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Marty Robinson (born September 7, 1932) is a retired
voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...
announcer for various stations, most notably at WTTW studios.


Career

Robinson started his broadcast career in 1956 at WEAW in Evanston. He later worked at WAAF, WNIB,
WAIT Wait or WAIT may refer to: Music * Wait (musician), British town pipers Albums and EPs * ''Wait'' (The Polyphonic Spree EP), by The Polyphonic Spree * ''Wait'' (Emanuel Nice EP), a 2002 EP released by the band Emanuel Nice * ''Wait'' (Stee ...
, WGN, and WJJD. On leaving WNIB in 1958, Robinson joined
WFMT WFMT is an FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a format of fine arts, classical music programming, and shows exploring such genres as folk. The station is managed by Window to the World Communications, Inc., owner of WTTW, Chicago ...
, where he worked as a staff announcer, program host and chief announcer until 1971, when he left to join WTTW-TV. He remained at Channel 11 as an announcer, narrator and program host until 1998. Robinson was also producer and host of '' The First Fifty Years'', a nationally syndicated program of historic vocal records from 1967 to 1992. Robinson was also notably remembered as making "epic introductions" and closing voice-overs of the series '' Doctor Who'' for Channel 11.


Notable work

Some of Robinson's credits are listed below. * Host of the WTTW Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching since 1986-2003 (5 Emmy Awards) * Producer/host for 25 years of the nationally syndicated program of historic vocal recordings, The First Fifty Years. * Narrator of the PBS-BBC series Atlantic Realm. * Narrator of the PBS-BBC series The Making of a Continent I. (Peabody Award) * Narrator of the PBS-BBC series The Making of a Continent II. (Ohio State Award, San Francisco Film Festival Award) * Host of the CBS-Chicago special, Caring for Chicago. * Narrator of the PBS special Solti at 75. (Emmy Award) * Host of the WTTW-PBS live special, The Chicago Jazz Festival. * Host of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra special Bravos from Home. * Narrator of the PBS special The Treasures of Tutankhamun. (Emmy Award) * Host/Narrator of the WTTW Special, Top Guns of ‘43. (Emmy Award) * Host/Narrator of the WTTW Special, Maxwell Street. * Host of the WTTW Special Henry Ossawa Tanner. * Narrator of the WTTW special The First Jetliner. (Emmy Award) * Narrator of the WTTW special The Case Against Garbage. * Host of the WTTW presentation of Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung. * Host of the WTTW presentation of Olympica. * Narrator of the WTTW special Renoir. * Narrator of the WTTW special Monet. (Emmy Award) * Narrator of the WTTW special The Chicago Art Institute. * Narrator of the Grant Park Festival presentation of Carmen. * Backstage interviewer for WFMT at Lyric Opera of Chicago. * Lecturer for Lyric Opera of Chicago. * Host of the WTTW special Lyric Opera at 25. * Host of the WTTW Chicago Opera Theater special The Mother of Us All. * Host/narrator in scores of industrial films and commercials. * Broadcast interviews of hundreds of celebrities, including
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Personal life

Robinson was born near
Logan Square Logan Square may refer to: * Logan Square, Chicago, a neighborhood on the north side of the city * Logan Circle (Philadelphia) or Logan Square, a park in Philadelphia **Logan Square, Philadelphia Logan Square is a neighborhood in Philadelphia. Bou ...
in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. He first attended Darwin Grammar School and later attended Lane Tech High School and graduated in 1950. After High School, Robinson enlisted in the
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
when the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
began and served for three-and-a-half years. Before breaking into broadcasting in 1956, he worked as a gas station attendant, a stable boy, a file clerk, a counterman, a
truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...
, a
laborer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...
, a cowboy, a
bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...
, and a
cab driver "Cab Driver" is a song written by Carson Parks and performed by The Mills Brothers featuring Sy Oliver and His Orchestra. It reached #3 on the Easy Listening chart, #21 on the '' Cashbox'' chart, and #23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart i ...
. He has been married to Mary Robinson (née Wellingham) since 1959 and they have lived in
Prospect Heights, Illinois Prospect Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States and is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 16,058. Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Prospect Heights has a total area of , of whi ...
since 1973. The Robinsons have two children and two grandchildren.


References


External links


Marty Robinson Introductions and Closing Voice-Overs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Marty Living people 1932 births Male actors from Chicago American male voice actors American television hosts Radio personalities from Chicago People from Prospect Heights, Illinois