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The Ghost of Ernie Anderson: Life on Mars!

G

Garrett

Has anyone seen the promos for this? ABC is running at least two, looks like they are both :30 spots. They have an announcer who sounds like Ernie Anderson, even though Ernie has been dead for 11 years! The spot also uses the old 70's style promo format from the early 70s and even has a vintage logo tag at the end.

Does anyone know who the voice is? Obviously it's not Ernie, but is it his son? I googled it and could not find anything :(
 
Garrett said:
Has anyone seen the promos for this? ABC is running at least two, looks like they are both :30 spots. They have an announcer who sounds like Ernie Anderson, even though Ernie has been dead for 11 years! The spot also uses the old 70's style promo format from the early 70s and even has a vintage logo tag at the end.

Does anyone know who the voice is? Obviously it's not Ernie, but is it his son? I googled it and could not find anything :(
Click to expand...

I have not seen this promo. If someone has it online somewhere I'd love a link.
One thought: since ABC has miles of tape with Anderson's voice on it, do you think they could have cut it together from some of his old voice work?
A little digital tweaking and it might work. Just a guess.
 
According to imdb.com, the main plotline of Life on Mars involves a man who, after being hit by a car, is transported back to 1973. He has to make do without all our modern conveniences. It's adapted from a British TV show.

I was in my early 20s back in 1973. The funny thing about this is that back then, I thought, along with many others, that we were getting truly advanced, both technically and as a society. Now, '73 seems so prehistoric compared to today.

Early buzz on Life on Mars is not so good. Already, some are predicting this show to be one of the first cancellations of the upcoming Fall TV season. The show has already had a revolving door of Executive Producers. Not a good sign. :(
 
I don't know if it's still going or not, but a business was selling various generic/non-station specific Ernie Anderson clips not that long ago. If I remember right, the operation had the blessing of his heirs.

http://www.ernieanderson.com/

I haven't seen the "Life on Mars" promo, so I don't know if this is what's going on.

Ernie's son is Paul Thomas Anderson, he of "Boogie Nights" movie fame. I haven't heard him, but I don't believe he inherited his dad's legendary pipes!
 
If the music's too loud, you're too ohhhhhhlllllddddd.
 
OhioMediaWatch said:
I don't know if it's still going or not, but a business was selling various generic/non-station specific Ernie Anderson clips not that long ago. If I remember right, the operation had the blessing of his heirs.

http://www.ernieanderson.com/

I haven't seen the "Life on Mars" promo, so I don't know if this is what's going on.

Ernie's son is Paul Thomas Anderson, he of "Boogie Nights" movie fame. I haven't heard him, but I don't believe he inherited his dad's legendary pipes!
Click to expand...

Yes, I've seen that site, I think that's what Tested was getting at earlier, and there's also a thing on Wikipedia about how Z-100 and some other stations (I know Kiss 108 was one of them) were still using his sound bites as late as 2000. However, I think the extent you would have to go to for the ABC promos is probably well beyond what is possible.

Either way, sorry to hear about Life on Mars. Looks like David E. Kelley wrote the first pilot and then ABC scratched it and started over. Oh well...
 
Garrett said:
Yes, I've seen that site, I think that's what Tested was getting at earlier, and there's also a thing on Wikipedia about how Z-100 and some other stations (I know Kiss 108 was one of them) were still using his sound bites as late as 2000.
Click to expand...

...as was WMAQ Chicago, I believe up to the day they were shut down by CBS in 2000...
 
To promote "LIFE ON MARS" the BBC used its Rotating globe ID and clips of its announcers and programs were also a part of the series including use of BBC RADIO clips and even (for british viewers) its most SCARIEST of all icons...THE TEST CARD (known as a test pattern in the states)with a smiling child /chalkboard in the circle.

A new Pilot of the show was done and stayed with the look and feel of its british mother show.

Im giving it a shot
 
emailfailed said:
Here is a link... and if you listen closely it sounds more like an Ernie Anderson sound alike. Nonetheless a clever promo as when I saw it on ABC it made me do a double-take.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-mean-streets-of-nyc/144905766
Click to expand...

The music in the promo is the theme from the MOD SQUAD, very nice touch. The voice is a little too deep I think for it to be Ernie Anderson. I wonder if they hired Frank Caliendo to maybe impersonate him. Caliendo does John Madden and President Bush dead on. Just a thought.

Donny G ;D
 
I think it might be Dude Walker. Dude spent many years in Baltimore/Washington radio and has been doing radio imaging for years. Great guy.
 
Yeah, it's clearly an impersonator. Not a bad one, actually, but an impersonator...even without the knowledge that Ernie obviously is no longer with us.

I agree Dude Walker at least would have the pipes to try, though I can't tell if it's him.
 
"The Loooooove boat" Man I miss that guys promos. ABC should bring back those old 70's style bumpers and promos. there's lots of them on youtube.
 
flytrap said:
"The Loooooove boat" Man I miss that guys promos. ABC should bring back those old 70's style bumpers and promos. there's lots of them on youtube.
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Funny that you should mentioned that. I liked the one they did for their 1967 Thursday night lineup featuring "The Flying Nun", "Bewitched" and "That Girl." Now that was creative.
 
You know the funny thing? In my lifetime, Ernie was the voice of ABC. Yet, I Ithink there's some promos floating around on YouTube where Ernie is actually pitching shows on CBS!
 
Garrett said:
...I think there's some promos floating around on YouTube where Ernie is actually pitching shows on CBS!
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I don't recall Ernie ever promoing for CBS, though he was an announcer for The Carol Burnett Show as "Your Whacko Announcer".
 
azumanga said:
Garrett said:
...I think there's some promos floating around on YouTube where Ernie is actually pitching shows on CBS!
Click to expand...

I don't recall Ernie ever promoing for CBS, though he was an announcer for The Carol Burnett Show as "Your Whacko Announcer".
Click to expand...

...of course, Ernie had been a partner-in-crime of Burnett regular Tim Conway at KYW-TV/3 and WJW-TV/8 Cleveland. If you can track down a wild mid-'70s movie called TunnelVision you can see Ernie on-camera as a news anchorman...
 
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