John Cameron Swayze
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John Cameron Swayze (April 4, 1906 – August 15, 1995) was an American news commentator and
game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
panelist during the 1940s and 1950s who later became best known as a product spokesman.


Early life

Born in Wichita,
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, Swayze was the son of a wholesale drug salesman. He attended school in
Atchison Atchison may refer to: Places In the United States: *Atchison, California, a former settlement *Atchison, Kansas, a city *Atchison County, Kansas *Atchison County, Missouri People with the surname * Bob Atchison (born 1941), Canadian drag race ...
, Kansas, and at
Culver Military Academy Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver ...
before enrolling at the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
in
Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...
. There he was a
fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
brother of the subsequent film and television actor
Frank Wilcox Frank Reppy Wilcox (March 13, 1907 – March 3, 1974) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films and television series, as well as Broadway plays. Background Wilcox was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roger V. Wilcox. He was born in De Soto ...
He left the university before graduating, opting instead for work in radio. Swayze first sought to work as an
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, but his activity on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
ended when acting roles became scarce following the
Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
.


Career


Early Years

Swayze returned to the Midwest and worked for the ''
Kansas City Journal-Post The ''Kansas City Journal-Post'' was a newspaper in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1854 to 1942. It was the oldest newspaper in the city when it went out of business. It started as a weekly, ''The Kansas City Enterprise,'' on September 23, 1854, a y ...
'' as a reporter and as radio editor. From the newsroom, he narrated bulletins for broadcast by Kansas City radio station KMBZ via a microphone the station had placed at the newspaper. On September 27, 1933, he also began the radio program ''Stranger Than Fiction''. In addition, Swayze worked in sports, writing about and broadcasting football games, and took part in early experimental television broadcasts. Swayze began working full-time doing news updates for KMBZ in 1940. He broadcast news items prepared by
United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
Kansas City bureau overnight editor
Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
.


Network

In 1946, Swayze went to Hollywood, where
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
hired him as director of news and special events for its Western Division. NBC transferred Swayze to New York City, where he proposed a radio quiz program he called ''Who Said That Quote.'' Some sources claim that the show was first proposed and edited by
Fred W. Friendly Fred W. Friendly (born Ferdinand Friendly Wachenheimer, October 30, 1915 – March 3, 1998) was a president of CBS News and the creator, along with Edward R. Murrow, of the documentary television program '' See It Now''. He originated the concep ...
, later of
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
, who co-produced it with his first wife, Dorothy Greene. In the series, celebrities tried to determine the speaker of quotations taken from recent news reports. NBC premiered the radio program, re-titled ''
Who Said That? ''Who Said That?'' is a 1948–55 NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, ...
'', in October 1948. It subsequently also ran on television, from December 1948 until July 1955. Swayze was a permanent panel member of the show and was referred to as the
anchorman A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet ...
in what may be the first usage of this term on television. NBC appointed Swayze the host of its national political convention coverage in 1948, the first commercial coverage ever by television. (NBC Television did broadcast the 1940 Republican National Convention from Philadelphia on a noncommercial, semi-experimental basis, seen in just three cities: Philadelphia, New York City and Schenectady, NY.)


Anchor

In 1948 NBC produced ''The Camel Newsreel Theatre,'' a 10-minute program of daily events using
newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...
film, which Swayze narrated and often scripted. It was a precursor of the modern television network news program, sponsored by
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) is an American tobacco manufacturing company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and headquartered at the RJR Plaza Building. Founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1875, it is the second-largest tobacco comp ...
, maker of
Camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
cigarettes. In February 1949, NBC premiered the 15-minute ''
Camel News Caravan ''The Camel News Caravan'' or ''Camel Caravan of News'' was a 15-minute American television news program aired by NBC News from February 16, 1949 to October 26, 1956. Sponsored by the Camel cigarette brand and anchored by John Cameron Swayze, i ...
'', with Swayze appearing on screen. It was the first NBC news program to use NBC-filmed news stories rather than movie newsreels. Swayze read items from the news wires and periodically interviewed newsmakers, but he is remembered best for reporting on the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
nightly and for his two catchphrases: "Let's go hopscotching the world for headlines" and his signoff: "That's the story, folks—glad we could get together." Veteran broadcaster
David Brinkley David McClure Brinkley (July 10, 1920 – June 11, 2003) was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997. From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, '' The Huntley–Brinkl ...
wrote in a memoir that Swayze got the job because of his ability to memorize scripts, which allowed him to recite the news when the primitive teleprompters of the time failed to work properly. Walter Cronkite also credited Swayze with an amazing memory, able to recite the news without resorting to a script. In early 1955, R.J. Reynolds reduced its sponsorship of the Camel News Caravan to three days a week. Chrysler's Plymouth division sponsored the other days, and on those days the program was titled the ''Plymouth News Caravan''. Eventually, NBC executives tired of Swayze's flamboyant delivery style, in contrast to anchorman
Douglas Edwards Douglas Edwards (July 14, 1917 – October 13, 1990) was an American radio and television newscaster and correspondent who worked for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) for more than four decades. After six years on CBS Radio in the 1940s ...
's comparatively low-key delivery. His rival broadcast on
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 ...
, '' Douglas Edwards with the News'', began to attract Swayze's viewers, hurting his ratings. In 1956, Swayze was dismissed in favor of the new team of
Chet Huntley Chet is a masculine given name, often a nickname for Chester (given name), Chester, which means ''fortress'' or ''camp''. It is an uncommon name of England, English origin, and originated as a surname to identify people from the city of Chester, En ...
and David Brinkley. By 1959 ''
The Huntley-Brinkley Report ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' soon became the nation's top-rated television newscast. CBS replaced Edwards in April 1962 with
Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
.


Other TV roles

From 1955 to 1957 Swayze hosted and narrated the long-running television drama series ''
The Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with ''The U.S. Steel Hour''. It finis ...
'' (1950–1963). He hosted the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
daytime television game show ''Chance for Romance'' as well as the syndicated travel program ''It's a Wonderful World'' (1963). Swayze was also a substitute host on the television game show '' To Tell the Truth'' (1956-1968).


Product spokesman

Over a period of twenty years beginning in 1956, Swayze became widely known as the commercial spokesman for Timex watches, and for the slogan "
It takes a licking and keeps on ticking Timex Group USA, Inc. (formerly known as Timex Corporation) is an American global watch manufacturing company founded in 1854 as the Waterbury Clock Company in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1944, the company became insolvent but was reformed into ...
." In one of these commercials, performed live, he strapped the watch to the propeller blades of an outboard motor, lowered it into a tank of water and ran the motor for a few seconds. When he pulled the motor out of the water and tipped up the blades, the watch was missing. Unfazed, he ad libbed, "It's probably on the bottom of the tank–still ticking." Swayze performed in Timex commercials that were mock newscasts before delivering the trademark catchphrase. Swayze appeared in commercials for auto manufacturer
Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
, promoting the company's 1963 "Standard" model. He also appeared in a Volvo television commercial, driven in an early 1970s two-door model on a muddy racetrack by a professional rally driver. In a tip of the hat to Swayze's Timex commercials, the announcer intones, "We've strapped John Cameron Swayze to this stock, standard Volvo to demonstrate just how much this man can take." Swayze appeared in a 1984 commercial for radio station
WHTZ WHTZ (100.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial contemporary hit radio, top 40/CHR station city of license, licensed to Newark, New Jersey and broadcasting to the New York metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, WHTZ is the Flagship (broadcasti ...
in New York City, which was broadcast in other markets promoting different radio stations.


Popular culture

He was satirized by comics Bill Buchanan and
Dickie Goodman Richard Dorian Goodman (April 19, 1934 – November 6, 1989), known as Dickie Goodman, was an American music and record producer born in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for inventing and using the technique of the "break-in", an early precur ...
, whose first "break-in" novelty record (a mock newscast spliced with current rock and roll music), "The Flying Saucer," satirized him as reporter John Cameron Cameron (played by Goodman). Swayze is referenced in a lyric of
Allan Sherman Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...
's novelty song "My Grandfather's Watch," a parody of "My Grandfather's Clock" by
Henry Clay Work Henry Clay Work (October 1, 1832 – June 8, 1884) was an American composer and songwriter known for the songs Kingdom Coming, Marching Through Georgia, The Ship That Never Returned and My Grandfather's Clock. Early life and education Work w ...
. In 1980,
Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...
recorded a novelty song title
"The Watch Song,"
in which his character, in a bar, is approached by a cowboy whose wife he's been seeing and who challenges him to a fight. Outside, in the course of the fight, the cowboy stomps on the watch and busts it beyond repair. In the refrain, Ray's character calls out to John Cameron Swayze (who, in a series of 1960s commercials, would subject a Timex watch to a grueling physical test
then show it still to be ticking away
to tell him how crazy it sounds to say that the cowboy had busted a watch that had been shot at, dipped in beer, and tied to a motorboat and dragged on a beach. At the sight of his busted watch, Ray's character freaks out and beats the cowboy to death. Swayze made periodic cameo appearances in movies beginning with 1957's '' Face in the Crowd'' and the first scene of 1968’s “The Boston Strangler,” a newscast about Boston’s parade celebrating the feats of the John Glenn’s Mercury orbit. Swayze was fairly frequently mentioned on the television series ''
The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...
''. In episode 805 of ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
'', when the watch of a character in the movie '' The Thing That Couldn't Die'' is found in a traderat's nest,
Tom Servo Tom Servo is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Tom is one of two wise-cracking, robotic main characters of the show, built by Joel Robinson to act as a com ...
exclaims: "John Cameron Traderat". In the 1940s scene of the 1994–present version of
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is a rotating theater audio-animatronic stage show attraction in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida just outside of Orlando, Florida. Crea ...
at
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
's
Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The W ...
, John extols the virtues of television, stating "I kind of like it, you know? A guy named John Cameron Swayze gives us all the news and then they have all this singing and dancing. A lot of fluff, but it's fun." For over 20 years, Swayze was the spokesman for Timex watch commercials and was one of the most recognized personalities on television. Swayze’s line at the end of each commercial, "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking," became and iconic phrase and part of American pop culture.


Honors

In 1950 Swayze received the Alfred I. duPont Award.


Personal life

Swayze was the son of Jesse Ernest Swayze and Christine Cameron, aka Camerona (cited by some sources). His father's name is of Norman French origin and dates back to
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, England in the early 17th century. He married Beulah Mae Estes in 1935. He died in Sarasota, Florida, on August 15, 1995. Swayze and the actor-brothers
Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...
and
Don Swayze Donald Carl Swayze (born August 10, 1958) is an American character actor, noted for acting in dramatic series and soap operas as well as several feature films, and theatrical work. Early life Swayze was born in Houston, Texas, the middle child of ...
were sixth cousins once removed. Both John and Patrick's father were descendants by seven generations of Judge Samuel Swayze and his wife, Penelope Horton. Judge Swayze was the son of Joseph Swasey and his wife Mary Betts. Mary Betts was the daughter of Captain Richard Betts and his wife, Joanna Chamberlayne. Other noteworthy relations descending from the Betts or Swayze lineages are actors
William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...
and
Tom Hulce Thomas Edward Hulce (; born December 6, 1953) is an American actor and theater producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Academy Award-winning film ''Amadeus'' (1984), as well as the roles of Larry "Pinto" Kr ...
, and Evgenia Citkowitz, wife of actor .


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swayze, John Cameron
1906 births 1995 deaths American radio journalists American television hosts American television news anchors Culver Academies alumni ABC News personalities NBC News people Writers from Wichita, Kansas People from Atchison, Kansas Writers from Kansas City, Missouri Writers from Los Angeles Television personalities from New York City People from Sarasota, Florida University of Kansas alumni 20th-century American journalists American male journalists