David Ford Bond (October 23, 1904 – August 15, 1962) was an American radio personality. He was the announcer for several popular radio shows in the 1930s and 1940s, earning him a spot on the '' This Is Your Life'' television show. For his work on radio, Bond has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

at 6706 Hollywood Blvd.

Early years

Ford Bond was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

on October 23, 1904.

Radio

Bond began working on radio at WHAS in Louisville, Kentucky, and joined

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

in 1928. For 20 years in the 1930s and 1940s, he was the announcer for several radio soap operas and other shows, including the advertising voice for a sponsor's product called Bab-O.Sponsor Promotions Popular With Radio Listeners Part II
/ref>
/ref> He was also a sports announcer for

radio in the 1930s, calling college football games as well as the

1934 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1934 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the second playing of the mid-summer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July ...

and

1934 World Series The 1934 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1934 season. The 31st edition of the World Series, it matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals' " Gashouse Gang" won in seven g ...

. He also served as radio consultant for

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

during Dewey's 1948 campaign for president. For almost 30 years, Bond was the spokesman for

Cities Service Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area o ...

petroleum company, "the longest sponsor-announcer association in the history of radio."

Later years

Bond retired from broadcasting in 1953 "to go into the building business in the Virgin Islands."

Personal life

Bond was married to Lois Bennett, a singer.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 35-36.

Death

Bond died at

St. Croix, Virgin Islands Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

on August 15, 1962.

Appearances

''This is a partial list of Bond's appearances on radio and television.''

Radio

*'' The American Melody Hour: Christmas Program'' (1947) .... Announcer *''Fun At Breakfast'' (1946) .... Announcer *'' Manhattan Merry-Go-Round'' (1937) .... Announcer *''

Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety progra ...

'' (1934) .... Announcer *''

Easy Aces ''Easy Aces'' is an American serial radio comedy (1930–1945). It was trademarked by the low-keyed drollery of creator and writer Goodman Ace and his wife, Jane, as an urbane, put-upon realtor and his malaprop-prone wife. A 15-minute program, ...

'' (1930) .... Announcer

Television

*'' This Is Your Life'' (1954) .... Himself *''Cities Service Band of America'' (1949) .... Announcer

References

External links

* 1904 births 1962 deaths American radio sports announcers College football announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Radio and television announcers Radio personalities from Louisville, Kentucky {{US-radio-bio-stub