Favorite Announcer

The late Johnny Olsen was replaced by Rod Roddy on The Prize Is Priced, I mean The Price Is Right.

Let's Make A Deal was the late, great, Jay Stewart - IMO at the top of the heap of announcers.

 

Here's a vote for another Ken....Ken Coleman was an excellent play by play announcer for the Boston Red Sox. For years, he gave listeners a very descriptive and personable account of how the game was unfolding, interesting anecdoes about things happening that day and even live ads. I recall one live ad particularly well--it was a west coast game, the Sox were in Oakland. It went into extra innings and this happened sometime in the wee hours of the morning...Ken Coleman was doing the wrap up and mentioning one of the sponsers (Budweiser)...."brought to you in part by....(Audible Belch)...Budweiser! The King Of Beers!" (You could hear the engineers busting a gut in the background...well worth staying awake for!) What made this hilarious is that Ken was usually very composed and professional. He was loose and relatable, but a pro. It must have been beyond his control.

 

ESPN is having Harry the K work the Braves/Phils game Wednesday night as part of its "living legends" guest announcer series. Some of you folks out there might know Harry better for his NFL Films narration and his voiceover work on the Campbell's Chunky Soup commercials ("fill 'em up right"); if you've never heard him do baseball, I highly recommend tuning in for at least part of the broadcast. You'll be in for a real treat.

 

Speaking of NFL Films, one of my favorite annoucers was the late great John Facenda.

A legendary newsman in Philadelphia (he dominated local news on WCAU-Channel 10 for many years until the early 1970s), he started doing voice-overs for NFL Films on the side in the 1960s. He became "The Voice of Doom" on all those classic highlight films ... "the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field" first rolled from his lips.

I have an LP of Facenda telling the story of the first Christmas called The Nativity, which was first issued on a small Philadelphia label in 1957, then picked up for national distribution by RCA Victor in 1958. He brings new life to a story that is familiar to everyone who grows up Christian.

 

How about that gold record he did with Meat Loaf?


Holly Cow! That looked like one of my 2-irons White!


Rizzuto was a riot and the relationship he had with Bill White made it even funnier.

Today the best sports personality IMO is Joe Morgan on ESPN. His analysis is always intelligent without going overbaord.

The worst, Bill Walton. How he ever got to where he is as an analyist is beyond me. I respect the guy so much as a basketball player its just sad that he is such a hideous announcer.

 

I thought he was still alive. When did he die?

 

My favorite guy who does narration (and a lot of voicees and commercials) is Thurl Ravenscroft lots of stuff for Disney and different cartoons (You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch). Very distinctive voice, he did (and does) Tony the Tiger etc..

 

Some of us were just discussing this on a Tigers board I frequent. Somebody was complaining about the current announcing lineup, and I commented that after growing up on filet mignon (Harwell, Kell, Paul Carey, Al Kaline) it's hard to accomodate yourself to hamburger or Spam!

Agreed. For some reason a lot of fans can't stand him, but I think Morgan is terrific. For my money, he and Jon Miller are the best sportscasting team on network TV today.

 

George Fenneman

announcer, actor
Born: 11/10/19
Birthplace: Beijing, China

He was the announcer/straight man opposite Groucho Marx on the hit TV quiz show You Bet Your Life (1950–61), as well as the announcer on the TV series Dragnet (1952–59) and appeared in a number of movies, including The Thing From Another World (1951), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967), and Once You Kiss a Stranger (1969).

Died: 5/29/97


mud-

 

Although he isn't my favorite announcer, I always like bringing up the name Casey Kasem in referance to discussions about Scooby Doo.

Most people in my age group--early thirties---know who Casey Kasem is because of fond memories listening to his countdown radio programs.

But 9 out of 10 people i talk to get an amazed look on their face when I mention that Casey Kasem was the voice of Shaggy.

 

I still remember an early 80s Yankees broadcast during a year when they were out of it, and Phil & Bill spending an entire half-inning debating the merits of graphite tennis racquets(!) They rocked!