Merrill E. Joels (born January 19, 1909,

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

; died September 5, 2001 (age 92)

Guthrie, Oklahoma Guthrie is a city and county seat in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 10,191 at the 2010 census, a 2.7 percent increase from the figure of 9,925 in the 2000 census. First kno ...

) was an actor in the Frank Buck recording Tiger (record album).

Early life

Merrill Joels was the son of Abram J. and Rose (Wershwofsky) Joels. Merrill was born in the house that was torn down for the construction of what is now the

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...

building.

Career

In 1929 Merrill E. Joels began as an usher at Parson's, the Hartford stage tryout theater. He was a professional actor for 40 years. He was a member of the

Christian Science Church The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Mary Baker Eddy, author of '' Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,'' and founder of Christian Science. The church was founded "to commemorate the word a ...

, vice president of the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists in New York, and served on the National Board of Directors of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

. In 1932 he founded the Mark Twain Masquers Community Theatre in Hartford.JOHN L TEHAN. Mark Twain Masquers Observe 7th Milestone. The Hartford Courant. Oct 15, 1939, Page SM15 Joels was the announcer on NBC-TV's ''

Versatile Varieties ''Versatile Varieties'', also known as ''Bonnie Maid Versatile Varieties'' and ''Bonny Maid Versatile Varieties'', is a TV series that ran from 1949 to 1951 on NBC, CBS and ABC under three different formats. The sponsor was Bonnie Maid Linoleum. P ...

'' in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Work with Frank Buck

In 1950, Joels read the part of Captain Harry Curtis in Frank Buck’s recording Tiger (record album).

Other record albums

''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''. Joels, Merrill E. and supporting cast, with Glenn Osser and his Orchestra; original music and story adaptation by Paul Davis. Caravan Records, New York, 1950. LP Record.

Author

Joels was author of two books: *''How to Get into Show Business''. Hastings House, New York, 1969. *''Acting is a Business: How to Get Into Television and Radio''. Hastings House, New York, 1955.

Radio

*Series: "ISN'T IT A CRIME" WNEW-NEW YORK. SUSTAINING HOST: Jerry Marshall. Episode 13 "SPEAKING OF MURDER" date: 12-14-45 time: 29:00 cast: K.C. Allen, Eleanora Reid, Leonard Sherrer, Jason Johnson, Eileen Court, Merrill E. Joels. *Other radio series with Merrill Joels include “

Counterspy (radio series) ''Counterspy'' was an espionage drama radio series that aired on the NBC Blue Network (later ABC) and Mutual from May 18, 1942, to November 29, 1957.Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Pre ...

”; “

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. ...

”; “

The Big Story (radio/TV) ''The Big Story'' is an American radio and television crime drama which dramatized the true stories of real-life newspaper reporters. The only continuing character was the narrator, Bob Sloane. Radio Sponsored by Pall Mall cigarettes, the progra ...

” Hosted "The Jewish Home Show"

Selected filmography

*''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

'' (1972) - Toll Both Collector (uncredited)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joels, Merrill 1909 births 2001 deaths Male actors from Hartford, Connecticut