American radio announcer and actor (1915–1966)
Bill Forman (1915–1966) was an American radio announcer and actor. He was best known for his work as the title character on The Whistler .[ 1]
Early life
Forman was born Raymond L. Forman on May 26, 1915 in Mount Vernon, New York . His father was a Methodist minister. He attended Wesleyan University , where he majored in English and theatre.[ 2] John Golden discovered him and cast him in a play in New York. Forman later reported having been in six flop plays that year.[ 2] [ 3] [ 4]
Career
Forman worked for WHBC in Canton, Ohio and then for WGAR in Cleveland , Ohio before he moved to Los Angeles to work at KMPC, where he succeeded Lou Huston, in 1942.[ 5] [ 6] [ 2] During his career, Forman was known as the "dean" and for his many accents on Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge .[ 7]
Forman appeared on The Whistler starting in 1941.[ 2] [ 8] He once stated he never missed a broadcast.[ 9] According to a 1990 newspaper article, he did not provide the whistling of his character.[ 10] He starred in the television adaptation of The Whistler which aired for one season beginning in 1954.[ 11] [ 12] [ 13]
Forman also announced and narrated for various radio shows. He was the narrator on The Zane Grey Show [ 14] and the announcer on The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show ; its predecessor, The Fitch Bandwagon ;[ 15] Richard Diamond, Private Detective ;[ 16] The Charlie McCarthy Show ;[ 17] and The Tony Martin Show. [ 18] [ 19]
In addition to his work on broadcast and radio, Forman contributed vocal work to several films, including Wilbur the Lion (1947)[ 20] and The Pride of St. Louis (1952).[ 21]
Personal life and death
Forman was inducted into the military at Fort MacArthur in 1945.[ 22] [ 23]
Forman was married and had three children. He enjoyed golf, cooking, and Sherlock Holmes stories and films.[ 2] [ 24] [ 3] Forman was a friend of Frank Lovejoy .[ 25]
He died on April 25, 1966.[ 26] [ 4] [ 27] [ 28]
References
^ "Old timers being heard again" . The Wichita Beacon . 1973-04-27. p. 27. Retrieved 2023-03-30 .
^ a b c d e "Star of 'The Whistler' on job 13 years" . The Times . 1955-02-27. p. 55. Retrieved 2023-03-30 .
^ a b Kelsay, Bill (1956-07-20). "The Whistler revealed" (PDF) . TV-Radio Life .
^ a b "Raymond Forman" . The Californian . 1966-04-28. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
^ "Radio: Payroll Traffic" . Variety . Vol. 138, no. 12. May 29, 1940. p. 35.
^ "Behind the mike". Broadcasting, Broadcast Advertising . Mar 2, 1942. 22, 9. p. 36.
^ "Music Records: Kay Kyser, Popular Bandleader, Radio Host, Dies In N. Carolina". Variety . Jul 31, 1985. 320, 1. p. 77.
^ "Radio voice to influence votes" . The Times-News . 1944-11-05. p. 24. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
^ "And coffee cost 5 cents" . Lubbock Avalanche-Journal . 1955-08-07. p. 68. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
^ "Now you know "Whistler' secrets" . The Courier-Journal . 1990-09-09. p. 54. Retrieved 2023-03-30 .
^ Terrace, Vincent (2013). Television Introductions: Narrated TV Program Openings since 1949 . Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-9250-7 .
^ Terrace, Vincent (2022). From Radio to Television: Programs That Made the Transition, 1929–2021 . McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-8836-7 .
^ Cox, Jim (2015). Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age . McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1227-0 .
^ Chase, Sam. "Radio: Network program reviews & analysis - Zane Grey Show". The Billboard . Oct 4, 1947. 59, 39. p. 12.
^ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio . Oxford University Press. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-19-977078-6 .
^ "Crime story" . The Gazette . 1953-06-27. p. 28. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
^ "Listening in" . Daily News . 1944-09-07. p. 26. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
^ Herm (July 8, 1953). "Radio Review: Tony Martin Show" . Variety . Vol. 191, no. 5. p. 24.
^ " 'Rhapsody in Blue' score on TV tonight; Cantor signs for fall radio chatter program" . The Los Angeles Times . 1951-09-20. p. 28. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
^ Scott, Keith (2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2 . BearManor Media.
^ Daniel, Blum (1969). Screen World Vol. 4 1953 . Biblo & Tannen Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8196-0259-6 .
^ "Chatter: Hollywood" . Variety . May 16, 1945. p. 55.
^ "They tell me" . The Cincinnati Enquirer . 1945-05-16. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
^ Hannah, Sara (1952-02-08). "Who hides behind "The Whistler's" mask?" (PDF) . Radio-TV Life : 4.
^ "Frank Lovejoy was devoted to youth" . Los Angeles Evening Citizen News . 1962-10-09. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
^ "Forman, Raymond L." The Los Angeles Times . 1966-04-27. p. 26. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
^ "Funeral services..." The Los Angeles Times . 1966-05-01. p. 333. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
^ "The 'Whistler' is dead" . The Modesto Bee . 1966-04-27. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-04-05 .
External links