William Joseph Wenzel Jr. (March 22, 1924 – April 14, 1999), known as Bill Wendell, was an
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 ...
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, ...
staff
announcer
An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience on a broadcast media programme or live event either on radio or television.
Television and other media
Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaki ...
for almost his entire professional career.
Life and career
Born William Joseph Wenzel Jr. on March 22, 1924, in New York City, Wendell served in the
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
during
World War II
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 ...
and graduated from
Fordham University
Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...
with a degree in speech. He began his radio career in summer of 1947''Yonkers Herald Statesman'', July 18, 1959, pg. 6 at WHAM in Rochester, New York. He moved to WWJ in Detroit, where he worked in both radio and TV. Wendell returned to Manhattan in 1952 when he landed a job on the DuMont television network emceeing several shows before jumping to NBC in 1955.
He was a regular on the 1955-56 version of '' The Ernie Kovacs Show'', serving as the show's announcer, as well as a participant in sketches such as "Mr. Question Man" (a parody of '' The Answer Man''). He also worked with
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Dave Garroway
David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American Celebrity, television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today (American TV program), Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style ...
, and other NBC personalities. After Jack Barry was implicated in the quiz show scandals, Wendell succeeded him as emcee of '' Tic Tac Dough'' on October 13, 1958, until the show was finally canceled in October 1959. By December, Wendell had resumed his staff announcing position at NBC. His colleagues were
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo Jr. (February 22, 1918 – August 18, 2014) was an American radio and television announcer whose career spanned more than seven decades.
A member of the Television Hall of Fame, Pardo was noted for his 70-year tenur ...
,
Wayne Howell
Wayne Howell Chappelle (February 16, 1921 – July 8, 1993) was a voice-over announcer for the NBC television and radio networks from 1947 through 1986. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and became one member of a core group of New York-based ...
Ben Grauer
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 in films and on Broadway. He began his career as a child in David Warfield's productio ...
,
Fred Facey
Ferdinand A. Facey (October 19, 1930 – April 13, 2003), known as Fred Facey, was an American radio and television announcer.
Career
Facey joined the announcing staff of NBC in New York City in 1967, and remained with the network for the ...
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. ...
.
He was David Letterman's announcer, beginning partway through the short-lived morning program ''
The David Letterman Show
''The David Letterman Show'' is an American morning talk show that was hosted by David Letterman on NBC. It originally aired from June 23 to October 24, 1980. Originally, the series lasted 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward.
Bac ...
'' in 1980. He continued with Letterman as the regular announcer for NBC's ''
Late Night with David Letterman
''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...
'' from 1982 to 1993, the entirety of the show's NBC run. In addition to his duties as announcer, Wendell occasionally participated in sketches, usually playing himself. He moved with Letterman to CBS in 1993, staying as announcer on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman
''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
''.
Wendell retired in mid-1995, with his last episode airing on August 18. Following a two-week hiatus, Alan Kalter succeeded him as announcer on September 4. Kalter had previously replaced Wendell as announcer for the final season of ''To Tell the Truth'' in 1977–78. Before he announced for David Letterman's ''Late Night'', Wendell was announcer on
Tom Snyder
Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on NBC in the 1970s and 1980s, and '' The Late Late Show'' ...
's '' Tomorrow Show'' when Snyder moved production from
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
to New York. Snyder's time slot was later given to Letterman, who kept Wendell as announcer.
According to Robert Morton, producer of ''The Late Show'', Bill "had a little flatulence problem" and would often fart openly in front of the production crew and audience.
It was reported at the time that Wendell's departure from ''The Late Show'' was on less-than friendly terms, with Letterman refusing comment, and Wendell pointedly saying "I’m retiring from ''this'' show", as well indicating that he hadn't talked to Letterman himself in months and that the producers "haven’t said a thing to me, either." Regarding a counteroffer he had received from NBC at the time he moved to CBS along with Letterman, Wendell said, "There were friends I had at NBC, they’re still there. I felt very badly that I didn’t go with them, and stay at NBC.”
On the June 14, 2018, episode of ''The Carson Podcast'', Morton claimed that "I fired Wendell because he was stealing water ottled water intended for the staff One day I see Wendell walking out with a case of water. When we caught him doing it a second time, we all said, 'We can't tolerate this.' He was a wonderful announcer and a good guy, but he was petty."
Wendell continued to work after his retirement from Letterman's show; his last major job was as the original
voiceover
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...
announcer in
Old Navy
Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay, San Francisco, Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of t ...
's "fashion show" commercial campaign.
Death
Wendell died of complications from
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
on April 14, 1999 in
Boca Raton
Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...