Bradley Crandall (born Robert Lee Bradley; August 6, 1927 – March 14, 1991) was an American

radio personality A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

, voice-over announcer, and film narrator, best known for his radio show on

WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey� ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, which aired from March 1964 to September 1971.

Life and career

Born in

Herington, Kansas Herington is a city in Dickinson and Morris counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,109. History 19th century Herington was named after its founder, Monroe Davis Herington. His name at ...

, Crandall served with the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

where he was deployed to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1947 and stayed for two years. In the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, he became a disc jockey, known as Brad Bradley, using an Air Force mobile radio broadcasting unit. While still in the military, he attended

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. In civilian life, he worked at radio stations in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

under his pseudonym Brad Crandall. He was hired at CKEY in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, before joining WNBC in New York in 1964. It was in Toronto that he changed from music programs to a radio phone-in format that he continued in New York. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' covered his debut on WNBC in 1964, saying "Instant expertise on anything and everything is the latest addition to New York radio. For 4 hours and 15 minutes every evening, a man named Brad Crandall is holding forth on station WNBC with answers to all questions that might occur to man and child." His New York success was also covered in a May 1964 ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine article published, which described his career up until then "as an announcer on half a dozen radio stations before going into the now-widespread talk-to-the-listeners game on CKEY in Toronto four years ago." In New York City, Crandall did voice-over commercials for many national clients, including narrating classified films for the army. He also narrated documentary films produced by the US Information Agency, including ''Next Stop: Africa'' (1970) and ''Kokosing'' (1970), and the US Department of State. In 1967, he changed his name legally to Bradley Crandall. After moving his family to Los Angeles in the 1970s, Crandall did on-camera narrations for popular documentaries produced by

Sunn Classic Pictures Sunn Classic Pictures, also known as Sunn International Pictures, Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, and Taft International Pictures was an independent U.S.-based film distributor, founded in 1971. The company was notable for family films and document ...

, including ''

In Search of Noah's Ark ''In Search of Noah's Ark'' is a 1976 American documentary film based on David W. Balsiger and Charles E. Sellier Jr.'s book of the same name. Released by Sunn Classic Pictures, it explores the alleged final resting place of Noah's Ark. Producti ...

'' (1976), '' The Lincoln Conspiracy'' (1977), ''

Beyond and Back ''Beyond and Back'' is a 1978 American documentary/"death-sploitation flick"''Beyond ...

'' (1978), ''

In Search of Historic Jesus ''In Search of Historic Jesus'' is a 1979 American documentary film based on Lee Roddy and Charles E. Sellier Jr.'s book of the same name. Released by Sunn Classic Pictures, the film speculates on the historical accuracy of the biblical depicti ...

'' (1979), ''Encounter with Disaster'' (1979) and '' The Bermuda Triangle'' (1979). He also did narrating work for NFL Films in the 1980s, including the highlight film for

Super Bowl XIX Super Bowl XIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. At the time of his death from kidney failure at 63, Crandall lived on his boat in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...

Influence

As a young man,

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...

was influenced by Crandall.

References

External links

* 1927 births 1991 deaths American talk radio hosts Military personnel from Kansas Millsaps College alumni NFL Films people People from Herington, Kansas United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War United States Marines {{US-radio-bio-stub