Benjamin Franklin Grauer (June 2, 1908 – May 31, 1977) was an American radio and television personality, following a career during the 1920s as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

in films and on Broadway. He began his career as a child in

David Warfield David Warfield (November 28, 1866 – June 27, 1951) was an American theatre, stage actor. Life and career Warfield was born David Wohlfeld in San Francisco, California, to German-Jewish parents, Louise and Sigmund Wohlfeld. His first conne ...

's production of ''The Return of Peter Grimm''. Among his early credits were roles in films directed by D.W. Griffith. Grauer started in radio as an actor but soon became part of the broadcasting staff at the

National Broadcasting Company The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. He was one of the four narrators, along with

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed radio, theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" ...

, of NBC's public affairs series '' The Big Story'', which focused on courageous journalists.

Early years

Grauer was born Benjamin Franklin Grauer on June 2, 1908, in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, New York. His parents were Adolph and Ida Grauer. After graduating from

Townsend Harris High School Townsend Harris High School (THHS; often also shortened to Townsend Harris or simply Townsend) is a public high school for the humanities in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located on the campus of Queens College, a public college p ...

, he received his B.A. from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

in 1930. His name is sometimes seen as Bennett F. Grauer because he gave that name when he was hired by NBC.

Stage

Broadway productions in which Grauer appeared included ''Penrod'' (1918), ''Betty at Bay'' (1918), '' The Blue Bird'' (1923), '' Processional'' (1925), and ''Carnival'' (1928).

Radio

Grauer's greatest fame lies in his legendary 40-year career in radio. In 1930, the 22-year-old Benjamin Franklin Grauer joined the staff at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. He quickly rose through the ranks to become a senior commentator and reporter. He was the designated announcer for the popular 1940s

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...

's ''Jergens Journal''. Perhaps, most importantly, he was selected by

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...

to become the voice of the

NBC Symphony Orchestra The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, the parent corporation of the National Broadcasting Company especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC ...

. Grauer took over as announcer in late 1942, and remained until the orchestra was disbanded in June 1954. Toscanini said he was his favorite announcer. Grauer did both the Toscanini radio and TV broadcasts. Several years after the death of Toscanini, Grauer and composer Don Gillis (who produced the NBC programs from 1947 to 1954), created the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

-winning radio series ''Toscanini, the Man Behind the Legend''. It began in 1963 and continued through the centennial of Toscanini's birth in 1967. This series ran for nearly two decades on NBC Radio and then other radio stations until the early 1980s. Starting in 1932, Grauer covered the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, presidential inaugurations and international events. During his radio career, Grauer covered nearly every major historic event, including the

Morro Castle Morro Castle may refer to: Fortress * Morro Castle (Havana), a fortress guarding Havana Bay, Cuba * Castillo San Felipe del Morro Castillo San Felipe del Morro (English language , English: Promontory Castle of Saint Philip), most commonly known ...

fire, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Paris Peace Conference and the US occupation of Japan. Millions remember his NBC coverage of the New Year's celebrations on both radio and TV. Starting in 1939, Grauer covered these events for nearly forty years live from New York's

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

. From the mid-1950s until the early-1970s, Grauer's reports were part of the NBC television network's ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'', where he worked with

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

and prior to that,

Jack Paar Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, writer, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine's ob ...

, and

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

. He continued covering New Year's Eve for

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian and American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racing, hydroplane racer whose unique "sweet jazz" style remained popular with audiences for nearly five decade ...

's New Year's Eve specials on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in the mid-1970s, with his last appearance on December 31, 1976, the year before both he and Lombardo died. Grauer was also one of NBC Radio's ''Monitor'' "Communicators" from 1955 to 1960. Grauer also was one of five hosts/narrators of "The First Fabulous Fifty", a five-part

NBC Radio Network The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...

documentary series on the history of the network, featuring soundbites from past NBC programs. The series was broadcast on the occasion of the network's 50th anniversary in the autumn of 1976. Grauer narrated the first installment, which covered the network's first decade on the air, 1926 through 1936. After retiring from NBC in 1973, Grauer hosted the weekly international radio broadcast "New York, New York with Ben Grauer" on the Voice of America.

Television

Grauer provided the commentary for NBC's first television special, the opening in 1939 of the New York World's Fair. In 1948, Grauer, working with anchor

John Cameron Swayze John Cameron Swayze (April 4, 1906 – August 15, 1995) was an American anchorman, news commentator, and game show panelist during the 1940s and 1950s. He later became best known as a product spokesman. Early life Born in Wichita, Kansas, Sw ...

, provided the first extensive live network TV coverage of the national political conventions. For five months in 1950, Grauer was host of '' The Ben Grauer Show'', an NBC talk show that focused on books and their authors. In 1954, NBC began broadcasting some of their shows in living color, and in 1957, the animated

Peacock logo The NBC, National Broadcasting Company (NBC) has used several corporate logos over the course of its history. The first logo was used in 1926 when the radio network began operations. Its most famous logo, the Peafowl, peacock, was first used in ...

made its debut. It was Grauer who first spoke the now famous words, "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC", behind the Peacock graphic. During his 40-year broadcast career, he hosted numerous TV programs on NBC, including game shows, quiz shows, concerts and news programs.

Reissues

It is for announcing the Toscanini radio concerts that Grauer is best known to modern classical music buffs. Several CD reissues have included those announcements to give the listener the feeling of hearing the NBC Symphony broadcasts exactly as they sounded when first aired. However, on the

videocassettes Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasset ...

and DVD's of Toscanini's television concerts, Grauer's voice has been replaced by that of Martin Bookspan. This was done because the music tracks now heard are not taken from the actual 1948-52 television audio, which was very inferior, but from live,

hi-fi High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...

magnetic tape sound recording An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...

s made of these same concerts at the studio. They are exactly synchronized to the visual images so that it now appears that these programs were made with high-fidelity sound. In order to maintain a complete illusion of superior sound, the announcements had to be redone; the difference in audio quality between Grauer's announcements and the music tracks as they are now heard would have been blatantly obvious. An archival recording of Grauer's voice calling, "Here it is," begins

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, musician, radio host, writer, and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member of The ...

's ''

Le Show ''Le Show'' is a weekly syndicated public radio show hosted by satirist Harry Shearer. The program is a hodgepodge of satirical news commentary, music, and sketch comedy. Shearer, an impressionist known for his voice work on ''The Simpsons'', w ...

''.

Final years

In the decade before his death, Grauer collected material for a projected history of prices and pricing, with special attention to book prices. He was active in several professional journalistic organizations as well as the

Grolier Club The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, T ...

. Grauer had a strong interest in the graphic arts; he even printed his own

Christmas card A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to Christmastide and the holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during ...

Personal life and death

On September 25, 1954, Grauer married interior designer Melanie Kahane. He died of a heart attack at New York University Medical Center in New York City on May 31, 1977, two days before his 69th birthday. He is interred in Westchester Hills Cemetery in

Hastings-on-Hudson Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the town of Greenburgh in the state of New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately north of midtown Manhattan, and i ...

, New York.

Honors

In 1956 Grauer was made a Chevalier of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in recognition of his reporting about France and French people. Grauer narrated ''Two Hundred Years Ago Tonight: The Battle of Lexington'', a

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

series that won a Peabody Award in 1975.

Filmography

Including early career as child actor: * ''His Woman'' (1919) * ''Mad Woman'' (1919) * ''The Idol Dancer'' (1920) .... as Native Boy (film directed by D.W. Griffith) * ''Annabel Lee'' (1921) .... David Martin, as a child * '' The Town That Forgot God'' (1922) .... as a boy * '' My Friend the Devil'' (1922) .... George Dryden, as a boy * '' Does It Pay?'' (1923) * ''Gaslight Follies'' (1945) .... Narrator, 'Stars of Yesterday' * ''Fight of the Wild Stallions'' (1947) .... Narrator *
Type Speaks!
' (1947) .... Narrator & Himself (industrial film made for American Type Founders Company * ''

Kon-Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, f ...

'' (1950)'' (voice) .... Narrator

Radio credits

*'' The Coca-Cola Top-Notchers'' (1930) *''Thrills Of Tomorrow For Boys'' (1933) *'' The Baker's Broadcast'' (1934) *'' The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour'' (1934) *''Radio City Matinee'' (1935) *''The Nellie Revell Show'' (1935) *''

Ripley's Believe It Or Not ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...

'' (1935) *''Circus Night In Silvertown'' (1935) *''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

'' (1935) *''

The Magic Key of RCA ''The Magic Key of RCA'' was an American variety radio show that featured an unusually large and broad range of entertainment stars and other noted personalities. It was on the NBC Blue Network from September 29, 1935, until September 18, 1939. ...

'' (1935) *''

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

's Musical Varieties'' (1936) *''The Shell Show'' (1937) *''Shell Chateau'' (1937) *''The Fact Finder'' (1937) *''The Royal Desserts Program'' (1938) *''

'' (1938) *''Pulitzer Prize Plays'' (1938) *''Battle of the Sexes'' (1938) NBC quiz. *'' Pot o' Gold'' (1939–41) Considered the first "interactive" broadcast program.
A popular game show hosted by Grauer.
Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights played while Grauer asked listeners questions on the phone.
It was this program that introduced the

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

"Stop the music". *''Richard Himber and His Orchestra'' (1939) *''The Vitalis Program'' (1939) *'' H.V. Kaltenborn'' (1940) *''News Roundup'' (1940) *''Behind the Mike'' (1940) *''The News From Europe'' (1941) *''Sunday Evening News Roundup'' (1941) *''NBC Sunday News Roundup'' (1941) *''Jergens Journal'' (1941) *''The Hemisphere Review'' (1941) *''Two Years Of War'' (1941) *''

Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge ''Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge'' is an American old-time radio musical quiz program starring Kay Kyser. It was broadcast on Mutual, NBC, and ABC beginning on February 1, 1938, and ending on July 29, 1949. Background In the latter h ...

'' (1941) *''

The March Of Time ''The March of Time'' is an American newsreel series sponsored by Time Inc. and shown in movie theaters from 1935 to 1951. It was based on a radio news series broadcast from 1931 to 1945 that was produced by advertising agency Batten, Barton, ...

'' (1941) *''Radio City Music Hall On the Air'' (1942) *''Music Of the New World'' (1943) *'' Mr. and Mrs. North'' (1943) *'' Information, Please!'' (1943) NBC quiz show *'' The Fitch Bandwagon'' (1943) *''Your Home Front Reporter'' (1943) *''General Motors Symphony Of the Air'' (1943) *''Treasury Salute'' (1944) *''Opening Of the Fourth War Loan'' (1944) *''NBC D-Day Coverage'' (1944) *''Republican National Convention'' (1944) *''Democratic National Convention'' (1944) *''We Came This Way'' (1944) *''Liberation'' (1944) *''The

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many Silent film, silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influent ...

Comedy Theatre'' (1945) *''V-E Day Coverage'' (1945) *''Atlantic Spotlight'' (1945) Grauer would chat across the Atlantic Ocean with BBC announcer in London. *'' The Charlie McCarthy Show'' (1945) *'' It's Alec Templeton Time'' (1946) *''A Story For V-J Day'' (1946) *''Echoes Of A Century'' (1947) *''Home Is What You Make It'' (1947) *''Here's To Veterans'' (1947) *''Housing 1947'' (1947) *''

The Chesterfield Supper Club ''The Chesterfield Supper Club'' is an NBC Radio musical variety program (1944–1950), which was also telecast by NBC Television (1948–1950). Radio ''The Chesterfield Supper Club'' began on December 11, 1944, as a 15-minute radio program, a ...

'' (1948) *''Living 1948'' (1948) *''Author Meets the Critics'' (1948) *''March Of Dimes'' (1949) *''The

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan (; – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping ports o ...

Show'' (1949) *''Could Be'' (1949) *''The People Act'' (1950) *''We Can Do It'' (1950) *''

The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show ''The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show'', was a comedy radio program which ran on NBC from 1948 to 1954 starring Alice Faye and Phil Harris. Harris had previously become known to radio audiences as the band-leader-turned-cast-member of the same nam ...

'' (1950) *''Memo For Americans'' (1951) *'' The Big Show'' (1951) *''Theatre Guild On the Air'' (1951) *''Living 1951'' (1951) *''American Portraits'' (1951) *''The Endless Frontier'' (1952) *''The Forty Million'' (1952) *''Medicine U.S.A.'' (1953) *''Biography In Sound'' (1955) *''Best Of All'' (1955) *''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

'' (1955–1960) NBC Radio weekend radio show *''X Minus One'' (1956) *''Recollections At Thirty'' (1956) *''Sleep No More'' (1956–57) NBC Radio drama *''

The Boston Pops The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orche ...

'' (1957) *''Johnny Presents'' (1959) *''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk show broadcast on NBC. It is the List of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running program on American television, though its format has changed since th ...

'' (1959) *''Democracy In America'' (1962) *''New Year's Eve All-Star Parade Of Bands'' (1968) *''The First Fabulous 50'' (1976) *''What Would You Have Done?'' NBC Radio drama These are found at Digital Deli Too.

TV credits

*''Americana'' (1947–1949)

American History The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...

quiz show. NBC-TV *'' The Ben Grauer Show'', '' You Are an Artist'', ''Learn to Draw'' (1950) *'' The Big Story'' (1949–57) dramatic TV anthology. NBC-TV *''Eyewitness'' (1947–48) Series that traced the history and development of TV itself. NBC-TV *''In Town Today'' (1951)

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

variety specials included

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

and other stars showing off their new TV sets. NBC-TV *''It's a Problem'' (1951–52) A trio of experts discuss everyday living difficulties. NBC-TV *''

'' (1949–50) Popular musical quiz show hosted by Grauer. NBC-TV *''

Lewisohn Stadium Lewisohn Stadium was an amphitheater and athletic facility built on the campus of the City College of New York (CCNY). It opened in 1915 and was demolished in 1973. History The Doric-colonnaded amphitheater was built between Amsterdam and Conv ...

Concerts'' (1950) Featuring the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

. NBC-TV *''March of Medicine'' (1958) Medical documentary series. NBC-TV *'' The Sacco-Vanzetti Story'' (1960) TV

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

narrated by Grauer. *'' Say It with Acting'' (1949–1952) Teams from Broadway shows play charades. *''Tactic'' (1959) NBC-TV series. Guests included

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

and

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

. *''What Happened'' (1952) Panelists had to find out why each guest was important on this NBC-TV series.

Listen to

Ben Grauer announces for Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony. Listen to this complete and historic WWII broadcast and view a photo of Ben Grauer

References

Bibliography

* Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 35.

External links

Information about "Ben Grauer papers, 1915-1977" Collection at Columbia University Ben Grauer radio credits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grauer, Ben American radio journalists American radio reporters and correspondents American male journalists Burials at Westchester Hills Cemetery Classical music radio presenters NBC network announcers Mass media people from Staten Island Radio and television announcers 1908 births 1977 deaths City College of New York alumni Townsend Harris High School alumni