Dan Seymour (June 28, 1914 – July 27, 1982) was an announcer in the era of old-time radio and in the early years of televisionCox, Jim (2007). ''Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s—A Biographical Dictionary''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 262–263. and later became an advertising executive.

Early years

Seymour was born in Manhattan. He attended schools in Paterson, New Jersey, and graduated from

Montclair Academy Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) is a co-educational private school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade located in Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. One of New Jersey's largest independent day schools, ...

. When he was 18, he traveled to study and teach stage techniques as a guest of the Austrian Ministry of Education. He was a dramatics major at Amherst College.

Radio

Seymour was once recognized as "Radio's best announcer." An obituary observed: "Seymour was best known as the deep-voiced announcer who startled Americans with a convincing but fictional account of Martians landing on Earth in the ''

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...

'' broadcast in 1938." His first job in radio announcing came in 1935 at WNAC in Boston, Massachusetts, after his college graduation. While at the station, he was also an announcer for the Yankee Network. In 1936, he resigned and joined

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in New York City. His first major assignment there was announcing for ''

Major Bowes Amateur Hour The ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was an American radio talent show broadcast in the 1930s and 1940s, created and hosted by Edward Bowes (1874–1946). Selected performers from the program participated in touring vaudeville performances, under ...

''. A significant assignment early in his career was becoming the announcer on ''We the People'', a job that led to a position with the program's advertising agency,

Young and Rubicam VMLY&R is an American marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the merger of VML, founded in 1992, and Young & Rubica ...

. Other programs on which Seymour worked as announcer were ''The Henry Morgan Show'', ''

The Aldrich Family ''The Aldrich Family'', a popular radio teenage situation comedy (July 2, 1939 – April 19, 1953), was also presented in films, television and comic books. In the radio series' opening exchange, awkward teen Henry's mother called, "Hen-''reeeee ...

'',Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960, 2nd Edition''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 17. ''Songs by Jack Smith'', ''

Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories ''Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories'' is a 15-minute radio drama that aired January 18, 1937, to November 16, 1956, on CBS, sponsored by Spry shortening. The program was heard weekdays at 11:45 a.m. until 1946, when it moved to 12:15 p.m. ...

'', ''Sing It Again'', ''Bobby Benson'', and ''Original Gillette Community Sing''. Seymour was one of the producers of ''You and the News''.

Television

Seymour was master of ceremonies on ''Where Was I?'' and ''Sing It Again''. He was the announcer for ''Tex and Jinx'', ''Dunninger and Winchell'', (also known as ''The Bigelow Show'' for part of its run),Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 292. and ''The Swift Home Service Club''.

Production

In 1945, Seymour, director

Tony Leader Anton Leader (December 23, 1913 – July 1, 1988) was an American television director. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 23, 1913. He directed radio dramas in New York in the 1940s and moved to Los Angeles in 1948. Subsequently, ...

, and writer Judson Phillips combined efforts to create P.L.S. Productions, a radio producing team, with offices in New York City. The team's first program was ''You Make the News'', which began November 15, 1945, on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

. Three months after Seymour became producer of ''We the People'' in February 1950, the program's television

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...

had almost doubled.

Advertising

In 1950, Seymour left the on-air side of broadcasting to work in programming. He explained his transition by saying: "I never really enjoyed being a performer. The process of simply reading lines became a bore. I became fascinated with the whole business of mass communications and mass persuasion. This was where the challenge lay." He first was employed by the Young & Rubicam advertising agency. An invitation to "administer a lift to the General Electric program" for Y & R led to "a permanent role with the agency as a television and radio executive." In 1953, he was appointed a vice president in charge of programming in the agency's radio-television department. He resigned from Y & R October 1, 1955, to become a vice president of the

J. Walter Thompson J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merge ...

advertising agency. Later, he became president and chief executive officer at the Thompson agency.

Recording

In 1946, Seymour and Kathryn Murray shared narration on an eight-sided 78rpm album, ''Arthur Murray Teaches the Fox Trot''. The instructional recordings were issued in conjunction with Arthur Murray's dance studios.

Union activities

Seymour was elected to one-year terms on the board of the New York City local of the American Federation of Radio Artists for 1948 and 1949.

Public service

Seymour served on two ad hoc committees appointed by two United States presidents. Under Lyndon Johnson, he was on a committee "to make recommendations for improvements in United States foreign trade." Under Richard Nixon, he was on a committee "to find ways to increase public awareness on personal health."

Personal life

Seymour was married to the former Louise Scharff. They had four children.

Death

Seymour died of a heart attack July 27, 1982, at his apartment in New York City. He was 68. He was survived by his wife, a son, three daughters and 10 grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Dan 1914 births 1982 deaths Montclair Kimberley Academy alumni People from Paterson, New Jersey Radio and television announcers American radio personalities