Bern Bennett
Bern Bennett (October 19, 1921 – May 29, 2014) was an American radio and television announcer.
Bern Bennett | |
|---|---|
 Bennett in 1946. | |
| Born | October 19, 1921 |
| Died | May 29, 2014 (aged 92) |
| Occupation | Radio/television announcer |
| Years active | 1944–2003 |
Career
For nearly sixty years, beginning in 1944, Bennett was a staff announcer at CBS Radio and television. In the 1940s and 1950s, he was closely associated with Bud Collyer, as announcer on three Collyer-hosted game shows, Winner Take All,[1] Beat the Clock,[2] and To Tell the Truth, all produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman.
Other radio programs for which Bennett was the announcer included This Is Broadway,[3] School of the Air[4] and Breakfast With Burrows.[5] In 1960, he was host of Upbeat Saturday Night, a 30-minute program featuring live jazz music on CBS radio.[6]
Other television programs for which Bennett was the announcer included By Popular Demand,[2]: 150 The Jonathan Winters Show,[2]: 544 Password,[2]: 816 The Phil Silvers Show,[2]: 830 and Your Surprise Store.[2]: 1210
In 1957, Bennett was the subject of a contest on Beat the Clock in which viewers were asked to "Draw the Masked Announcer" (meaning draw what they thought Bennett looked like). Bennett, who was never seen on-camera, made an appearance with the winner, Edward Darnell of Columbus, Indiana, who had been flown to New York to be a contestant on Clock.[7] Collyer often kidded Bennett about the tendency for his voice to break when introducing "America's number-one clock watcher... BUD COLLYER", and his voice breaking on the word "Collyer." Bennett was announcer on Clock until it moved from CBS to ABC in 1958. Bennett served as fill-in announcer on such shows as The Ed Sullivan Show[2]: 297 (1948–1971) and What's My Line? (1950–1967).
In 1960, the network transferred Bennett to Los Angeles, where he was heard as announcer on such shows as The Danny Kaye Show,[2]: 234 Your Surprise Package,[2]: 1210 the Tournament of Roses Parade, and, most notably, the soap operas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. He also announced for the short-lived soap opera The Clear Horizon.[2]: 192 In 1975, he subbed for a week on Match Game for its regular announcer Johnny Olson. He appeared on other networks: as the voice of a television announcer in an episode of The Flintstones (ABC) titled "Fred Flintstone: Before and After"; on The Facts of Life (NBC) in an on-camera appearance; and as a "central subject" on the 1991 NBC version of To Tell the Truth.
Bennett died on May 29, 2014, at the age of 92 in San Pedro, Los Angeles. His death was not announced in the media until October.[8]
References
- Terrace, Vincent (September 2, 2015). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company. p. 356. ISBN 978-1-4766-0528-9.
- Terrace, Vincent (2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-7864-8641-0.
- Franken, Jerry (May 21, 1949). "This Is Broadway". Billboard. p. 14. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- "CBS Sets Staff For 'School of Air'". Billboard. October 11, 1947. p. 10. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- Chase, Sam (July 16, 1949). "Breakfast With Burrows". Billboard. p. 10. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- "'Upbeat' Seg Back on CBS". Billboard. June 6, 1960. p. 4. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- "Columbus Man Winner In Television Contest". Seymour Daily Tribune. December 12, 1957. p. 10. Retrieved May 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- Wagoner, Richard (October 23, 2014). "Delayed remembrance for longtime CBS staffer Bern Bennett". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
Sources
- Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve; Wostbrock, Fred (1995). The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (2 ed.). Facts on File. ISBN 978-0-8160-3094-1.
