Twentieth Century Talkers

Bud Collyer (Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr., 1908-1969) was an American radio actor and announcer who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars, known for his numerous bow-ties. 

By 1940, Collyer had become a familiar voice on all three major radio networks in starring or major supporting roles. He was the announcer for a number of radio soap operas, including The Guiding Light and The Goldbergs. But his most lasting radio starring role was for The Adventures of Superman on the Mutual Broadcasting System, a role he also performed in the subsequent Superman cartoons with his dashing pencil mustache. Collyer supplied the voices of both Superman and Clark Kent. Collyer conveyed the "costume switch" while speaking a phrase like, "This looks like a job for Superman!" His voice would drop to a lower register to become the superhero.

For television fans, though, he is best remembered as the first host of the game shows Beat the Clock (1950) and To Tell the Truth (1956). The former show pitted couples to beat the clock in a series of stunts, sometimes messy fun, in order to hopefully win cash or home appliances. More popular and longer-lasting was, To Tell The Truth, where a panel of four celebrities questioned three challengers all claiming to be the same person. 

A devoted man to God, Collyer contributed to various Christian works, including authoring at least one book and making a recording of the New Testament of the Good News Bible. He wrote two inspirational books, Thou Shalt Not Fear (1962) and With the Whole Heart (1966). He also recorded a number of Bible story record albums for children.

The Collyer family in 1953, above.

The Brothers Narz

 

Jack (John) Narz Jr., (1922–2008), above left, was an American radio personality, television host, and singer. After his military service, Narz broke into radio as an announcer for various California stations and first achieved television fame in 1952 as the on-camera announcer and narrator of the sitcom, Life with Elizabeth, starring Betty White. By 1955, Narz served as the announcer and sidekick on daytime's The Bob Crosby Show, where he would also occasionally sing with the band. But Narz is probably more widely known as the host of the game shows, Dotto, Now You See It, Concentration, and Beat the Clock. His last national television hosting duty was on Password Plus.

Tom Kennedy (James Narz 1927-2020) was a popular American television game show host. While attending college, he was a radio announcer in Missouri before moving to California. Kennedy's biggest hits were Password Plus, Split Second, Name That Tune, and You Don't Say!, but he hosted many other game shows as well. As an actor, he made guest appearances on such shows as Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Cannon and Hardcastle and McCormick. Kennedy retired in 1989.

Note: The Narz brothers made occasional joint television appearances. Each wanted to avoid the perceived conflict of having two announcers with the same last name promoting competing products. The brothers were co-recipients of the Game Show Congress's Bill Cullen Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2005. Cullen was a brother-in-law to both.