Vic Reeves (born 24 January 1959, real name Jim Moir) and Bob Mortimer (born 23 May 1959), more commonly known simply as Vic and Bob or Reeves and Mortimer, are a British comedy double act. They have written and starred in several comedy programmes on British television since 1990, with Vic having made his first TV appearance in 1986.
Reeves and Mortimer's unique comedy combines surreal, often inexplicable, visually and verbally inventive material which often verges on the downright bizarre with traditional comedy double act staples such as violent, cartoonish slapstick (such as the duo engaging in escalating fights with large frying pans, baseball bats, hammers etc...), witty, often improvised silly banter (usually at a trademark, prop-strewn desk) and purposefully corny, rapid-fire jokes.
It is all infused with an anarchic energy and a deliberate, knowingly exaggerated "edge" to the performance. Their act is more versatile than many double acts who rely on the straight man/funny man dynamic. Often Mortimer will be the exasperated foil to Reeves' eccentric buffoon, or Reeves will play blankly bemused or annoyed to a manic or hyperactive Mortimer.
They forged a status for themselves as "the alternatives to alternative comedy" in the late 1980s and early 90s, and to this day inhabit a comedic universe all of their own, while still managing to exert an influence on British comedy.
In a 2005 poll The Comedian's Comedian, the duo were voted the 9th greatest comedy act ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.
Read more about Vic And Bob: Career As A Double-act, DVD and VHS, Live Shows, Advertising, Production, Web Television
Famous quotes containing the word bob:
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—Roger Simon, U.S. syndicated columnist. Quoted in Newsweek, p. 15 (January 31, 1990)