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Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer (born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr.; June 18, 1908 – September 8, 1969) was an American radio actor and announcer and game show host who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars. He is best remembered for his work as the first host of the TV game shows Beat the Clock and To Tell the Truth, but he was also famous in the roles of Clark Kent / Superman on radio and in animated cartoons, initially in theatrical short subjects and later on television.
He also recorded a number of long-playing 33+1⁄3 rpm record albums for children. Some of these featured Bible stories, in keeping with his strong connections with his church and deep spirituality.
Collyer was born in Manhattan to Clayton Johnson Heermance and Caroline Collyer. He originally sought a career in law, attending Williams College, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity, and Fordham University law school. Although he became a law clerk after his graduation, making as much in a month on radio as he did in a year of clerking convinced him to make broadcasting his career. He changed his surname, and by 1940 he had become a familiar voice on all three major radio networks.[citation needed]
He held starring or major supporting roles in The Man I Married (as Adam Waring); Kate Hopkins, Angel of Mercy (as Tom); Pretty Kitty Kelly (as Michael Conway); Terry and the Pirates (as Pat Ryan); Renfrew of the Mounted (as Renfrew); and Abie's Irish Rose (as Abie Levy). He also was the announcer for a number of radio soap operas, including The Guiding Light and The Goldbergs. Collyer remembered his time on Cavalcade of America.
Collyer's best-remembered radio starring role began in early 1940 in The Adventures of Superman on the Mutual Broadcasting System, a role he concurrently performed in the animated Superman theatrical short films. Collyer supplied the voices of both Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent, opposite radio actress Joan Alexander as Lois Lane. Every Superman episode and animated short film featured a scene in which Clark Kent changed into his Superman costume, an effect which Collyer conveyed by dropping his voice from a high tenor to a bass register while speaking the phrase "This is (or "This looks like") a job for Superman!". Collyer later commented, "The greatest fun I ever had in radio was playing Superman for 14 years. I could be as hammy as I wanted and nobody objected."
Collyer stopped voicing Superman for the animated short films (while continuing to do the radio series) after the ninth short, because Famous Studios took over the series and wanted him to record in a New Jersey studio, something which Collyer's radio commitments in New York City made impossible.
In 1966, Collyer and Alexander reprised their roles in the Filmation animated television series The New Adventures of Superman.
Collyer got his first helping of game shows when he co-hosted ABC's (the former NBC Blue network) Break the Bank with future Miss America Pageant mainstay Bert Parks; and, when he was picked to host the radio original of the Mark Goodson-Bill Todman team's first game, Winner Take All. Collyer went on to host the television versions of both shows. (Winner Take All became, in due course, the first hosting seat for another game show titan, Bill Cullen.)
Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer (born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr.; June 18, 1908 – September 8, 1969) was an American radio actor and announcer and game show host who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars. He is best remembered for his work as the first host of the TV game shows Beat the Clock and To Tell the Truth, but he was also famous in the roles of Clark Kent / Superman on radio and in animated cartoons, initially in theatrical short subjects and later on television.
He also recorded a number of long-playing 33+1⁄3 rpm record albums for children. Some of these featured Bible stories, in keeping with his strong connections with his church and deep spirituality.
Collyer was born in Manhattan to Clayton Johnson Heermance and Caroline Collyer. He originally sought a career in law, attending Williams College, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity, and Fordham University law school. Although he became a law clerk after his graduation, making as much in a month on radio as he did in a year of clerking convinced him to make broadcasting his career. He changed his surname, and by 1940 he had become a familiar voice on all three major radio networks.[citation needed]
He held starring or major supporting roles in The Man I Married (as Adam Waring); Kate Hopkins, Angel of Mercy (as Tom); Pretty Kitty Kelly (as Michael Conway); Terry and the Pirates (as Pat Ryan); Renfrew of the Mounted (as Renfrew); and Abie's Irish Rose (as Abie Levy). He also was the announcer for a number of radio soap operas, including The Guiding Light and The Goldbergs. Collyer remembered his time on Cavalcade of America.
Collyer's best-remembered radio starring role began in early 1940 in The Adventures of Superman on the Mutual Broadcasting System, a role he concurrently performed in the animated Superman theatrical short films. Collyer supplied the voices of both Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent, opposite radio actress Joan Alexander as Lois Lane. Every Superman episode and animated short film featured a scene in which Clark Kent changed into his Superman costume, an effect which Collyer conveyed by dropping his voice from a high tenor to a bass register while speaking the phrase "This is (or "This looks like") a job for Superman!". Collyer later commented, "The greatest fun I ever had in radio was playing Superman for 14 years. I could be as hammy as I wanted and nobody objected."
Collyer stopped voicing Superman for the animated short films (while continuing to do the radio series) after the ninth short, because Famous Studios took over the series and wanted him to record in a New Jersey studio, something which Collyer's radio commitments in New York City made impossible.
In 1966, Collyer and Alexander reprised their roles in the Filmation animated television series The New Adventures of Superman.
Collyer got his first helping of game shows when he co-hosted ABC's (the former NBC Blue network) Break the Bank with future Miss America Pageant mainstay Bert Parks; and, when he was picked to host the radio original of the Mark Goodson-Bill Todman team's first game, Winner Take All. Collyer went on to host the television versions of both shows. (Winner Take All became, in due course, the first hosting seat for another game show titan, Bill Cullen.)
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