Roderic George "Rod" O'Connor Sr. (January 18, 1914 – June 5, 1964) was an American radio and television announcer and occasional actor during the early years of
television's golden age.
O'Connor built a name for himself as the announcer for both
Don McNeill's ''
Breakfast Club'' and ''
The First Nighter Program
''The First Nighter Program'' was a long-running radio anthology comedy-drama series broadcast from November 27, 1930, to September 27, 1953. The host was Mr. First Nighter (Charles P. Hughes, Macdonald Carey, Bret Morrison, Marvin Miller, Do ...
'' at
WGN Radio in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
.
He would leave Chicago for New York and after that, World War II.
It was while serving in the army that O'Connor met comedian
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national old-time radio, radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelto ...
. The two became good friends and upon arrival back into the United States, Skelton offered O'Connor an announcing gig on his ''
Raleigh Cigarette Program'' in 1945. O'Connor also stayed on when Skelton went to television with ''
The Red Skelton Show
''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his tele ...
''.
During his announcing career, O'Connor worked some of the biggest names in radio including
Art Linkletter
Arthur Gordon Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly or Arthur Gordon Kelly; sources differ; July 17, 1912 – May 26, 2010) was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of '' House Party'', which ran on CBS radio ...
,
Loretta Young
Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...
,
Dennis Day
Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian and singer. He was of Irish descent.
Early life
Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck Clason Point section of Bronx in New Yor ...
,
Rudy Vallée
Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, saxophonist, bandleader, actor, and entertainer. He was the first male singer to rise from local radio broadcasts in New York Ci ...
and
Danny Thomas
Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz, (born January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) known professionally as Danny Thomas, was an American comedian, actor, singer, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in ''The Danny Thomas Show''. In additio ...
.
[
]
Early life and career
Roderic George O'Connor was born in Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, on January 18, 1914, to parents George O'Connor and Grace (née Cover). O'Connor's family moved to Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
when he was young and his father became an Ogden City commissioner. O'Connor had a brother; Joseph Richard O'Connor, and two sisters; Kathleen Greenelsh and Nora Deis.[
O'Connor began work joining the staff of KUTA Radio in ]Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
in 1938. He then went on to announce for KSL also in Salt Lake then WCCO in Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. O'Connor finally settled at WGN in Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
where he served as the announcer for '' Don McNeill's Breakfast Club'' and ''The First Nighter Program
''The First Nighter Program'' was a long-running radio anthology comedy-drama series broadcast from November 27, 1930, to September 27, 1953. The host was Mr. First Nighter (Charles P. Hughes, Macdonald Carey, Bret Morrison, Marvin Miller, Do ...
''.
Shortly after he finished his engagement at WGN, O'Connor met comedian Red Skelton
Richard Bernard Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national old-time radio, radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelto ...
who had just been discharged from a Virginia army hospital and was soon about to return to '' The Raleigh Cigarette Program'' after an 18-month hiatus. In need of a new announcer to replace Truman Bradley, Skelton came across O'Connor. O'Connor remained with Skelton until his radio show came to an end in 1953. O'Connor also went to television with Red on ''The Red Skelton Show
''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his tele ...
'' in 1951. He even made a small appearance in '' The Fuller Brush Man'', a 1948 film starring Skelton
In addition to Red Skelton's radio show, O'Connor was also the announcer for the majority of the 10-year run of NBC's ''Duffy's Tavern
''Duffy's Tavern'' is an American radio programming, radio sitcom that ran for a decade on several networks (CBS, 1941–42; Blue Network, NBC-Blue Network, 1942–44; and NBC, 1944–51), concluding with the December 28, 1951, broadcast.
The ...
'' starring Ed Gardner. O'Connor also was a part of the 25-year run of Art Linkletter
Arthur Gordon Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly or Arthur Gordon Kelly; sources differ; July 17, 1912 – May 26, 2010) was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of '' House Party'', which ran on CBS radio ...
's ''House Party
A house party is a type of party held at the home of the party's host.
Organization
A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, word of mouth, pos ...
'' on CBS Radio. O'Connor also announced '' Glamour Manor'', a musical variety program starring Cliff Arquette (Charley Weaver), during the 1945-46 radio season on ABC. He was replaced the following season by Don Wilson of ''Jack Benny
Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...
'' fame.
Personal life and death
O'Connor was married twice. His first marriage to Virginia Drake ended in divorce. He remarried in South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
in 1942 to Sylvia Cannon. O'Connor was a member of the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, 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 ...
and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording ...
, where he served on the national board for several years. O'Connor had two sons; Dennis and Roderic George Jr., and a daughter; Pamela O'Connor.[
O'Connor died on June 5, 1964, in a Hollywood hospital after a battle with cancer. O'Connor was 50 years old. He was survived by his widow Sylvia, his three children, his father, two brothers and his sister. His funeral was held on June 8 at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Los Angeles. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in ]Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...
.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Rod
1914 births
1964 deaths