Hal Simms (June 10, 1919 – July 2, 2002) was an American

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, ...

, known for his long career on the CBS

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...

Life and career

Simms was born on June 10, 1919,Obituary: Hal Simms
'' The Journal News'' (July 12, 2002). in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He graduated from the

Boston Latin High School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...

and in 1940, he received a degree from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

.Obituary: Hal Simms; Announcer, 83
''New York Times'' (July 18, 2002). Simms started his career at a radio station in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

and a CBS affiliate station in Philadelphia before moving to New York City.Obituary: Hal Simms
Associated Press (July 13, 2002). He was persuaded to move to New York by

Robert Q. Lewis Robert Q. Lewis (born Robert Goldberg; April 25, 1921 – December 11, 1991) was an American radio and television personality, comedian, game show host, and actor. Lewis added the middle initial "Q" to his name accidentally on the air in 1942, ...

and

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...

, whom Simms knew from college. Beginning in the early 1950s, he became a frequent television and radio announcer on CBS programs, known for saying the tagline "CBS presents this program in

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

." Among the programs that Simms announced were ''

Beat the Clock ''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show that involves people trying to complete challenges to win prizes while faced with a time limit. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The show began on radio as ' ...

'', '' The Guiding Light'', '' The Frank Sinatra Show'', '' The Edge of Night'', ''Go Lucky'', ''I'll Buy That'', '' What's My Line?'', ''Rate Your Mate'', and '' The Steve Allen Show''.Terrace, ''Radio Programs'', p. 315. Simms appeared with

Jack Paar Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, author, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar repo ...

on '' The Morning Show''. For his last ten years at CBS, Simms was announcer-in-chief. After a fifty-year career, Simms retired in 1992. Simms lived in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

, for many years. He served as president of the Brotherhood at Temple Israel Center in White Plains and as president of the New York chapter of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). Simms died on July 2, 2002, at the age of 83, in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

. Simms was married to Renée Simms, with whom he had three children. Simms is interred at Ferncliff Cemetery.

References

Works cited

*Vincent Terrace, ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows'' ( McFarland: 1999. *Vincent Terrace, ''Television Introductions: Narrated TV Program Openings since 1949'' (

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...

: 2013). {{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Hal 1919 births 2002 deaths American radio personalities American television personalities People from Boston People from White Plains, New York Radio and television announcers University of Michigan alumni Boston Latin School alumni