Frederick William Foy (March 27, 1921December 22, 2010) was an American radio and television announcer and actor. He is best known for his narration of ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

''. Radio historian

Jim Harmon James Judson Harmon (21 April 1933 – 16 February 2010), better known as Jim Harmon, was an American short story author and popular culture historian who wrote extensively about the Golden Age of Radio. He sometimes used the pseudonym Judson Gre ...

described Foy as "''the'' announcer, perhaps the greatest announcer-narrator in the history of radio drama." Shortly after graduating from high school in 1938, Foy began in broadcasting with a part-time position at WMBC, a 250-watt independent station in Detroit. He moved to WXYZ in 1942, but

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

interrupted his radio career.

World War II

He was inducted August 28, 1942, entering the American armed forces September 11, 1942. Attached to the 14th

Special Service "Special Service" is the sixty-fourth episode, and the twenty-seventh episode of the third season (1988–89), of the television series ''The Twilight Zone''. It was written by J. Michael Straczynski. In the episode, a man discovers that for the ...

Company, Sergeant Fred Foy became the American voice on Egyptian State Broadcasting, delivering news and special programs to the Allied Forces in Cairo. He handled the distribution throughout the Middle East of American recordings, in addition to local broadcasts of '' Command Performance'', ''

Mail Call ''Mail Call'' is a television program that aired on the History Channel. It was hosted by R. Lee Ermey, a retired United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and honorary gunnery sergeant. The show debuted on August 4, 2002 as part of the "Fightin ...

'', ''Personal Album'', ''Radio Bric-a-Brac'' and ''Front Line Theatre''. He also announced ''The American Forces Programme''. For '' Stars and Stripes'' he did ''American News Letter'', a weekly summary of news from America, plus sport flashes and items from various theatres of war. For Cairo cinemas, he announced ''Headline News of the Day''. Foy helped stage and announce

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

Radio

After the war, Foy returned to WXYZ in Detroit. He took over the position of announcer and narrator for radio's ''The Lone Ranger'' beginning July 2, 1948 and continuing until the series ended on September 3, 1954. He understudied the title role and stepped into the part on March 29, 1954, when

Brace Beemer Brace Beemer (December 9, 1902 – March 1, 1965) was an American radio actor and announcer at radio station WXYZ (AM), Detroit, Michigan. He is best known as the radio voice of the Lone Ranger. ''The Lone Ranger'' Brace Beemer became the third ...

had laryngitis. His long run as announcer and narrator of ''The Lone Ranger'' made the Foy's distinctive voice a radio trademark. He was also heard on radio's ''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media ...

'' and ''

Challenge of the Yukon ''Challenge of the Yukon'' is an American radio adventure series that began on Detroit's WXYZ and is an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on January 3, 1939. The title changed from ''Challenge of the Yukon'' to ''Se ...

''. His stentorian delivery of the program's lead-in thrilled his audience for years and helped the program achieve even greater popularity and status. Most radio historians agree that Foy's ''Lone Ranger'' introduction is the most recognized opening in American radio: :Hi-Yo, Silver! A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty "Hi-Yo Silver"... The Lone Ranger! With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early Western United States. Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past come the thundering hoof-beats of the great horse Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again!

Television

In 1955, Foy reprised his famous "Return with us now..." opening narration for ''The Lone Ranger'' television series (1949–57) in syndication (Actor

Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...

did the opening narration in the original network run). In 1961, Foy joined the ABC announcing staff in New York. For

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

he spent five years as announcer and on-camera commercial spokesman for ''

The Dick Cavett Show ''The Dick Cavett Show'' was the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: * ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968–January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning'' * ABC prime time, Tuesdays, We ...

''. He was also the announcer for ''

The Generation Gap ''The Generation Gap'' is a primetime American game show that aired from February 7 to May 23, 1969, on ABC. It was originally hosted by Dennis Wholey, who was replaced by Jack Barry after ten episodes had aired. Fred Foy announced during the e ...

'' and other network quiz shows. For ABC Radio he narrated the award-winning news documentary, ''Voices in the Headlines'', as well as serving as host and narrator for the ABC's radio drama series, ''Theatre 5'' (1964–65). He narrated network documentary specials in tribute to Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

and others. As spokesman for national advertisers, Foy represented Colgate,

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

and

Sinclair Sinclair may refer to: Places * Lake Sinclair, near Milledgeville, Georgia * Sinclair, Iowa * Sinclair, West Virginia * Sinclair, Wyoming * Sinclair Mills, British Columbia * Sinclair Township, Minnesota * Sinclair, Manitoba People * ...

. Foy, who was also heard doing newscasts on WABC radio in New York, stayed with ABC until 1985. He was also the voiceover for the fall promo on

NET Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...

in 1966.

Awards

Fred Foy was inducted into the

National Radio Hall of Fame The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicatio ...

in March 2000 and received the Golden Boot Award from the Motion Picture and Television Fund in August 2004. Foy performed his "Return with us now..." ''Lone Ranger'' opening narration live at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

in August 2000, with the

Hollywood Bowl Orchestra The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (HBO) is a symphony orchestra which is managed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and plays the vast majority of its performances at the Hollywood Bowl. John Mauceri led the orchestra from its founding in 1990 ...

and conductor

John Mauceri John Francis Mauceri (born September 12, 1945) is an American conductor, producer, educator and writer. Since making his professional conducting debut almost half a century ago, he has appeared with most of the world's great orchestras, guest-con ...

. In 1986, he wrote his autobiography, ''Fred Foy from XYZ to ABC: A Fond Recollection'', and he has also released a 45-minute CD/cassette of memories, ''Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch''.

Death

Fred Foy died on December 22, 2010, of natural causes.

References

Listen to

Fred Foy's ''Lone Ranger'' edited for TV openingLeonard Lopate interviews Fred Foy

External links

Fred Foy photos, audio and video of Fred and family as well as old time radio Fred Foy radio credits
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foy, Fred 1921 births 2010 deaths American male radio actors American autobiographers Radio personalities from Detroit American male television actors American male voice actors Game show announcers Radio and television announcers United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers