COMEDIAN Bill Saluga, known for his trademark phrase “You can call me Ray,” has died at 85.
Saluga spent his final months in hospital before being moved to hospice care where he died on March 28.
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His friend, Bill Minkin, confirmed Saluga’s death to The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday.
Minkin told Deadline that Saluga died due to complications of heart failure and arthritis.
“He was an icon,” Minkin told the outlet.
Saluga, along with Minkin and several others, was a member of Ace Trucking Company, an improv comedy group that garnered acclaim in the 1960s and 70s.
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Created within the company, his character Raymond J. Johnson Jr. became known for his signature catchphrase.
“You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay, or you can call me … ” the phrase would begin.
But it would always end with: “but you doesn’t has to call me Johnson.”
The character was used in several commercials in the 70s for beer brands Miller Lite and Anheuser-Busch, and was also teased on The Simpsons and King of the Hill.
Saluga also appeared on multiple episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld.
In addition, he regularly appeared on the Red Foxx Show and The Gong Show.
Saluga leaves behind a nephew in Youngstown, Ohio where he was born.
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