Perhaps I ought to make this a regular feature: deeply eccentric men named Raymond, victims of labored physical or cognitive mobility (or both) who make their way on to network or public access television. Raymonds of great fearlessness, bravado even. Raymonds who don't give the name Raymond a good or bad name...just an astonishingly weird one.
There's a chance I could have stopped at the single most glorious individual to have ever emerged from the blessed Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but what fun would that have been? Meet Raymond Taylor, Wheel of Fortune contestant...and stalker.
What is his last answer? 'Mild Sauce'?
Posted by: david | January 30, 2010 at 07:44 PM
Reminds me of an older "Handy Man" from In Living Color.
Posted by: Me | January 31, 2010 at 02:52 AM
It must be said: the man is a formidable WOF contestant. He's also great fun to watch. Not sure why they'd not want to keep him around for a while. Must these shows always have such boring contestants?
Posted by: K. | January 31, 2010 at 12:56 PM
' and stalker ' , what a patronising , puerile putdown.
Posted by: heavens2murgatroyd | February 01, 2010 at 05:54 AM
Heavens2, he trespassed on to the studio backlot FOUR times and parked himself in the audience without a ticket. I would imagine that qualifies.
Posted by: Listener Coolie | February 01, 2010 at 11:01 AM
he was just ahead of his time.
Posted by: fatty jubbo | February 01, 2010 at 02:36 PM
good post. he's like snoop dogg with asperger's.
Posted by: James Downard | February 06, 2010 at 01:01 AM
Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU for posting this. I might not be sane, but I knew this really existed... a WOF Unicorn.
1994, I was visiting friends in Pittsburgh, incapacitated via strange brownies, inert on the living room floor; we witnessed this on the TV box.
By the end of the show, we were in tears laughing. The absurdity of watching WOF in our state, only to be rewarded, with Raymond.
Those moments when Raymond leans in close and mumbles to Pat, I was convinced were signs of collusion - the guy was a plant! Hired to mess with dumb brownie-eating burnouts! (Paranoid head 'splode.)
It was like the Star Wars Christmas Special - years later I thought I had made most of it up in a hallucinatory rage. Nobody knew what the hell I was talking about - just another dumb burnout story.
Thank you for proving Raymond exists. You turned grey cells green.
Posted by: Mofofo | February 09, 2010 at 06:58 PM