William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Springs Cemetery District, "Interments of Interest"
pscemetery.com; accessed June 20, 2017. was an American radio announcer and actor. He was for many years the announcer and a recurring character of the

Burns and Allen Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen. They worked together as a successful comedy team that entertained vaudeville, film, radio, and television audiences for over forty years. The ...

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

program, and subsequently ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', is a half-hour television sitcom broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts in entertainm ...

'' on

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

from 1950–1951. Upon his departure, he was replaced by

Harry von Zell Harry Rudolph von Zell (July 11, 1906 – November 21, 1981) was an American announcer of radio programs, and an actor in films and television shows. He is best remembered for his work on ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show''. Life and ...

Early years

A native of

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, Goodwin attended the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

. He acted in stage productions on the West Coast before he began working in radio in 1930. His initial work on the air was at a station in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. It was followed by stints at stations in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Radio

Goodwin was known for frequently promoting the item sold by the sponsor of the show ( Swan Soap or Maxwell House Coffee, among others, on radio;

Carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...

Evaporated Milk on television). He was effective on radio in doing "integrated commercials", the first announcer to do so in which the advertisement was deftly woven into the show's storyline. In 1945, Goodwin was the "featured comedian" as a regular on ''The Frank Sinatra Show'' and ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show''. In 1947, he had his own program, ''The Bill Goodwin Show'', a situation comedy, also known as ''Leave It to Bill'', which ran from April 26 – December 13, 1947. He was the announcer for the '' Blondie'' radio program.

Television

Goodwin was the host of television shows, including '' Colgate Theatre'' and '' Penny to a Million''. His last job as announcer was for NBC Radio's '' The Bob Hope Show'' (1953–1955). Not long before his death, Goodwin appeared as Ed Weston in two episodes of the short-lived CBS

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

, '' The Eve Arden Show''.

Film

Goodwin acted in several movies, including '' The Stork Club'' (1945), '' The Jolson Story'' (1946), and '' Jolson Sings Again'' (1949). He played the role of Sherman Billingsley in '' The Stork Club'' (1945) and that of the hotel detective in Hitchcock's '' Spellbound'' (also 1945) and appeared with

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

in '' Tea for Two'' (1950) and '' It's a Great Feeling'' (1949). Goodwin's best film role was probably as a vain but impoverished stage actor in '' So This Is New York'' (1948). His last major role was as the narrator for the animated television cartoon '' Gerald McBoing-Boing''.

Walk of Fame

Goodwin was inducted into the radio portion of the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

February 8, 1960. His star is at 6810 Hollywood Boulevard.

Family

Goodwin was married to actress Philippa Hilber; the couple had four children: Jill, Lynn, Sally, and Bill Jr. His son is jazz drummer Bill Goodwin.

Death

Goodwin was found dead in his car on May 9, 1958, at the age of 47 after a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Palm Springs,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He is interred at the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.

Partial filmography

*'' Let's Make Music'' (1941) as Announcer *'' Blondie in Society'' (1941) as Announcer *'' Blondie Goes to College'' (1942) as Announcer at Shell Race *''

Wake Island Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...

'' (1942) as Sgt. Higbee / Narrator *'' No Time for Love'' (1943) as Christley (uncredited) *'' Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour'' (1943) as Steve Denning (uncredited) *'' So Proudly We Hail!'' (1943) as Capt. O'Rourke (uncredited) *'' Riding High'' (1943) as Chuck Steuart *''

Bathing Beauty ''Bathing Beauty'' is a 1944 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney, and starring Red Skelton and Esther Williams. Although this was not Williams' screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical. The f ...

'' (1944) as Professor Willis Evans *'' Incendiary Blonde'' (1945) as Tim Callahan *'' River Gang'' (1945) as Mike *'' Spellbound'' (1945) as House Detective of the Empire State Hotel *'' The Stork Club'' (1945) as Sherman Billingsley *'' To Each His Own'' (1946) as Mac Tilton *''

House of Horrors A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'' (1946) as Police Lt. Larry Brooks *'' Earl Carroll Sketchbook'' (1946) as Rick Castle *'' The Jolson Story'' (1946) as Tom Baron *'' Hit Parade of 1947'' (1947) as Rod Huntley *'' Heaven Only Knows'' (1947) as Bill Plumber *'' So This Is New York'' (1948) as Jimmy Ralston / Captain Shaw in Play *'' Mickey'' (1948) as George R. Kelly *''

The Life of Riley ''The Life of Riley'' is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, as well as two different television series, and a comic book. Radio series The radio program initially aired on the B ...

'' (1949) as Sidney Monahan *'' It's a Great Feeling'' (1949) as Arthur Trent *'' Jolson Sings Again'' (1949) as Tom Baron *'' Tea for Two'' (1950) as William 'Moe' Early *'' The First Time'' (1952) as Mel Gilbert *'' Lucky Me'' (1954) as Otis Thayer *'' The Atomic Kid'' (1954) as Dr. Rodell *'' The Opposite Sex'' (1956) as Howard Fowler *'' Bundle of Joy'' (1956) as Mr. Creely *'' Going Steady'' (1958) as Gordon P. Turner *'' The Big Beat'' (1958) as Joseph Randall

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Bill 1910 births 1958 deaths American male film actors American male television actors American male radio actors Burials at Desert Memorial Park 20th-century American male actors