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OBITUARY: Joel Crager, 81; Voice of "ABC Sunday Night Movie"

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As reported by Bob Gibson on the New York Broadcasting History Board, veteran ABC staff announcer and voiceover artist Joel Crager who was "the voice" of The ABC Sunday Night Movie (and also some of their other movie nights such as Wednesday, Monday, Friday et al.) from the 1960's until 1983, and who voiced numerous ads including the E.F. Hutton "When E.F. Hutton Talks, People Listen" campaign, died on July 28 in New York after a long illness at age 81. The obituary can be found at:
http://www.musicradio77.com/historyboard/wwwboard/messages/7920.html
(alt: http://www.musicradio77.com/wwwboard/messages/374541.html)
In addition, there is a profile of his life and long career at:
http://www.musicradio77.com/joelcragerprofile.html
 
Sad to say, a lot of confusion among voiceovers is very prevalent among some people. I can't tell you how many confused the late WNEW-TV (New York) staff announcer Tom Gregory with booth colleague Lou Steele (that is, in terms of the latter erroneously being nicknamed "Metromedia Man" as opposed to the former whose intonation of the station's then-parent at sign-off time was indeed distinctive).

A few voices do have some similarities that lead to such confusion. For example:
- NBC: Vic Roby and Jerry Damon; (to a lesser extent) Mel Brandt and Wayne Howell; some even thought Bill Hanrahan (the voice of NBC News) sounded like Fred Facey (though Mr. Facey's voice, I.M.H.O., sounded like a cross between Mr. Hanrahan and Arthur Gary)
- ABC: Bob Lloyd and Allan Jefferys (Mr. Lloyd's voice, I did notice, sounded almost like a cross between Mr. Crager and Mr. Jefferys)
- Phil Tonken of WOR-TV/AM (New York) and Dave Devall of CFTO (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
- Roger Tuttle of NBC New York/WNBC-TV/AM and Jay Miltner of WTAM radio/WNBK/KYW/WKYC (Cleveland); fellow NBC New York staffer Bill Rippe, by the 1970's, sounded almost like a frog-voiced version of Mr. Tuttle
 
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