786413416.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Ace Trucking Company". The Comedy Store. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b Farmer, Patricia (2017). Playboy Laughs: The Comedy, Comedians, and Cartoons of Playboy. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0825308437.
  5. ^ a b c "Fred Willard on the Ace Trucking Company". Television Academy Interviews. Television Academy. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  6. ^ Sweeney, Don (2006). Backstage at the Tonight Show: From Johnny Carson to Jay Leno. Cooper Square Press. ISBN 978-1-58979-303-3.
  7. ^ a b "Tom Jones 'Regulars' Featured". The Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. August 10, 1971. p. 5-B.
  8. ^ a b "5 Aces Show For Winner". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. July 30, 1970. p. 8-D.
  9. ^ a b c "Ace Trucking Company Joins Tom Jones". The Press-Courier. August 16, 1970. p. 22.
  10. ^ a b c "Ace Trucking Tour in High". Billboard. Billboard. May 23, 1970. p. 24.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Inman, David M. (2005). Television Variety Shows: Histories and Episode Guides to 57 Programs (Illustrated ed.). McFarland. p. 427. ISBN 978-0786421985.
  12. ^ "New Law Series Bows on Public Television". ABA Journal. 58. American Bar Association: 1297. December 1972.
  13. ^ "Just Generation - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. 1972. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  14. ^ "The Ace Trucking Company's News Cavalcade of the Airwaves". Billboard. Billboard. August 19, 1972. p. 15.
  15. ^ Shales, Tom (1979-02-16). "Bill Saluga? Just Call Him The Face Without A Name". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 22-C. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  16. ^ Sandomir, Richard (16 May 2023). "Bill Saluga, a Memorable Comedic Wiseguy, Is Dead at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  17. ^ Forchuk, Rick (1982-01-15). "You Can Call Me Bill, or..." The Leader-Post. Regina, Saskatchewan. p. 28. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  18. ^ McQuade, Dan (14 July 2022). "Ray Jay Johnson And Other People I Know Only From 'The Simpsons'". Defector. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Just Another Manic Kahn-Day". King of the Hill. Season 13. Episode 24. 2010-05-06. Fox. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  20. ^ "Dinner Theater host hilarious comedy group". The Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. June 18, 1976. p. 4.
  21. ^ Ross, Bob (1978-10-13). "Reification Company Floats on a Cushion of Laughs". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2D. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
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