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Program 39 - June, 1973 - Tony Marvin


 

Tony Marvin, the mellifluous radio and television announcer who proclaimed "It's Arthur Godfrey time!" over the airwaves in the 1940s and '50s, grew up in New York City. Marvin dreamed of being a doctor, and after graduating from St. John's University, he attended the Long Island College of Medicine for two years. But the Depression intervened, and he quit school to support his family as a theater usher. He eventually decided to make his career in show business. His big break came during a stint as a mechanic in the mid-1930s. As he serviced a limousine, the owner heard him singing and offered to pay for a vocal teacher for him. The result was a scholarship for a year's study with an MGM voice coach. He soon landed leading roles with the New York Operatic Guild, and moved on to light comedies in the New York theater world while simultaneously working the odd radio job. In 1937, he was hired by WNYC as the station's chief announcer and later was made the official "voice" of the New York World's Fair. Marvin joined CBS in 1939 as an announcer and a newsman, working on reports from such war correspondents as Edward R. Murrow and William L. Shirer. In 1945, Marvin was approached by Arthur Godfrey to take over as announcer on his popular radio show. He made the role his own for nearly 14 years, enduring through Godfrey's two television variety shows. More a sidekick than a cut-and-dried announcer, he was famous for his resonant bass voice, his ability to warm up an audience and his sophisticated banter with Godfrey. After Godfrey cut down on his broadcast activities, Marvin moved over to Mutual Radio as a newscaster, eventually starting his own radio talk show and doing voice-overs in commercials. He was the original Kellogg's Tony the Tiger, said his wife of 61 years, Dorothea.Tony Marvin died Oct. 10, 1998 at the age of 86.

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Program 39 - June, 1973 - Tony Marvin

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