Gabriel Heatter (September 17, 1890 – March 30, 1972) 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 ...
commentator whose
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 ...
-era sign-on, "There's good news tonight," became both his catchphrase and his caricature.
Early life
The son of immigrants from Austria, Heatter was born in New York's
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...
and raised in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
.
Young Heatter, who found school difficult but had a passion for reading, became a sidewalk-campaigner for
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...
during Hearst's 1906 mayoral campaign. After his high school graduation, Heatter became a society reporter for the tiny weekly, ''
The East New York Record'', before joining the ''
Brooklyn Daily Times'', which led to his being offered a job with Hearst's ''
New York Journal
:''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal''
The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 ...
''.
To the air
In December 1932, he was invited by Donald Flamm, the owner of New York's
WMCA, to debate a Socialist on radio, and when the Socialist was unable to make the date, Heatter had the program almost to himself. His performance impressed both Flamm and listeners. A few months later, he went to work for
WOR, as a reporter and commentator. His audience expanded when in 1934, WOR became the flagship station of the newest network,
Mutual Broadcasting
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...
.
Heatter covered the trial of
Bruno Hauptmann, the man accused of kidnapping the infant son of aviator
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...
. In 1936, he had to report on Hauptmann's execution. It was delayed, which forced Heatter to continue ad-libbing while he awaited word of when it would occur. His professionalism under pressure and his ability to keep the audience informed without resorting to
sensationalism
In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emoti ...
earned him critical praise.
On January 11, 1948, Heatter's Sunday night program changed format and title. As ''Brighter Tomorrow'', the show had focused on "typical American success stories." In ''Behind the Front Page'' (the new title), a dramatic format was used to portray "current human interest stories."
The weekly program was in addition to Heatter's 15 min nightly newscast, both on Mutual.
[
In December 1948 Heatter signed a five-year contract, effective January 1, 1949, with Mutual for radio and television services. '']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 ...
'' reported that Mutual was experimenting with several TV programs for which Heatter would be the "key personality". Heatter began hosting the ''Gabriel Heatter Opportunity Show'', a talent showcase, on October 1, 1949, on Mutual.
"There's good news tonight!"
During World War II, American forces sank a Japanese destroyer. Heatter opened his nightly commentary accordingly, "Good evening, everyone—there is good news tonight." The phrase sparked a small flurry of letters and calls, almost all in his favor.
Heatter was already well known for trying to find uplifting but true stories to feed his commentaries (he was especially known for a fondness for stories about heroic dogs). In April 1939, he gave the first national broadcast exposure to the burgeoning self-help group Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...
. Reflecting that reputation, the critic and sometime rival Alexander Woollcott
Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic for The New York Times and the New York Herald, critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an ...
composed the doggerel couplet: "Disaster has no cheerier greeter/than gleeful, gloating Gabriel Heatter."
Later life
Heatter remained with Mutual until, like many of the Depression and wartime broadcasters and commentators, his influence gave way to a newer generation of broadcasters, who made the transition to television or started in television and bypassed radio entirely. Heatter retired in 1961. (At least one other source says that Heatter announced his retirement in May 1965.)
In 1915, he married Sadie Hermalin, who died in 1966. After his wife's death, Heatter lived in retirement in Miami, Florida
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
with his daughter until he died of pneumonia in 1972. He wrote a column for ''The Miami Beach Sun'' newspaper six days a week.[
His daughter was the cookbook writer Maida Heatter. His granddaughter was the artist Toni Evans. His son is the novelist Basil Heatter. His nephew ]Merrill Heatter
Merrill Gabriel Heatter (December 16, 1925 – October 8, 2017) was an American television producer and writer. He was best known for his collaboration with writer Bob Quigley for over 20 years and the formation of their production company Heatt ...
was a television writer and producer (Heatter-Quigley Productions
Heatter-Quigley Productions was an American television production company that was launched in 1960 by two former television writers, Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley. After Quigley's retirement, the company became Merrill Heatter Productions.
H ...
).
In popular culture
In 1944, Heatter appeared as himself uncredited in the wartime Cary Grant
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...
film ''Once Upon a Time.'' In 1950, he appeared as himself in the Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...
comedy movie ''Champagne for Caesar
''Champagne for Caesar'' is a 1950 American comedy film about a quiz show contestant directed by Richard Whorf from an original screenplay by Hans Jacoby and Fred Brady. It stars Ronald Colman, Celeste Holm, Vincent Price, Barbara Britton, and ...
''. Heatter was also heard but not seen as one of four broadcast journalists portraying themselves in the 1951 film ''The Day the Earth Stood Still
''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...
''. Heatter is referred to in the recited portion of Yogi Yorgesson's 1949 comedy song "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas." Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American film and theater actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s.
Arthur had feature roles in three F ...
's character in the 1948 film ''A Foreign Affair
''A Foreign Affair'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich and John Lund. The screenplay by Charles Brackett, Wilder and Richard L. Breen is based on a story by ...
'' says, "I will o to the General and to the War Department, and to the President. And if that doesn't do it, I'll see Gabriel Heatter." Toni Morrison includes a reference to Gabriel Heatter in her novel '' Sula'' — Heatter’s program is one that Jude Greene (Nel’s husband) listens to (''Sula'', p. 105, 2004 publication edition). In 1948, Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Me ...
used Heatter's catchphrase "There's good news tonight!" in the cartoon short " The Stupor Salesman" after referring to a handgun as "Gabriel's heater." Also in 1948, the title of the second Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon was " There's Good Boos To-Night", a play on the sign-on catchphrase. NBC Nightly News
''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas'' for its weeknight broadcasts ) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NBC television network ...
features a segment called "There's Good News Tonight", in reference to Heatter.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heatter, Gabriel
American broadcast news analysts
American radio reporters and correspondents
American male journalists
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Major League Baseball broadcasters
1890 births
1972 deaths
Radio personalities from Brooklyn
Jewish American journalists
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida
20th-century American Jews