Wendell Niles
Birth : 1904-12-29,
Death : 1994-03-28
History
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wendell Niles (December 29, 1904 – March 28, 1994) was one of the great announcers of the American golden age of radio. He was an announcer on such shows as The Charlotte Greenwood Show, Hedda Hopper's Hollywood, The Adventures of Philip Marlowe,[2] The Man Called X,[3] The Bob Hope Show, The Burns & Allen Show, The Milton Berle Show and The Chase and Sanborn Hour . On February 15, 1950, Wendell starred in the radio pilot for The Adventures of the Scarlet Cloak along with Gerald Mohr.
He began in entertainment by touring in the 1920s with his own orchestra, playing with the Dorsey Brothers and Bix Beiderbecke.
Niles moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1935 to join George Burns and Gracie Allen.
He and his brother, Ken, developed one of the first radio dramas, which eventually became Theatre of the Mind.
-Los Angeles Magazine- How the intersection got its claim to fame
Q: Why is the intersection of Hollywood and Vine famous? There’s nothing there.
A: In May 1936, Wendell Niles from radio station KFWB brought a microphone to the corner and started a man-on-the-street program. “Niles was a big announcer on radio shows for Bob Hope and George Burns,” says L.A. vocal legend Gary Owens. Niles’s popularization of the corner as shorthand for Hollywood was copied by newspaper reporters and gossip columnists alike and even led to the (terrible) feature film Hollywood and Vine, which was released in 1945. The radio show is gone, but you can still watch celebrities through the glass at the online entertainment network BiteSize TV, whose studios are located in the W Hotel.
He toured with Bob Hope during World War II and narrated a 1936 Academy Award-winning short film on the life of tennis great Bill Tilden.
Among his film credits is Knute Rockne, All American with Ronald Reagan.
Wendell Niles was the announcer for "America's Show Of Surprises"..."It Could Be You", and the Hatos-Hall production "Your First Impression". Niles was also the original announcer for Let's Make a Deal during that show's first season in 1963 and 1964; he was later replaced by Jay Stewart.
Wendell and his brother Ken Niles are the first brothers to have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He died of cancer in his Toluca Lake home at the age of 89.
Announcer
A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to have Tom plant clues leading to his arrest for killing a female nightclub dancer. Once Tom is found guilty, he is to reveal the setup and humiliate the DA.
A trio of thieves make their getaway by kidnapping a young hot-rodder, and take over a mountain cabin for a hideout after overpowering its occupants.
Radio Announcer (uncredited)
After aging criminal Roy Earle is released from prison he decides to pull one last heist before retiring — by robbing a resort hotel.
Wendell Niles
Roy and Gilbert's fishing trip takes a terrifying turn when the hitchhiker they pick up turns out to be a sociopath on the run from the law. He's killed before, and he lets the two know that as soon as they're no longer useful, he'll kill again. The two friends plot an escape, but the hitchhiker's peculiar physical affliction, an eye that never closes even when he sleeps, makes it impossible for them to tell when they can make a break for it.
Wendell Niles
Naive small-town girl gets pregnant on her prom night, and winds up in the clutches of the local abortionist. Depending on the release presentation, the movie includes an animation of conception, filmed vaginal and caesarian section births, and a filmed presentation on how syphilis and gonorrhea present themselves.
Radio Announcer
A young girl goes to New York to find a band leader who has stolen all the songs she wrote and is passing them off as his own.
In this drama, an aspiring playwright gets a job in a New York City restaurant favored by celebrities in hopes of getting a break. Unfortunately, most of them believe that the waiter lacks the talent to make it big. Only an aspiring songwriter, and a former waitress who has become a famous Hollywood radio star, really believe in him. When the ex-waitress drops by the restaurant to say hello, she and the others decide to play a trick on an arrogant producer by making him believe the waiter has written a sure-fire hit. They succeed and the producer puts on the show. The singer gets to be the star. When the show becomes a smash, everyone is surprised. Songs include: "Hitchhike To Happiness," "For You And Me," "Sentimental," and "My Pushover Heart."
Radio Announcer
This musical comedy stars radio star Al Pearce has a double role playing himself and Elmer Blurt, the leader of a small-town band that struggles toward stardom in the big city. Their journey begins when Elmer decides to eject their female singer because she isn't really right. Unfortunately, her angry father is their sponsor and when he finds out, he withdraws all support.
Newscaster
A team of two-fisted insurance investigators (one of whom disguises himself as The Masked Marvel) endeavor to discover and thwart the loathsome saboteur Sakima.
Wendell Niles
A former University of Michigan football star (Tom Harmon) rejects an opportunity to play professional football. Instead, he marries his college sweetheart (Anita Louise) and begins a career as a college football coach.
Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Bucolic lawyer John Wayne takes on big-city corruption in A Man Betrayed. He sets out to prove that an above-suspicion politician (Edward Ellis) is actually a crook. The price of integrity is sweet in this instance, since Wayne happens to be in love with the politician's daughter (Frances Dee).
Combines airplane trips and fashion. Heavy on the fashion.
Man-on-the-Street Radio Announcer
Viennese surgeon Dr. Braun and his daughter Leni come to a small town in North Dakota as refugees from Hitler. When the winds of the Dust Bowl threaten the town, John Phillips leads the townsfolk in moving to greener pastures in Oregon. He falls for Leni, but she is betrothed to the man who helped her and her father escape from the Third Reich. She must decide between the two men.
Radio Announcer
Gene Autry and sidekick Frog Millhouse depart Madison Square Garden and NYC heading west for home in their car and a horse trailer carrying Gene's horse, Champion. They discover that Ronnie Willoughby, a young boy just off the boat from school in England, has hitched a ride, thinking that Gene and Frog were sent by his father to meet him. Ronnie thinks his father is a big rancher in the west and doesn't know that his father, Alfred Willoughby, is serving time in San Quentin prison because of a frame-up by the officials of a packing company. To keep the father from testifying against them, the packing company officials, Carter, Jenkins and Martin, have arranged for the boy to be kidnapped. Along the way a runaway bride, Joyce Halloway, and her young sister Patsy join the troupe.
Concert Radio Announcer (uncredited)
In this sequel to Four Daughters, Ann struggles to move on after the death of her husband as she falls in love with Felix, but on the day of her engagement discovers that she carries Mickey's child.
Self - Announcer (uncredited)
After World War I, Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally turns to bootlegging, and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie's partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.
Radio Announcer Introducing Garrett
When Barry Corvall discovers that his new bride is a possible enemy agent, he resigns from the diplomatic service to go undercover to route out an espionage ring planning to destroy American industrial capability.
First Radio Announcer
A champion auto racer who unhappily learns his kid brother wants to enter the same profession rather than finish school.
Radio Announcer
A singing cowboy turns out to be a tenderfoot.
Monteray Police Announcer (uncredited)
Madge Winton (Marion Davies), a beautiful secretary, makes herself look homely in order to avoid advances by lecherous bosses. When her new employer, writer Freddy Matthews (Robert Montgomery), accidentally sees her without her disguise, she has to pretend to be her roommate Sadie.
Radio News Commentator (voice) (uncredited)
In the underworld of Manhattan, a woman dares to stand up to one of the city's most powerful gangsters.
First Radio Announcer
Famous auto racing champion Joe Greer returns to his hometown to compete in a local race, discovering that his younger brother has aspirations to become a racing champion.
