Chicago, III. Week of June 18-11, 1933 .VoI. II. - No. 31. • / His Roommate's View Of Louis Dean By Douglas D_ Connah , Lanny Ross Is Still Studying Music Lanng Ros. By Lewis Y. Hagy Gladys Swarthout~ the "Met's Good Little Boy," By Mark A, Lueschep career. Eventually he hopes to become a program UKU· Hulick, to form the act of StoopnagTe and Budd. SoTM ti\'e, with program building, plannin~, and producing as time bter than I ('lI, they brought it to New York and the his major activities, although I doubt that he'll abandon Columbia nel\h>rk, .md he was choJ,t'n as their announce-r_ announcing entirely for a long time to come. lie enjoys Ile has been "'ith fhem ever since, during their rise to it too mu(h, Joldio stardom. lie h3~ scT\ed in mch \ariOU$ C;I('Ia.:;lies as announcer, I( was tuward. the end of 1910 that he came to Ne-.... program producer lmd dirc~tllr. station man~ger, con· York, ",here he \\a~ ~n NBC announcer for a time, lIe tinuity writer, air·time ~albmJn. and ~\en as minstrel· "non s\\ilChed ch"ius tv CBS, :md bt:fore long he gaine-d a ;ingcr and radio coJumnl~1. It .III started ",hi!e he was \\1,le repuloltion ;" rt.,<c,<;{Of of one of ra.dio's most pleas­ ,al~~ r(>presentative ing \ui(es. M(><llll'olllle he has also announced many elec­ in up('lcr l\ew York irKal tr;ln-.::riptions Jnd ~ntd ;IS a phantom movie ,vice_ ~Iate for a phono­ graph company, and lS C<\REI:R ",-,f(ofc radio hardly presaged IIhat 1'035 the inlroduction of to come. lie was born in Vaney lIead, Alabama, broad(asting meth· rH a sm;11I f;Lrm community w.he-re his grandfathe-r was, ods into recording and is, jU'li~e of the reace, general slorekee('ler, and the ~limulated his inter· towo·s leading otilen. lIis boyhood was occupied "ith e~t in radio. lie and milking the LLmily C()II~. clerking at the store, and getting a friend bought a switched at the lillie Jed s(hoolhou~. Then high s~hool small upstate station in Birmingham, tl'oO lears at Washington and Lee Uni\er­ and ran it,-right ~ity in Yirgini~. aod .. nother year or so studying mu~ic. inlO the red. Even And now for .1 more personal view of the gentleman. though it was a flop, Although he i~ the (.n1y CBS announcer who was born on a it was valuable u:· farm, he i~ rJrad(J~i(;llIy the most urbane member of thOlt staff, and man·about­ to\\n is a fittillg charJc­ terization for him I Ie likes to be \\e11 sur- rounded by friend~, to "do the lown" in gr.lnd M)'le. to sing. dJn~e. ant! make merry in gelln.11. I karty, exuberOllll, and afJJble, he makes a cheery host. Ife- knows his New York well. and IIAT," queried the one of his favorite pur­ gCnlJemnn r rom suits is showing the town RADIO Gt"tDE. "do to out-of·to\\n friends. you know about lie's an ell:cellent dan~er. W Louis Dean? I have and, as an epicure, he in mind writing a piece about knows just "hich hitch· him. e-ns house Ihe mllst . Wh~I," I qucned right back, ral.He·provoking (hefs. rhelorit;ally, "don't I know about \\ IlOe\'er the young lady l.ouis De:tn? That wonhy hog­ he ha('lpens to squir~, she caller is mv room-mate~and what can be sure her c,;.;ort I know YOll might not print," ~hincs as sartorially su­ I Ie weighed the facts :md de­ p{'Th, lie's as fastidious cided to overlook the last remark. ;.bout his appearance as "Why not dish out the din on .. , He lakes the --eason's mo~t popular Dean }'our~lf?" he suggested. HI hIS ping- pong debbie. and rJl \\ager he resign amI you ~hall "'rite the seriously t;,kes as long to dress. In slory, but bear in mind that RADIO ca--e you care, he le;:ns to GlJlDE is a p;tper that goes illto Ihe home," double-breasted sllit~ in And thus it transpired that J am Stlling out to give the daytime, either blue you the 10000'down all [ouis. J"JJ try not to put him on the e>r grey, and he \\e<lU ~pot by \ioialing confidences (aside to the subject. "'hat them well. a ch~flce 10 get even for that little episode of la\1 week HEY You! Lou qualifies as one my good man!), I'll also attempt 10 cxcf(i<,(' due reslrain~ of r:ldio's mo~t eligihle \\.'hal (Ire !IOU doing with that camPr(l~ Can't (I guy rl?st for a minute In t h e and curb ~ deep-k~owing desire to set forth <;orne lklight­ bachelors. lie finds lhe ful hnle Items ..... Inch shouldn't be glorified in Ilcl'o~print. control room be-itVI'e-n announcemenls~ fair sex mo~t alluring. So, here goes. and the fair sex, in turn It ""as in february, 19]1. that I first mt'! that blithe linds him most attractive ~pirit, alld grand fellow. l1e had but re(ently emb~rked -I can vouch for Ihat. Oil hIS present career as Columbia ;mnouncer, ~nd I ",~s A family man in ~pirtt, just embarking on mine as chronider of the .... ,him~, foibles, he might long since h;ne fancies, and past crimes of the folk of radioland. Ihs Louis-DEAN ~u(cumbed to Curid's home-town p~per ..... as in the mood for a local-boy-makes­ darts, but fo~ his delinite good 5tory about him, so he was the first of the ..... a\'e. theory of marital SUCCC5S slaves I sought out for questioning. That, as cartoollist ....hich deplores 'r~Jio Briggs would have 'laid, "'as "the beginning of a beautiful widows." lIe belie\es the friendship," and just two years ago we merged our ba~helor long and irregular hOliTS quarters, ..... hich have been in oper~tion e\'er since. Q/ CAnnouncers of a radio announcer are Through the good offices of those rare comics, Colonel no help for a young mao Stoopnag]e and Budd, the gentleman in que~tion has be­ perience for a n ~ml:>ar\"ing on the o;cas of matrimony, To in· (orne widely known as "Louis-the Dean of Announcers." ambitious young­ dulg~ Ifl ~ flight of farKY, based on impression~ ~tcr. lie was calleJ cA Really Intimate "nd ob5ef\'auons, as well as remembered Ci""\ EAN of announcers or no, he is certainly one of the 19 WG Y, 'Schenect. ~natches of past con\'Cr~ations, I'd say that his oJJ best. I am in a natural position 10 be prejudiced. ady, which was Ideal girl would be a brunette-slight, aHUC­ but I know I'm fu from alone in Ihe opinion that then making radio CJ3etrayal by Room­ tiH' and vivacious. She might well be of the as a commercial announcer he's just about at the top of history as a piOlleer ~t;.ge--ingenue type-but decidedly not fla~hy, the he;!.p. I've heard that view often ~ffirmed and re-~f­ station, alld ther~ cMate if CBS's Ace and ~he'd be a good dancer, alld modish in firmed both in the trade-by sponsors. advertising men, and he gained a com· dress She would be sophisticated, yet a good radio performers and ell:ecu lives-and out of it, by count­ plete and Hr~atile 'port, and ha\ e plenty of common sense. The less listeners. Enthusiasm is one of his most pronounced background. I nd­ Ilaggin~ t) pe would never do, and I know he'd characteristics, and he puts everything he has into the dentally, while at By Douglas Connah Ite·mand a sense of humor and a good di~Jlosi­ continuity he reads. As a result, you'lI usually find him Schenectady, he tion in his ideal. announcing for some of the air's biggest advertisers. Be­ broke in one of his A~ a faithful Boswell (nol to be confu.5C'd fore he arrived on the radio scene he w~s a salesman, and roommates, a young man named Jimmy \\'allington, as a with a sister team), it Yo'ould hardly be fair to pat he believes the sa l esm~nship training he h~d is ~n invalu­ WGYannouncer, Lou an.! Jimmy now occupy similar posi­ him on the back all the time, 50 I might add that, able ~sset to his announcing. tions across the fence as YOling and prominent announcers of although he's punclual on the job, he revels in un· Lou is a stickler for his work, ~nd the- matter of pro­ the two rival nelworks. There hase been se\eral instances punctuality off it. If he has an appointment for 9:30 nunciation is one of his pet subjKtS. I know of no one lately when they have represente-d their ri\'al camps in you'll surely see him by 11 :00. That, although he IS more meticulous in that regard, and his well-thumbed copy broadcasting the same- affair, a raconteur par t:\(,(l/€lI(t and always has a good ~tory of Dr. Vizetelly's little blue book is his Bible. Before a From Schenectady he shuffled off to Buffalo, as prO­ on tap, he i~ prone 10 drag it out with his 0\\ n in­ program he never fails to look up ~ny word that might gram director and announcer for the Buffalo Broadcasting volved embelli.,hments.