Pierre Andre (born Philip Litman,
[ November 25, 1899 – July 21, 1962)][Cox, Jim (2007). ''Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s--A Biographical Dictionary''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 11-12.] was an announcer in the era of old-time radio
The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...
.
Early years
Born in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...
, Andre was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Rae Litman. He won competitions in public speaking and dramatics while he was a student at the University of Minnesota. After college, he worked as an actor and a newspaperman.[
]
Radio
Andre's initial performance on radio, at WEBC
WEBC (560 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM broadcasting, AM radio station in Duluth, Minnesota, and serving the Duluth-Superior media market, radio market. It is owned by Townsquare Media and it airs a sports radio, sports rad ...
in Duluth, Minnesota, resulted from his being invited to speak over the microphone at a studio party. His obituary in the ''Chicago Tribune'' reported, "His performance was so good that he immediately was engaged as an announcer."[ He went from WEBC to KSTP in St. Paul, where he worked for two years. He changed his name when he began working at KSTP.][
Andre began working at WGN in Chicago, Illinois, on August 4, 1930, and stayed there for the rest of his career, with much of his work also broadcast nationally via network connections.][ He was one of the early announcers for soap operas when they began to become staples of daytime radio.][ It also reported that he adapted to different types of programming as old-time radio formats disappeared, being replaced by talk shows and other genres.][
Programs on which Andre was heard nationally as an announcer included '']Little Orphan Annie
''Little Orphan Annie'' was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and print syndication#Comic strip syndication, syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James ...
'', ''Arnold Grimm's Daughter
''Arnold Grimm's Daughter'' is an American radio soap opera that was broadcast from July 5, 1937, until June 26, 1942, first on CBS and later on NBC.
Premise
After Connie Grimm eloped with Dallas Tremaine (her childhood sweetheart) her tyranni ...
'', ''Betty and Bob
''Betty and Bob'' is a 1932-1940 radio soap opera. The soap opera follows the lives of Betty and Bob Drake. Betty was a secretary who falls madly in love with her boss, bachelor Bob Drake. The two wed and each day, the subject matter dealt with ...
'', ''Backstage Wife
''Backstage Wife'' is an American soap opera radio program that details the travails of Mary Noble, a girl from a small town in Iowa who came to New York seeking her future.
Personnel
Vivian Fridell had the title role from 1935 until the early ...
'', ''Carters of Elms Street'', ''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 ...
'',[ '']Sky King
''Sky King'' is an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King.
The series had strong Western elements. Cattle rancher King usually captured criminals and spies and found ...
'',Captain Midnight
''Captain Midnight'' (later rebranded on television as ''Jet Jackson, Flying Commando'') is an American adventure franchise first broadcast as a radio serial from 1938 to 1949. The character's popularity throughout the 1940s and into the mid-19 ...
'', ''How's the Family?'' and ''The Romance of Helen Trent
''The Romance of Helen Trent'' was a radio soap opera which aired on CBS from October 30, 1933 to June 24, 1960 for a total of 7,222 episodes. The show was created by Frank and Anne Hummert, who were among the most prolific producers during the ...
''.[Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 289.]
Death
Andre died of lympho-sarcoma on July 21, 1962, in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
aged 62. He was survived by his wife, a son, a brother and a sister.
In popular culture
Andre is portrayed in voice form by Jean Shepherd
Jean Parker "Shep" Shepherd Jr. (July 26, 1921 – October 16, 1999) was an American storytelling, storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film ''A Christm ...
in the 1983 film ''A Christmas Story
''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'' by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories ...
'', in which Shepherd reenacts Andre relaying the secret code at the end of an episode of ''Little Orphan Annie''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andre, Pierre
1899 births
1962 deaths
People from Duluth, Minnesota
University of Minnesota alumni
Radio and television announcers
Radio personalities from Chicago
Radio personalities from Minnesota
Deaths from cancer in Illinois