Dick Joy (December 28, 1915
– October 31, 1991) was an American
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 ...
and
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, ...
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 ...
. A journalism major at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
, he went on to become well known on network radio and television.
Early years
Joy's involvement with radio at the local level began when, while a student at USC, he worked part-time for radio stations in
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, ...
,
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 ...
. His first job after graduation was at KEHE, and he later joined the announcing staff of
KNX.
Radio career
At age 21, Joy moved up from the local level to
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 ...
, becoming that network's youngest staff announcer in history.
[ By 1937, he was involved with ''Kathryn Cravens' News Through a Woman's Eye'', ''Good Afternoon Neighbors'', ''Thomas Conrad Sawyer Series'' ''Goodyear Sun-up News'', and ''The Newlyweds''. In the following three years, he added to his achievements work on ''My Secret Ambition'', ''Hollywood in Person'', ''Road of Life'', ''I Want a Divorce'', ''College of Musical Knowledge'', '']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 ...
'', and ''The Beauty Explorer''.[
Joy went on to be the announcer for numerous network radio programs including '' The Adventures of Bill Lance'',][Buxton, Frank and Owen, Bill (1972). ''The Big Broadcast: 1920–1950''. The Viking Press. SBN 670-16240-x. Pp. 66, 89, 206, 251.] '' The Adventures of Sam Spade'', ''Blue Ribbon Town
''Blue Ribbon Town'' is a comedy-variety radio series starring Groucho Marx, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, and broadcast on CBS from March 27, 1943, to August 5, 1944. The 30-minute series was heard Saturday nights at 10:30 p.m. unt ...
'', ''Dr. Kildare''.[Dunning, John. (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925–1976''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. . Pp. 13, 81, 165.] ''Nelson Eddy Show'', ''Those We Love'', '' Silver Theatre'', ''New Old Gold Show'', ''Jackie Coogan Show'', '' The Saint'', and ''The Danny Thomas Show''.[Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 177]
The 1946 edition of Radio Annual reported, "Dick Joy and Donald C. McBain have opened their new station, KCMJ, at Palm Springs." Thus, Joy began his first venture into ownership of a station while continuing to work on network radio. His entry in the "Announcers" section of the 1947 Radio Annual listed 10 network entertainment programs in addition to newscasts. He sold KCMJ in 1950.
Television career
Like many artists from radio, Joy moved to television as that medium grew in popularity. TV programs for which he was the announcer included '' December Bride'', ''Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...
'', '' Have Gun - Will Travel'', '' Daktari'', ''Lost in Space
''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. Lightly dramatic, sometimes comedic in tone, the series was inspired by the 1812 J ...
'', '' Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.'', ''Playhouse 90
''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...
''. and ''Sheriff of Cochise
''The Sheriff of Cochise'' is an American police crime drama television series of 79 black-and-white episodes broadcast from 1956 to 1958. The show has two seasons of 39 episodes, and there is an additional standalone episode. Each episode run ...
''. Radio/television columnist Glen Stadler reported that Joy eventually left television to return to radio "because he refused to act like the advertiser demanded ... using the shove-em-at-you technique." Joy told Stadler, "I don't want any more ntilthe advertiser ... admits that the buyer has intelligence."
Returning to local radio in 1951, Joy became news director at KFAC in Los Angeles. ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' magazine reported that, in addition to being news director, Joy would "handle all morning newscasts and some early afternoon shows."KTTV
KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned a ...
and KNXT. He retired in 1969.[
]
Family
Joy had a wife, Cecelia, two daughters, and three grandchildren.[
]
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joy, Dick
1915 births
1991 deaths
American male radio actors
Radio and television announcers
American radio personalities
20th-century American male actors