I'm very interested to know more about the voices behind many classic network promos. I know that Johnny Mountain and the late, great Ernie Anderson were the voices of ABC and that Danny Dark could be heard on NBC, but I am more interested in who was heard more on CBS promos in the 1980s.
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Classic Network Voiceovers
- Thread starter RALfan
- Start date
I can tell you the late Bob Cruz who was a jock on WABC radio did "20/20"'s announcing for a while.
Some of the guys you heard on CBS were
show announcers as well as promo specialists.
Three who come to mind are Bern Bennett
(The Young And The Restless, he was also
announcer on Beat The Clock and To
Tell The Truth at one time); Hal Simms (The EDDDGE
Of Night), and Alan Berns (Guiding Light and most
CBS News promos). Ralph
Paul, who was Ed Sullivan's announcer, used to do
promos during the credits of CBS's classic Saturday-
night sitcoms in the '70s.
Hal Simms and Ralph Paul have passed away; Bern
Bennett retired in 2001 at age 80; I don't know what
happened to Alan Berns.
show announcers as well as promo specialists.
Three who come to mind are Bern Bennett
(The Young And The Restless, he was also
announcer on Beat The Clock and To
Tell The Truth at one time); Hal Simms (The EDDDGE
Of Night), and Alan Berns (Guiding Light and most
CBS News promos). Ralph
Paul, who was Ed Sullivan's announcer, used to do
promos during the credits of CBS's classic Saturday-
night sitcoms in the '70s.
Hal Simms and Ralph Paul have passed away; Bern
Bennett retired in 2001 at age 80; I don't know what
happened to Alan Berns.
Don't forget Casey Kasem and NBC.
Okay, now I'm upset because none of this is any help at all. I specifically asked if there was anyone on this board that knows the name of the guy that was heard on all of the CBS comedy promos during the 1980s AND on the Disney movie trailers (Little Mermaid etc.).
P.S. I already know that Casey Kasem was heard on the NBC Saturday morning promos and during the network's "Proud as a Peacock/Our Pride is Showing" spots.
P.S. I already know that Casey Kasem was heard on the NBC Saturday morning promos and during the network's "Proud as a Peacock/Our Pride is Showing" spots.
A
artcrow
Guest
Mark Elliott, perhaps?
artcrow said:
...I'm pretty sure he's the one the original poster was talking about. He also co-hosted segments on Dick Clark's syndicated radio show "Rock, Roll & Remember" during the same period. I was working at WXOL Oshkosh, one of the Clark/Elliott show's affiliates, during part of that period, so his voice is very familiar...
stdjsb25 said:
...Don was also a utility announcer for both NBC networks, radio and TV, and the local stations in New York City, WNBC-TV and WNBC-AM-FM...
...Wendell also worked as Ernie Kovacs' NBC announcer, including the stretch in late '56 when Kovacs hosted "Tonight" on Monday and Tuesday nights while Steve Allen (with Gene Rayburn for his announcer) did Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays...
...then there was Johnny Olsen, who pulled extensive duty for Goodson-Todman game shows and "The Jackie Gleason Show" -- did he ever work as a utility announcer for any of the networks?...
bpatrick said:
...Bern Bennett also announced for Alan Freed's "Camel Rock 'n Roll Dance Party" radio show on CBS in 1956-57. He also filled in when Johnny Olson was unavailable for "What's My Line" and Jack Clark for "Password"...
donnyg said:
Don Pardo also has done over the years voicers for local radio stations too. Not far from my house we had an album rock station that used him for just that. VERY WEIRD to hear Pardo promoting the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Gin Blossoms.
Didn't the late Robert W. Morgan from LA's old KHJ Radio do TV voice over work back in the 70s and 80s? I am pretty sure he did on Solid Gold.
Actually come to think of it many of the old KHJ announcers ( from the Boss Radio era ) sooner/later ended up to TV voice over work too and not just in LA either.
This who's-who must include the unsung BILL WOLFF, who announced for Another World from its debut in 1964 until (I believe) some time in the '80s. His was a voice of "gentle authority."
AW was one of my mother's favorite soaps, and Wolff's "We'llrrrreturn to our storyyy in just a moment!" commercial bumper was just so ... elegant. Even better was hearing a 1964 AW audio clip on the WOST.org site (back when it was free), when Wolff read a live promo for "The Virginian" over the credits. It reminds me of just what we've lost with all the split-screen nonsense at the end of shows today. And, with Bill Wolff saying it, who wouldn't have wanted to "stay tuned for YOU DON'T SAY, next, in color"......
I'm not sure if he's alive today, but what I wouldn't give to hear that voice on TV again.
--Russell
AW was one of my mother's favorite soaps, and Wolff's "We'llrrrreturn to our storyyy in just a moment!" commercial bumper was just so ... elegant. Even better was hearing a 1964 AW audio clip on the WOST.org site (back when it was free), when Wolff read a live promo for "The Virginian" over the credits. It reminds me of just what we've lost with all the split-screen nonsense at the end of shows today. And, with Bill Wolff saying it, who wouldn't have wanted to "stay tuned for YOU DON'T SAY, next, in color"......
I'm not sure if he's alive today, but what I wouldn't give to hear that voice on TV again.
--Russell
Let us also not forget Mel Brandt, the NBC voice on that classic 60s Peacock opening, he also said "This Program Is Produced By NBC News, Which Is Solely Responsible for its Content" on that network's special news events on the closing where the "snake" logo "broke" apart to become the NBC News logo.
[quote ]
Actually come to think of it many of the old KHJ announcers ( from the Boss Radio era ) sooner/later ended up to TV voice over work too and not just in LA either.
[/quote]
Charlie Van D y k e, certainly, and not just on TV. I've heard CVD on
TV:
WBAL-11 Baltimore
WGAL-8 Lancaster, PA
WJLA-7 Washington, DC
WPVI-6 Philadelphia
Radio:
AT 40 (filling in for Casey several times)
WOGL-98.1 Philadelphia
WPHT-1210 Philadelphia (when it was WGMP The Game in the mid-90s ["Get into The Game!"])
ixnay
Actually come to think of it many of the old KHJ announcers ( from the Boss Radio era ) sooner/later ended up to TV voice over work too and not just in LA either.
[/quote]
Charlie Van D y k e, certainly, and not just on TV. I've heard CVD on
TV:
WBAL-11 Baltimore
WGAL-8 Lancaster, PA
WJLA-7 Washington, DC
WPVI-6 Philadelphia
Radio:
AT 40 (filling in for Casey several times)
WOGL-98.1 Philadelphia
WPHT-1210 Philadelphia (when it was WGMP The Game in the mid-90s ["Get into The Game!"])
ixnay
I remember the Disney movie-trailer voice that RALfan is speaking of - I'm sorry I can't remember the name, but it may come to me later. The guy did the Disney movie trailers as far back as the 50s and 60s...maybe into the 80s, prior to Mark Elliot. The style then was much more dramatic - BIG deep profound voice - than the Elliot or Don La Fontaine trailers you hear today. I hadn't remembered that he did work for CBS, but I recall that he did a lot of local voice-overs in the LA market, including "The World Tomorrow" - a Christian religious and political program hosted by Garner Ted Armstrong.
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