Lee Vines (April 11, 1919 – July 9, 2011) was a Canadian-born American radio and

television announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, ...

and actor. He was best known to television audiences in the 1950s as the announcer on the ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

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 demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

Television announcer

He also was the announcer for other television shows including ''

The Big Surprise ''The Big Surprise'' is a television quiz show broadcast in the United States by NBC from October 8, 1955, to June 9, 1956, and from September 18, 1956, to April 2, 1957. It was hastily created by NBC in response to the ratings success of '' Th ...

'', ''Celebrity Talent Scouts'', ''

Down You Go ''Down You Go'' is an American television game show originally broadcast on the DuMont Television Network. The Emmy Award-nominated series ran from 1951 to 1956 as a prime time series primarily hosted by Dr. Bergen Evans. The program aired in el ...

'', ''Fractured Phrases'', ''

The Funny Side ''The Funny Side'' is an American sketch comedy program that aired on NBC as part of its 1971 fall lineup. Synopsis ''The Funny Side'' was hosted by Gene Kelly and starred five pairs of actors and actresses who were presented as married couple ...

'', ''

Make the Connection ''Make the Connection'' is an American game show, sponsored by Borden, that ran on Thursday nights from July 7 to September 29, 1955, on NBC. Originally hosted by Jim McKay, he was replaced after the first four episodes by Gene Rayburn for the ...

'', ''

Medic A medic is a person involved in medicine such as a medical doctor, medical student, paramedic or an emergency medical responder. Among physicians in the UK, the term "medic" indicates someone who has followed a "medical" career path in postgra ...

'', ''Picture This'' ''Robert Q's Matinee'', ''

The Name's the Same ''The Name's the Same'' is an American game show produced by Goodson- Todman for the ABC television network from December 5, 1951 to August 31, 1954, followed by a run from October 25, 1954 to October 7, 1955. The premise was for contestants ...

'', ''

Password A password, sometimes called a passcode (for example in Apple devices), is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of ...

'' and '' Hallmark Hall of Fame''. His acting and voice-over roles included ''

Hong Kong Phooey ''Hong Kong Phooey'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast on ABC. The original episodes aired from September 7 to December 21, 1974, and then in repeats until 1976. The show w ...

'' and ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Mo ...

'' (as WJM announcer Lee).

Radio Announcer

Radio programs for which Vines was the announcer included ''Bouquet for You'',Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 49 ''County Fair'', ''Dr. Standish, Medical Examiner'', ''The Janette Davis Show'', ''Kings Row'' and '' Time for Love''.

Personal life

Vines was born on April 11, 1919, in

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, but immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In 1943, he enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

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 opposing ...

and served in the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

. Vines died from complications of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and a fall at a convalescent facility in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, on July 9, 2011, at the age of 92.

References

External links

* 1919 births 2011 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in California Game show announcers Radio and television announcers American male television actors United States Army personnel of World War II Canadian emigrants to the United States {{US-tv-actor-1910s-stub