Art Gilmore | Man behind the voice, 98

Art Gilmore, 98, who launched his more than 60-year career as an announcer in the 1930s and became a widely recognized voice on radio, television, commercials, documentaries, and movie trailers, died Sept. 25 of age-related causes at a care center near his home in Irvine, Calif.

"He was one of an elite corps of radio and television announcers, a voice that everyone in America recognized because it was ubiquitous," film critic and show-business historian Leonard Maltin told the Los Angeles Times.

"For at least 20 years, if you listened to radio, watched TV, or went to the movies, you couldn't help but hear Art Gilmore's voice," Maltin said. "It wasn't especially deep like some announcers, but it had authority, command, and yet also a kind of friendliness. I think it was an all-American voice."

On radio, he was the announcer on shows such as Amos 'n' Andy, Dr. Christian, Red Ryder, and The Sears Radio Theater.

Moving to television in the 1950s, he was the announcer for The George Gobel Show, and he began a 16-season stint as the announcer on The Red Skelton Show. He was also the narrator on the TV series Mackenzie's Raiders, Men of Annapolis, and Highway Patrol, for which he intoned:

"Whenever the laws of any state are broken, each state has a duly authorized organization that swings into action. It may be called the state militia, or the state police, or the highway patrol. These are the stories of the men whose training, skill, and courage have enforced and preserved our state laws."

Among the odds and ends of a career that included narrating children's records and serving as national spokesman for Chrysler: Mr. Gilmore was the voice of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1942 movie Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Mr. Gilmore was born in Tacoma, Wash. While studying speech at what is now Washington State University, he became an announcer on the campus radio station. He left school in 1935 and became staff announcer at KOL in Seattle.

Moving to Los Angeles in 1936, he became a staff announcer at KFWB and soon went to work at the CBS-owned KNX.

After serving as an officer in the Navy in the Pacific during World War II, Mr. Gilmore resumed his career, which included serving as the narrator of the Joe McDoakes comedy shorts starring George O'Hanlon. He also occasionally worked as an actor on Dragnet, Adam-12, and other shows.
- Los Angeles Times