The NFL Films narrator?
Daddy Freddy
Films productions, and he said something clever like "well, the other
guy died and after that his voice wasn't so good".
I know his name was John Facenda, but I've found nothing to confirm
that he actually died. Is he retired, or is he really dead? I read
some on-line reviews of the NFL Films music CDs, and there was no
mention of the "late" John Facenda.
L J Gould
Gould
ObitsMan
80s. I'll dig up a date. Mr. Facenda, by the way, was a long-time TV news
anchor in Philadelphia, and got the gig because NFL Films was orginally located
in the Philadelphia area.
Bruce Allen
http://www.nfl.com/tvradio/99filmstreasures.html
In the column down the right side it mentions the "late voice of the
NFL, John Facenda"
No date of death given though.
Bruce Allen
"Facenda, who passed away in 1984, was dubbed "The Voice of God" for his
dramatic, oaken voice that was the perfect compliment to the long
passes thrilling runs and clashing line struggles."
I didn't realize he had been dead *that* long.
ObitsMan
To...@fred.net
: an another page has this quote:
: "Facenda, who passed away in 1984, was dubbed "The Voice of God" for his
: dramatic, oaken voice that was the perfect compliment to the long
: passes thrilling runs and clashing line struggles."
: I didn't realize he had been dead *that* long.
There is a CD out called "The Power and the Glory". Get it.
I'd be clunsy now if it meant I'd be all thumbs... just to point them up
for this CD.
--
To...@Fred.Net http://www.fred.net/tomr
* Faith Manages...... But Willow is in Tech Support
* "Hello, girls.... I'm the Easter Bunny!" - Janet Reno, "South Park"
"I'm not wealthy enough to be innocent." - Marc Bowden
Mary Kay Bergman 1961-1999 - http://www.wackyvoices.com
Bruce Clark
<70pajs4agffnmq60s...@4ax.com>...
>I commented to a friend about how they changed narrators for the NFL
>Films productions, and he said something clever like "well, the other
>guy died and after that his voice wasn't so good".
>
>I know his name was John Facenda, but I've found nothing to confirm
>that he actually died. Is he retired, or is he really dead? I read
>some on-line reviews of the NFL Films music CDs, and there was no
>mention of the "late" John Facenda.
John Facenda was a TV anchorman here in Philadelphia on WCAU-TV Channel 10,
which was a CBS network station at the time. Mr. Facenda died in 1984 (see
below). NFL Films was (is?) located just across the river from Philly in
New Jersey...
From:
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Studio/2020/facenda.html
JOHN FACENDA DIES; EMINENT ANCHORMAN
Thursday, September 27, 1984
By Lee Winfrey, Inquirer TV Columnist
John Facenda, an anchorman who dominated local television news for two
decades, died yesterday at the age of 71.
Facenda died at 8:40 a.m. yesterday at Mercy Catholic Medical Center,
Fitzgerald Division, in Darby. His family declined to disclose the cause of
his death.
Every other anchor who has reached the pinnacle in Philadelphia - Vince
Leonard, Larry Kane, Jim Gardner - was preceded in pre-eminence by Facenda.
When Facenda first sat down to anchor the news at WCAU-TV (Channel 10), the
very term anchorman had not even been invented.
Facenda was a rare human being: the scarce sort who was both professionally
successful and privately and personally admirable. His courtesy, kindness,
generosity, and class were legendary in a trade in which those virtues are
not always in abundant supply.
In a medium where looks are prized, Facenda prospered by his voice. His
mellow and mellifluent tones, the pace and measure of his cadences, the
compelling sincerity and ringing drama of his delivery, have never been
approached by any other broadcaster active here. As the original narrator of
NFL Films, Facenda was for a score of years the very voice of pro football,
the chronicler of gridiron greatness for millions of nationwide listeners
who maybe never even knew his name.
-------------
--
Bruce Clark
JSTONE9352
>: "Facenda, who passed away in 1984, was dubbed "The Voice of God" for his
>: dramatic, oaken voice that was the perfect compliment to the long
>: passes thrilling runs and clashing line struggles."
>
Absolutely, a great dramatic voice for
NFL films. Everyone else pales by comparison..
Brad Ferguson
<jston...@aol.com> wrote:
DirecTV has just put ESPN Classic in its standard tier, and the first
thing I saw on there was a Facenda-narrated NFL film. I hadn't heard
his voice in years, and was glad to hear it again. He was absolutely
the best there ever was.
Matthew Hubbard
On MST3K, Tom Servo did a John Facenda impression using the line, "But
for Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers, there would be another
day." I don't know if the real Facenda ever said it, but it's what I
always think of when I hear him.
MattH
Joe Pucillo
> I know his name was John Facenda, but I've found nothing to confirm
> that he actually died. Is he retired, or is he really dead? I read
> some on-line reviews of the NFL Films music CDs, and there was no
> mention of the "late" John Facenda.
He most certainly is dead. He lived in Havertown, Pa. and just around the
corner from my grandfather. I used to study his diction. He had the most
amazing voice.
He was the first news 'anchorman'. Back in the late 40s, WCAU started the
first evening news broadcast, a fifteen minute show where Facenda read the
news. It was expanded to 30 minutes some time later, and the
Facenda/Brookshire/Sheridan news/sports/weather lineup was the standard by
which all were judged.
Ed Sabol of NFL films picked him to do the naration of his pieces, saying
that Facenda had the "Fall of Dunkirk Voice." He was also, to my
knowledge, the only person to identify himself and his station call letters
(WCAU) on the radio on "Gilligan's Island."
He died sometime in the fall of 1984.
Jeez, for a second there...I thought Harry Kalas had gone to the mike in
the sky.
JP
Mpoconnor7
>>: dramatic, oaken voice that was the perfect compliment to the long
>>: passes thrilling runs and clashing line struggles."
>>
>
>
>NFL films. Everyone else pales by comparison..
>
I always thought James Earl Jones would have been a perfect replacement for
Facenda, who I believe died on March 16, 1984.
After his death, I read where one of the candidates to replace him as the voice
of NFL films was Ed McMahon.
Michael O'Connor - Modern Renaissance Man
"The probability of one person being right increases in a direct porportion to
the intensity with which others try to prove him wrong"
Larry Palletti
<daddy_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>I commented to a friend about how they changed narrators for the NFL
>Films productions, and he said something clever like "well, the other
>guy died and after that his voice wasn't so good".
>
>I know his name was John Facenda, but I've found nothing to confirm
>that he actually died. Is he retired, or is he really dead? I read
>some on-line reviews of the NFL Films music CDs, and there was no
>mention of the "late" John Facenda.
Couldn't hear John Facenda's voice without flooding my brain with
memories of World War 2. Facenda read the news for WIP radio in
Philadelphia before he went to WCAU, and every time I hear his voice
today I think of that. "WIP breaks the news. First on your dial,
WIP." He and Edward R. Murrow are the definitive voices of my
childhood.
Larry Palletti East Point/Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.palletti.com http://www.booksonscreen.com
CitizenDan
-- His last job for NFL Films was narrating the highlight film of
Super Bowl XVIII.
--In the 1950s, RCA released an album of Facenda reciting "The
Nativity"
-- I've watched hours of Packers highlights narrated by Facenda,
and I've never heard him refer to "the frozen tundra of Lambeau
Field."
-- Here's how anyone can do a passable Facenda impersonation.
Just
recite the following sentence in your most booming baritone, and
remember to stretch those vowels: "He was BOOORN Earl Christian
Campbell, in Tyler, Texas."
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Thomas Coleman
narrates stuff like National Geographic specials on PBS. I also saw back
in the '80's a comedian imitating NFL films narrator by saying "FIND
LARRY BROWN, AND PUNISH HIM".
Mpoconnor7
>and I've never heard him refer to "the frozen tundra of Lambeau
>Field."
I don't believe he ever actually said that; it just sounds like something he
would say. Chris Berman is probably responsible for it since he says it all
the time.
JSTONE9352
>I always thought James Earl Jones would have been a perfect replacement for
>Facenda, who I believe died on March 16, 1984.
>After his death, I read where one of the candidates to replace him as the
>voice
>of NFL films was Ed McMahon.
James Earl Jones would be an interesting
choice but I always think of Darth Vader
when I hear him talk. He does have a
good dramatic tone. Ed McMahon I don't
think would be a good choice, his stint on
Star Search was not that impressive.
King Daevid MacKenzie
<<I always thought James Earl Jones would have been a perfect
replacement for Facenda, who I believe died on March 16, 1984. After his
death, I read where one of the candidates to replace him as the voice of
NFL films was Ed McMahon.>>
..that would have been an interesting choice, especially considering
that both McMahon and Facenda worked for the old WCAU Radio in
Philadelphia...
King Daevid MacKenzie, UltimaJock!
KingD...@radiodigest.com http://www.radiodigest.com/chicago
http://www.radiodigest.com/milwaukee
"Kill ugly radio." ZAPPA
Joe Pucillo
> mpoco...@aol.comnojunk (Mpoconnor7) sez:
> <<I always thought James Earl Jones would have been a perfect
> replacement for Facenda, who I believe died on March 16, 1984. After his
> death, I read where one of the candidates to replace him as the voice of
> NFL films was Ed McMahon.>>
> ..that would have been an interesting choice, especially considering
> that both McMahon and Facenda worked for the old WCAU Radio in
> Philadelphia...
McMahon was the weatherman on the WCAU-TV newscast anchored by Facenda.
The sports announcer was Jack Whittaker. Watta lineup!
JP
Larry Palletti
And don't forget Bill Hart, who also went on to a pretty fair career
with CBS.
Here's one for Philly's old-timers: Whittaker, McMahon and Hart (and
a couple of other WCAU-TV guys) used to do a *live* Western series
called "Action in the Afternoon." They did the show outside the
studios on City Line Avenue -- and if the camera angles weren't right,
you got to see an old West shootout with airplanes in the background,
accompanied by horns from the vehicle traffic on the Schuylkill
Expressway.
Cornball, but you gotta give old Channel 10 credit for trying. By the
way, Whittaker wasn't half-bad as an actor.
Larry Palletti East Point/Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.palletti.com http://www.booksonscreen.com
--
Opinionated, but lovable