Wendell Niles

Wendell Niles

Born: December 29, 1904
Died: March 28, 1994
in Livingston, Montana, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wendell Niles (December 29, 1904 – March 28, 1994) was one of the great announcers of the American golden age of radio. He was an announcer on such shows as The Charlotte Greenwood Show, Hedda Hopper's Hollywood, The Adventures of Philip Marlowe,[2] The Man Called X,[3] The Bob Hope Show, The Burns & Allen Show, The Milton Berle Show and The Chase and Sanborn Hour . On February 15, 1950, Wendell starred in the radio pilot for The Adventures of the Scarlet Cloak along with Gerald Mohr.

He began in entertainment by touring in the 1920s with his own orchestra, playing with the Dorsey Brothers and Bix Beiderbecke.

Niles moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1935 to join George Burns and Gracie Allen.

He and his brother, Ken, developed one of the first radio dramas, which eventually became Theatre of the Mind.

-Los Angeles Magazine- How the intersection got its claim to fame

Q: Why is the intersection of Hollywood and Vine famous? There’s nothing there.

A: In May 1936, Wendell Niles from radio station KFWB brought a microphone to the corner and started a man-on-the-street program. “Niles was a big announcer on radio shows for Bob Hope and George Burns,” says L.A. vocal legend Gary Owens. Niles’s popularization of the corner as shorthand for Hollywood was copied by newspaper reporters and gossip columnists alike and even led to the (terrible) feature film Hollywood and Vine, which was released in 1945. The radio show is gone, but you can still watch celebrities through the glass at the online entertainment network BiteSize TV, whose studios are located in the W Hotel.

He toured with Bob Hope during World War II and narrated a 1936 Academy Award-winning short film on the life of tennis great Bill Tilden.

Among his film credits is Knute Rockne, All American with Ronald Reagan.

Wendell Niles was the announcer for "America's Show Of Surprises"..."It Could Be You", and the Hatos-Hall production "Your First Impression". Niles was also the original announcer for Let's Make a Deal during that show's first season in 1963 and 1964; he was later replaced by Jay Stewart.

Wendell and his brother Ken Niles are the first brothers to have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He died of cancer in his Toluca Lake home at the age of 89.

Movies for Wendell Niles...

Title: Let's Make a Deal
Released: December 30, 1963
Type: TV
Let's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show is based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The traders usually have to weigh the possibility of an offer being for a valuable prize, or an undesirable item, referred to as a "Zonk". Let's Make a Deal is also known for the various unusual and crazy costumes worn by audience members, who dressed up that way in order to increase their chances of being selected as a trader. The show was hosted for many years by Monty Hall, who co-created and co-produced the show with Stefan Hatos. The current version is hosted by Wayne Brady, with Jonathan Mangum, Tiffany Coyne, and Cat Gray assisting.
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Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Title: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Character: Announcer
Released: September 13, 1956
Type: Movie
A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to have Tom plant clues leading to his arrest for killing a female nightclub dancer. Once Tom is found guilty, he is to reveal the setup and humiliate the DA.
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A Strange Adventure
Title: A Strange Adventure
Character: Newscaster (uncredited)
Released: August 24, 1956
Type: Movie
A trio of thieves make their getaway by kidnapping a young hot-rodder, and take over a mountain cabin for a hideout after overpowering its occupants.
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I Died a Thousand Times
Title: I Died a Thousand Times
Character: Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Released: November 9, 1955
Type: Movie
After aging criminal Roy Earle is released from prison he decides to pull one last heist before retiring — by robbing a resort hotel.
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The Hitch-Hiker
Title: The Hitch-Hiker
Character: Wendell Niles
Released: March 30, 1953
Type: Movie
Roy and Gilbert's fishing trip takes a terrifying turn when the hitchhiker they pick up turns out to be a sociopath on the run from the law. He's killed before, and he lets the two know that as soon as they're no longer useful, he'll kill again. The two friends plot an escape, but the hitchhiker's peculiar physical affliction, an eye that never closes even when he sleeps, makes it impossible for them to tell when they can make a break for it.
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Street Corner
Title: Street Corner
Character: Wendell Niles
Released: December 3, 1948
Type: Movie
Naive small-town girl gets pregnant on her prom night, and winds up in the clutches of the local abortionist. Depending on the release presentation, the movie includes an animation of conception, filmed vaginal and caesarian section births, and a filmed presentation on how syphilis and gonorrhea present themselves.
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Swingin' on a Rainbow
Title: Swingin' on a Rainbow
Character: Radio Announcer
Released: September 1, 1945
Type: Movie
A young girl goes to New York to find a band leader who has stolen all the songs she wrote and is passing them off as his own.
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Hitchhike to Happiness
Title: Hitchhike to Happiness
Character: Wendell Niles (uncredited)
Released: July 16, 1945
Type: Movie
An aspiring playwright gets a job in a New York City restaurant favored by celebrities in hopes of getting a break. Unfortunately, most of them believe that the waiter lacks the talent to make it big. Only an aspiring songwriter, and a former waitress who has become a famous Hollywood radio star, really believe in him. When the ex-waitress drops by the restaurant to say hello, she and the others decide to play a trick on an arrogant producer by making him believe the waiter has written a sure-fire hit. They succeed and the producer puts on the show. The singer gets to be the star. When the show becomes a smash, everyone is surprised. Songs include: "Hitchhike To Happiness," "For You And Me," "Sentimental," and "My Pushover Heart."
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Here Comes Elmer
Title: Here Comes Elmer
Character: Radio Announcer
Released: November 15, 1943
Type: Movie
This musical comedy stars radio star Al Pearce has a double role playing himself and Elmer Blurt, the leader of a small-town band that struggles toward stardom in the big city. Their journey begins when Elmer decides to eject their female singer because she isn't really right. Unfortunately, her angry father is their sponsor and when he finds out, he withdraws all support.
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The Masked Marvel
Title: The Masked Marvel
Character: Newscaster
Released: November 6, 1943
Type: Movie
A team of two-fisted insurance investigators (one of whom disguises himself as The Masked Marvel) endeavor to discover and thwart the loathsome saboteur Sakima.
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A Tragedy at Midnight
Title: A Tragedy at Midnight
Character: Show Announcer
Released: February 2, 1942
Type: Movie
The host of a whodunit radio show finds himself involved in his own mystery when he awakens to find a woman with a knife in her back in his bedroom.
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Harmon of Michigan
Title: Harmon of Michigan
Character: Wendell Niles
Released: September 11, 1941
Type: Movie
A former University of Michigan football star (Tom Harmon) rejects an opportunity to play professional football. Instead, he marries his college sweetheart (Anita Louise) and begins a career as a college football coach.
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A Man Betrayed
Title: A Man Betrayed
Character: Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Released: March 7, 1941
Type: Movie
Bucolic lawyer John Wayne takes on big-city corruption in A Man Betrayed. He sets out to prove that an above-suspicion politician (Edward Ellis) is actually a crook. The price of integrity is sweet in this instance, since Wayne happens to be in love with the politician's daughter (Frances Dee).
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Fashion Horizons
Title: Fashion Horizons
Released: August 3, 1940
Type: Movie
Combines airplane trips and fashion. Heavy on the fashion.
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Three Faces West
Title: Three Faces West
Character: Man-on-the-Street Radio Announcer
Released: July 3, 1940
Type: Movie
Viennese surgeon Dr. Braun and his daughter Leni come to a small town in North Dakota as refugees from Hitler. When the winds of the Dust Bowl threaten the town, John Phillips leads the townsfolk in moving to greener pastures in Oregon. He falls for Leni, but she is betrothed to the man who helped her and her father escape from the Third Reich. She must decide between the two men.
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Gaucho Serenade
Title: Gaucho Serenade
Character: Radio Announcer
Released: May 9, 1940
Type: Movie
Gene Autry and sidekick Frog Millhouse depart Madison Square Garden and NYC heading west for home in their car and a horse trailer carrying Gene's horse, Champion. They discover that Ronnie Willoughby, a young boy just off the boat from school in England, has hitched a ride, thinking that Gene and Frog were sent by his father to meet him. Ronnie thinks his father is a big rancher in the west and doesn't know that his father, Alfred Willoughby, is serving time in San Quentin prison because of a frame-up by the officials of a packing company. To keep the father from testifying against them, the packing company officials, Carter, Jenkins and Martin, have arranged for the boy to be kidnapped. Along the way a runaway bride, Joyce Halloway, and her young sister Patsy join the troupe.
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Four Wives
Title: Four Wives
Character: Concert Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Released: December 22, 1939
Type: Movie
In this sequel to Four Daughters, Ann struggles to move on after the death of her husband as she falls in love with Felix, but on the day of her engagement discovers that she carries Mickey's child.
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The Roaring Twenties
Title: The Roaring Twenties
Character: Self - Announcer (uncredited)
Released: October 28, 1939
Type: Movie
After World War I, Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally turns to bootlegging, and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie's partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.
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Espionage Agent
Title: Espionage Agent
Character: Radio Announcer Introducing Garrett
Released: September 30, 1939
Type: Movie
When Barry Corvall discovers that his new bride is a possible enemy agent, he resigns from the diplomatic service to go undercover to route out an espionage ring planning to destroy American industrial capability.
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Indianapolis Speedway
Title: Indianapolis Speedway
Character: First Radio Announcer
Released: August 5, 1939
Type: Movie
A champion auto racer who unhappily learns his kid brother wants to enter the same profession rather than finish school.
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Cowboy from Brooklyn
Title: Cowboy from Brooklyn
Character: Radio Announcer
Released: July 9, 1938
Type: Movie
A singing cowboy turns out to be a tenderfoot.
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Ever Since Eve
Title: Ever Since Eve
Character: Monteray Police Announcer (uncredited)
Released: July 15, 1937
Type: Movie
Madge Winton (Marion Davies), a beautiful secretary, makes herself look homely in order to avoid advances by lecherous bosses. When her new employer, writer Freddy Matthews (Robert Montgomery), accidentally sees her without her disguise, she has to pretend to be her roommate Sadie.
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Marked Woman
Title: Marked Woman
Character: Radio News Commentator (voice) (uncredited)
Released: April 10, 1937
Type: Movie
In the underworld of Manhattan, a woman dares to stand up to one of the city's most powerful gangsters.
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The Crowd Roars
Title: The Crowd Roars
Character: First Radio Announcer
Released: April 16, 1932
Type: Movie
Famous auto racing champion Joe Greer returns to his hometown to compete in a local race, discovering that his younger brother has aspirations to become a racing champion.