Art Gilmore
Encyclopedia
Arthur Wells "Art" Gilmore (March 18, 1912 — September 25, 2010) was an American
voice actor and announcer whose voice has been heard in radio
and television program
s, movies
, trailers
, advertising promotions
and documentary film
s.
, Gilmore attended Washington State University
in 1931, where he was a member of the Chi chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
music fraternity and a member of the Alpha Omicron Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity. He left school in 1935 to work as an announcer for Seattle's KOL
Radio. In 1936 he became a staff announcer for the Warner Brothers' radio station
KFWB in Hollywood and then moved to the CBS
-owned station KNX
as a news reader
. During World War II
, he served as a fighter-director U.S. Navy
officer aboard an aircraft carrier
in the Pacific Ocean
.
Leaving the Navy, he decided to become a professional singer and returned to Hollywood. With a group of notable Hollywood radio stars, including Edgar Bergen
, Ralph Edwards
and Jim "Fibber McGee" Jordan, Gilmore founded Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters in 1966. At the time of his death, he was Chairman Emeritus of PPB. The organization presents the Art Gilmore Career Achievement Award five times each year to celebrities who have made notable contributions to the broadcasting and related industries.
, Dr. Christian
, The Sears Radio Theater, Stars over Hollywood, The Golden Days of Radio and other radio shows. It was Gilmore who introduced Herbert W. Armstrong
and Garner Ted Armstrong
, reminding listeners to request free religious literature at the conclusion of "The World Tomorrow
" on radio and television.
, The Red Skelton Show
, An Evening with Fred Astaire
and many others. He narrated 156 episodes of Highway Patrol
with Broderick Crawford
, 39 segments of Mackenzie's Raiders
with Richard Carlson, and 41 episodes of Men of Annapolis
. His television appearances included The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, Adam-12
, Emergency!
, Dragnet
and The Waltons
. He announced Ronald W. Reagan's "A Time for Choosing" speech in 1964 supporting Barry Goldwater
for U.S. President.
and The Gallant Hours (1960) where he was the narrator for Japan
ese sequences. His dramatic voice was also heard on countless film trailers beginning in the 1940s (he did the trailer for the 1946 film Gilda), and on documentary films throughout the 1950s and 1960s. (He appeared on-camera at the beginning of the trailer for the 1948 thriller The Big Clock
.) He narrated the Joe McDoakes
series of short comedies which starred George O'Hanlon
, notably "So You Want To Be A Detective" (1948), in which he participated (with the camera as his point-of-view). Gilmore also served as the president of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
(AFTRA) from 1961 until 1963.
, said that his uncle was the reason he chose to work in broadcasting.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
voice actor and announcer whose voice has been heard in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s, movies
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, trailers
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
, advertising promotions
Radio commercial
Commercial radio stations make most of their revenue selling “airtime” to advertisers. Of total media expenditures, radio accounts for 6.9%. Radio advertisements or “spots” are available when a business or service provides valuable consideration, usually cash, in exchange for the station airing...
and documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
s.
Biography
Reared in Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, Gilmore attended Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
in 1931, where he was a member of the Chi chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...
music fraternity and a member of the Alpha Omicron Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity. He left school in 1935 to work as an announcer for Seattle's KOL
KOL
KOL may refer to:*Kingdom of Loathing, a browser-based multiplayer online role-playing game*Knight Online, a multiplayer online role-playing game*Kings of Leon*Knights of Labor*Key opinion leader, a person performing opinion leadership...
Radio. In 1936 he became a staff announcer for the Warner Brothers' radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
KFWB in Hollywood and then moved to the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
-owned station KNX
KNX (AM)
KNX is an all-news radio station in Los Angeles, California, USA. The station operates on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio. KNX broadcasts from facilities shared with sister stations KFWB, KCBS-FM, KTWV, and KAMP on Los Angeles' Miracle Mile...
as a news reader
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served as a fighter-director U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
officer aboard an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Leaving the Navy, he decided to become a professional singer and returned to Hollywood. With a group of notable Hollywood radio stars, including Edgar Bergen
Edgar Bergen
Edgar John Bergen was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist.-Early life:...
, Ralph Edwards
Ralph Edwards
Ralph Livingstone Edwards was an American radio and television host and television producer.-Early career:Born in Merino, Colorado , Edwards worked for KROW-AM in Oakland, California while he was still in high school...
and Jim "Fibber McGee" Jordan, Gilmore founded Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters in 1966. At the time of his death, he was Chairman Emeritus of PPB. The organization presents the Art Gilmore Career Achievement Award five times each year to celebrities who have made notable contributions to the broadcasting and related industries.
Radio
Gilmore's announcing voice became a part of many classic radio programs. Drawing his inspiration from the radio sports commentators of the 1930s, he became the announcer for Amos 'n Andy, The Adventures of Frank RaceThe Adventures of Frank Race
The Adventures of Frank Race was an American radio adventure serial syndicated by Bruce Eells Productions. The 30-minute program's first East Coast broadcast was 1949, and the show ran 43 episodes. Because it was syndicated, it aired on different stations on different days. For instance, in New...
, Dr. Christian
Dr. Christian
Dr. Christian was a long-running radio series with Jean Hersholt in the title role. It aired on CBS from 1937 to 1954.After Hersholt portrayed the character Dr. John Luke, based on Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, the obstetrician who delivered and cared for the Dionne Quintuplets, in the 20th Century Fox...
, The Sears Radio Theater, Stars over Hollywood, The Golden Days of Radio and other radio shows. It was Gilmore who introduced Herbert W. Armstrong
Herbert W. Armstrong
Herbert W. Armstrong founded the Worldwide Church of God in the late 1930s, as well as Ambassador College in 1946, and was an early pioneer of radio and tele-evangelism, originally taking to the airwaves in the 1930s from Eugene, Oregon...
and Garner Ted Armstrong
Garner Ted Armstrong
Garner Ted Armstrong was an American evangelist and the son of Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God, at the time a Sabbatarian organization that taught strict observance of seventh-day Sabbath, holy days typically associated with the Jewish faith, and other observances...
, reminding listeners to request free religious literature at the conclusion of "The World Tomorrow
The World Tomorrow
The World Tomorrow is a now-defunct radio and television half-hour program which had been sponsored by the Radio Church of God which ran from 1934 to 1994...
" on radio and television.
Television
With the advent of television, Gilmore heralded The George Gobel ShowGeorge Gobel
George Leslie Gobel was an American comedian and actor. He was best known as the star of his own weekly NBC television show, The George Gobel Show, which ran from 1954 to 1960 .-Early years:He was born George Leslie Goebel in Chicago, Illinois, His father, Hermann Goebel, was a...
, The Red Skelton Show
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
, An Evening with Fred Astaire
An Evening With Fred Astaire
An Evening with Fred Astaire is a one-hour live television special starring Fred Astaire, broadcast on NBC on October 17, 1958. It was highly successful, winning nine Emmy awards and spawning three further specials, and technically innovative, as it was one of the first major television shows to be...
and many others. He narrated 156 episodes of Highway Patrol
Highway patrol
A highway patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is primarily concerned with such duties.Duties of highway patrols or traffic...
with Broderick Crawford
Broderick Crawford
Broderick Crawford was an Academy Award-winning American stage, film, radio and TV actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his starring role in the television series "Highway Patrol."-Early life:...
, 39 segments of Mackenzie's Raiders
Mackenzie's Raiders
Mackenzie's Raiders is an American Western television series starring Richard Carlson that aired in syndication from 1958 until 1959. The series was narrated by Art Gilmore.-Synopsis:...
with Richard Carlson, and 41 episodes of Men of Annapolis
Men of Annapolis
Men of Annapolis is a 41-episode half-hour syndicated drama television series in anthology format which aired from 1957–1958 and was hosted by the voice of Art Gilmore. Darryl Hickman appeared four times on the program as Dusty Rhodes, a fictitious midshipman at the United States Naval Academy in...
. His television appearances included The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
, Adam-12
Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
, Emergency!
Emergency!
Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...
, Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
and The Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
. He announced Ronald W. Reagan's "A Time for Choosing" speech in 1964 supporting Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
for U.S. President.
Films
Gilmore was heard in films as the voice of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1942 production of Yankee Doodle DandyYankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
and The Gallant Hours (1960) where he was the narrator for Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese sequences. His dramatic voice was also heard on countless film trailers beginning in the 1940s (he did the trailer for the 1946 film Gilda), and on documentary films throughout the 1950s and 1960s. (He appeared on-camera at the beginning of the trailer for the 1948 thriller The Big Clock
The Big Clock
The Big Clock is a 1946 novel by Kenneth Fearing. Published by Harcourt Brace, the thriller was his fourth novel, following three for Random House and five collections of his poetry...
.) He narrated the Joe McDoakes
Joe McDoakes
Joe McDoakes is the protagonist of a series of 63 black and white live action comedy one reel short subjects released between 1942 and 1956. The Joe McDoakes shorts are also known as the Behind the Eight Ball series or the So You Want... series...
series of short comedies which starred George O'Hanlon
George O'Hanlon
George O'Hanlon was an American screen actor, comedian, and voice actor.-Early life and career:George O'Hanlon was born in Brooklyn, New York City on November 23, 1912....
, notably "So You Want To Be A Detective" (1948), in which he participated (with the camera as his point-of-view). Gilmore also served as the president of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is a performers' union that represents a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, as well as radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists , promo and voice-over announcers and other...
(AFTRA) from 1961 until 1963.
Recordings
In addition to his radio-TV work, he provided the narration for many collections of recorded musical works and a large number of recordings for children. Gilmore was also active in reading textbooks for the blind and dyslexic for many years.Death
He died of natural causes on September 25, 2010, aged 98. Gilmore was survived by his wife, Grace; daughters Marilyn and Barbara; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. His nephew, Robb WellerRobb Weller
Robb Weller is an American game show host and television personality and producer .He hosted Entertainment Tonight from 1984 to 1989. He currently appears as the co-anchor of FOX 11 Sunday Morning News with Gina Silva at KTTV in Los Angeles...
, said that his uncle was the reason he chose to work in broadcasting.