Charles John O'Donnell (August 12, 1932 – November 1, 2010) was an American radio and television

announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience on a broadcast media programme or live event either on radio or television. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaki ...

, primarily known for his work on

game shows A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating wh ...

, and for his distinctive

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

voice. Among them, he was best known for '' Wheel of Fortune'', where he worked from 1975 to 1980, and again from 1989 until his death.Biography
, wheeloffortune.com; accessed August 16, 2017. O'Donnell was also known for announcing ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

''.

Early career

O'Donnell was a Philadelphia native, and was of English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. He began his career as a teenager at WCHA in

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Franklin County, in the South Central Pennsylvania, South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Gre ...

. In 1956, he worked as program director at

WHAT What or WHAT may refer to: * What, an English interrogative word * "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism Film and television * ''What!'' (film), also known as ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava * ...

, a 250-watt R&B station in Philadelphia, where he discovered and launched the career of future Philadelphia radio personality Hy Lit. When WIBG became top-40 in 1957, O'Donnell was named news director. In 1958, he became the sidekick of

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

on WFIL-TV's afternoon dance program, ''

''. This led to several stints as a disc jockey on

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

radio (most notably on Pasadena station

KRLA KRLA (870 AM) "AM 870 The Answer" is a commercial radio station broadcasting a conservative talk radio format. Licensed to Glendale, California, it serves Greater Los Angeles and Southern California. The station is owned by Salem Media Group, ...

, 1964–67), and later as news anchorman and staff announcer on Los Angeles television station KCOP-TV, where he performed double duty and often introduced his own newscasts with the self-referential cue "and now Charlie O'Donnell with the news." Additionally, Barry & Enright Productions taped '' The Joker's Wild'' and '' Tic-Tac-Dough'' at KCOP during its initial syndicated runs, which O'Donnell announced for. It was also in this period that he voiced the newscaster on the

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

recording " 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night." He made a full-time career as an announcer on many television shows throughout the decades, with such series as '' The Joker's Wild'', '' Tic-Tac-Dough'', '' Bullseye'' and '' The $100,000 Pyramid'' (again working with Dick Clark). He also served as announcer for the ''

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

'', the ''

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

'', and the ''

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

''.

''Wheel of Fortune'' and other game shows

O'Donnell was perhaps best known as the announcer of the game show '' Wheel of Fortune''. He filled this role from 1975 to 1980 (including two unaired pilots hosted by ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

'' actor

Edd Byrnes Edward Byrne Breitenberger (July 30, 1932 – January 8, 2020), known professionally as Edd Byrnes, was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the television series '' 77 Sunset Strip.'' He also was featured in the 1978 film '' Gr ...

), acted as a substitute for his successor, Jack Clark, and returned to the show permanently several months after Clark's death in 1988. Between Clark's death and O'Donnell's return, disc jockey M.G. Kelly announced the show for most of its 1988-89 season. O'Donnell also contributed to the 2010 video game based on Wheel of Fortune, which was released just a day after his death. Among the game show companies O'Donnell worked for as a primary announcer were

Merv Griffin Enterprises Merv Griffin Enterprises was an American television production company founded by Merv Griffin, in operation from March 7, 1963, to June 4, 1994. History The company was first established as Milbarn Productions on March 7, 1963, and later as M ...

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

(1975–87 and 1989–2010), Barry & Enright Productions (1981–86), and

Barris Industries Barris Industries, Inc. was an American game show production company that was founded by Chuck Barris. History Barris founded his company on June 14, 1965 as Chuck Barris Productions. The company's first series was an unsold pilot called ''Peopl ...

/The Guber- Peters Entertainment Company (1986–89) He also announced game shows for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions (including ''

Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show. It was created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Contestants attempt to predict the outcome of survey questions to gain control of a row of oversized playing cards ...

'', '' Trivia Trap'', ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

''); Bob Stewart Productions ('' The $100,000 Pyramid''); Hill-Eubanks Group's '' All Star Secrets'' and ''

The Guinness Game ''The Guinness Game'' is an American game show that aired in weekly broadcast syndication, syndication from September 17, 1979, to September 1980 for a total of 24 episodes. Bob Hilton was the host, later replaced by Don Galloway. The announcer wa ...

''; and Scotti Bros.-Syd Vinnedge's '' Wordplay''. He and John Harlan filled in for

Rod Roddy Robert Ray "Rod" Roddy (September 28, 1937 – October 27, 2003) was an American radio and television announcer. He was primarily known for his role as an offstage announcer on game shows. Among the shows that Roddy announced are the CBS game sho ...

on different occasions on ''

Press Your Luck ''Press Your Luck'' is an American television game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. Contestants answer trivia questions to earn "spins" on a randomly cycling game board. The board's spaces display cash, prizes, extra spins, sp ...

''. He also announced on the game show version of ''

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

'', and re-voiced the credits tags for episodes of ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

'', ''Wheel'' and '' Headline Chasers'' (and several other library game shows acquired by Sony) airing on

Game Show Network Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by the television network division of Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along wit ...

produced before 1994, when

Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company, which was active from 1994 until its reincorporation as Sony Pictures Television in 2002. It was the third iteration of what ...

became the new name of what is now

, and their new

closing credits Closing credits, aka end credits or end titles, are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television show, or video game. While opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to or at th ...

card replaced those of Coca-Cola Television,

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution company. It is the second name of Columbia Pictures' television division Screen Gems ...

, and

King World Productions King World Productions, Inc. (also known as King World Entertainment, King World Enterprises, or simply King World) was a production company and syndicator of television programming in the United States founded by Charles King (1912–72) that ...

(now

CBS Media Ventures CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Paramount Domestic Television and CBS Television Distribution) is the television broadcast syndication arm of CBS Studios, a division of the CBS Entertainment Group, in turn a division of Paramount Global, ...

). He also performed voice acting and host duties off-screen on most of the ''Wheel of Fortune''

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s which came out after 1992, either along with

Vanna White Vanna Marie White (née Rosich; born February 18, 1957) is an American television personality and game-show hostess, best known as the co-host of the game show '' Wheel of Fortune'', a position she has held since 1982. She began her career as a ...

, or entirely by himself, as

Pat Sajak Patrick Leonard Sajak ( ; né , born October 26, 1946) is an American game show host, television personality, and creative consultant. He is best known as the host of the television game show '' Wheel of Fortune'', a position which he held fr ...

would not participate in any of the video games until his children were grown. In addition to announcing on '' The All-New Dating Game'', he appeared as a bachelor during the show's 1987-88 season. O’Donnell’s other, non-game show work includes, in addition to his duties on ''American Bandstand'', the music variety series '' Dance Fever'', the talk shows ''The Toni Tennille Show'' and ''

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

'', and the weekly music countdown series '' Solid Gold''.

Death

O'Donnell died at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

at the age of 78 on the morning of November 1, 2010. He was survived by his second wife, Ellen Lerner, 4 children and two grandchildren. O'Donnell's funeral was held on November 11, 2010, at St. Charles Catholic Church in North Hollywood. O'Donnell's body was also cremated, with his ashes given to his family. After his death, the show began rotating announcing duties among several guest announcers, including ''

'' announcer

Johnny Gilbert John Lewis Gilbert III (born July 13, 1928) is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from variou ...

and former '' Price Is Right'' announcer

Rich Fields Richard Wayne Fields (born November 30, 1960) is an American media personality, author, motivational speaker, former game show announcer and meteorologist. He is best known as the announcer for the American version of ''The Price Is Right'' with ...

who voiced some 55 episodes. ''Wheel of Fortune'' host

described O'Donnell as "the perfect voice of the show." O'Donnell's last announced episode aired on October 29, 2010, three days before his death. O'Donnell was succeeded by veteran L.A. radio announcer Jim Thornton. He can still be heard on Wheel of Fortune slot machines. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia posthumously inducted O'Donnell into their Hall of Fame in 2011.Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame
broadcastpioneers.com; accessed August 16, 2017.

References

External links

*
Charlie O'Donnell Interview 2008 for HyLitRadio/Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia
* ttp://www.broadcastpioneers.com/ Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia website {{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Charlie 1932 births 2010 deaths American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Scottish descent Radio personalities from Philadelphia Television anchors from Los Angeles Game show announcers Journalists from Pennsylvania