John Bright Kennedy (16 January 1894 – 1961) was an American radio correspondent, journalist, and film narrator.

Biography

John B. Kennedy was born in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, of a

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

mother and an Irish engineer father. His work included a commentator on the program ''

The Magic Key of RCA ''The Magic Key of RCA'' was an American variety radio show that featured an unusually large and broad range of entertainment stars and other noted personalities. It was on the NBC Blue Network from September 29, 1935, until September 18, 1939. ...

'' which ran from 1934 to 1939. He often hosted ''The People’s Rally'', an influential current affairs program that featured prominent spokespersons for both pro and con arguments of the day. His first radio stint took place in 1924, on WJZ, when he was 30 and associate editor of ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

''. In 1925 ''Collier's'' installed him on ''

The Collier Hour ''The Collier Hour'', also known as ''Collier's Radio Hour'', broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network from 1927 to 1932, was radio's first major dramatic anthology. Production ''The Collier Hour'' offered adaptations of stories and seria ...

'' that continued until 1931. After the show went off the air, NBC hired Kennedy as a staff commentator and host of ''

'' and ''The People’s Rally''. Kennedy has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

References

* ''On the Air: the Encyclopedia of Old-time Radio'', John Dunning, Oxford University Press US, 1998
Time Magazine, ''Voice of the People'', Monday, Feb. 06, 1939

External links

* 1894 births 1961 deaths American radio journalists Anglophone Quebec people Journalists from Quebec People from Quebec City {{US-radio-bio-stub