Bill Kennedy(1908-1997)
- Actor
"...And who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a
great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth,
justice and the American way!" Remember that familiar voice on TV's
Adventures of Superman (1952)?
That belonged to Bill Kennedy.
Kennedy's moneymaker was in his rich, resonant voice. One of the more
prolific radio and (later) TV announcers to hit the airwaves, his
career ran nearly five decades. Unlike others who established
themselves and stayed comfortably behind a microphone, Bill gamely
attempted a 1940s movie career with a big studio (Warner Bros.). And
although he failed to make a strong impression visually, his face still
is a familiar one thanks to the dozen or so "B" westerns he did for the
smaller studios in post-war years.
Born Willard A. Kennedy in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, on June 27, 1908,
he became interested in radio speaking early on and, as a teen,
diligently practiced strengthening and shaping his voice so it would be
suitable for the medium. He studied at Assumption College, in Ontario,
Canada for a couple of years before leaving to find on-hands work.
Hired by WTAM in 1934 as a staff announcer, he eventually relocated to
WWJ in Detroit, Michigan.
A strong interest in acting propelled Bill to take a position as staff
announcer in Los Angeles with KHJ.
Hal B. Wallis caught his broadcasts and
arranged for a Warner Bros. screen test. A genial and darkly handsome
presence, the wavy-haired brunet was signed to a seven-year contract
and groomed in minor, unbilled bits for the first couple of years in
such classy fare as
Now, Voyager (1942) and
Air Force (1943). More visible roles
came with the films
Truck Busters (1943) and
Mr. Skeffington (1944) but Bill's
physical appearance proved to be less commanding on celluloid than his
voice. The studio wound up using him increasingly in bit parts as
announcers, reporters, and newsmen in such movies as
Flying Fortress (1942),
The Hard Way (1943),
Mission to Moscow (1943) and
This Is the Army (1943), to name
a few.
The studio let Bill go after a couple of tryouts featured parts in
Escape in the Desert (1945)
and Night and Day.
Undaunted, he proceeded to freelance and earned his first leading role
as Corporal Decker in the Universal 13-part cliffhanger
The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945).
Other occasional post-war leads came his way from the smaller studios
with
The People's Choice (1946)
and Web of Danger (1947), but he
still failed to register strongly. Bill found
himself trapped in minor/secondary parts as in
Don't Gamble with Strangers (1946),
The Bachelor's Daughters (1946),
the Bowery Boys entry
News Hounds (1947), and
I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes (1948).
Within a few years, however, Bill fell into a comfortable niche as a featured
"good guy" or "bad guy" in westerns --
Shadows of the West (1949),
Gunslingers (1950), Law of the West
(1949), Trail of the Yukon (1949),
Storm Over Wyoming (1950),
I Shot Billy the Kid (1950),
Abilene Trail (1951) and
Nevada Badmen (1951), among others.
When film work waned, Bill found guest parts on the small screen in
episodes of "Boston Blackie," "The Public Defender," "Burns & Allen,"
"I Married Joan" and in several episodes of the western series "The
Cisco Kid," Death Valley Days" and "The Gene Autry Show". In 1952, he
was handed his most famous voiceover as
Adventures of Superman (1952)'s
opening credits announcer, while also finding work in the same vein in
commercials.
During severe career lulls Kennedy would find employment as a
door-to-door salesman and truck driver. In 1956, after losing his
hosting job with KNXT in Hollywood, he returned to Detroit and
eventually hosted the weekday "Bill Kennedy's Showtime" at CKLWf-TV, a
station just across the Detroit River in Ontario, Canada, where he
showed movies and took calls and reminisced with fans on the air. The
show was later moved to WKBD and renamed "Bill Kennedy at the Movies."
Bill remained a popular local personality until his retirement in 1983.
The twice married actor with three children spent his last years in
Palm Beach, Florida, where he died of emphysema at the age of 88.
great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth,
justice and the American way!" Remember that familiar voice on TV's
Adventures of Superman (1952)?
That belonged to Bill Kennedy.
Kennedy's moneymaker was in his rich, resonant voice. One of the more
prolific radio and (later) TV announcers to hit the airwaves, his
career ran nearly five decades. Unlike others who established
themselves and stayed comfortably behind a microphone, Bill gamely
attempted a 1940s movie career with a big studio (Warner Bros.). And
although he failed to make a strong impression visually, his face still
is a familiar one thanks to the dozen or so "B" westerns he did for the
smaller studios in post-war years.
Born Willard A. Kennedy in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, on June 27, 1908,
he became interested in radio speaking early on and, as a teen,
diligently practiced strengthening and shaping his voice so it would be
suitable for the medium. He studied at Assumption College, in Ontario,
Canada for a couple of years before leaving to find on-hands work.
Hired by WTAM in 1934 as a staff announcer, he eventually relocated to
WWJ in Detroit, Michigan.
A strong interest in acting propelled Bill to take a position as staff
announcer in Los Angeles with KHJ.
Hal B. Wallis caught his broadcasts and
arranged for a Warner Bros. screen test. A genial and darkly handsome
presence, the wavy-haired brunet was signed to a seven-year contract
and groomed in minor, unbilled bits for the first couple of years in
such classy fare as
Now, Voyager (1942) and
Air Force (1943). More visible roles
came with the films
Truck Busters (1943) and
Mr. Skeffington (1944) but Bill's
physical appearance proved to be less commanding on celluloid than his
voice. The studio wound up using him increasingly in bit parts as
announcers, reporters, and newsmen in such movies as
Flying Fortress (1942),
The Hard Way (1943),
Mission to Moscow (1943) and
This Is the Army (1943), to name
a few.
The studio let Bill go after a couple of tryouts featured parts in
Escape in the Desert (1945)
and Night and Day.
Undaunted, he proceeded to freelance and earned his first leading role
as Corporal Decker in the Universal 13-part cliffhanger
The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945).
Other occasional post-war leads came his way from the smaller studios
with
The People's Choice (1946)
and Web of Danger (1947), but he
still failed to register strongly. Bill found
himself trapped in minor/secondary parts as in
Don't Gamble with Strangers (1946),
The Bachelor's Daughters (1946),
the Bowery Boys entry
News Hounds (1947), and
I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes (1948).
Within a few years, however, Bill fell into a comfortable niche as a featured
"good guy" or "bad guy" in westerns --
Shadows of the West (1949),
Gunslingers (1950), Law of the West
(1949), Trail of the Yukon (1949),
Storm Over Wyoming (1950),
I Shot Billy the Kid (1950),
Abilene Trail (1951) and
Nevada Badmen (1951), among others.
When film work waned, Bill found guest parts on the small screen in
episodes of "Boston Blackie," "The Public Defender," "Burns & Allen,"
"I Married Joan" and in several episodes of the western series "The
Cisco Kid," Death Valley Days" and "The Gene Autry Show". In 1952, he
was handed his most famous voiceover as
Adventures of Superman (1952)'s
opening credits announcer, while also finding work in the same vein in
commercials.
During severe career lulls Kennedy would find employment as a
door-to-door salesman and truck driver. In 1956, after losing his
hosting job with KNXT in Hollywood, he returned to Detroit and
eventually hosted the weekday "Bill Kennedy's Showtime" at CKLWf-TV, a
station just across the Detroit River in Ontario, Canada, where he
showed movies and took calls and reminisced with fans on the air. The
show was later moved to WKBD and renamed "Bill Kennedy at the Movies."
Bill remained a popular local personality until his retirement in 1983.
The twice married actor with three children spent his last years in
Palm Beach, Florida, where he died of emphysema at the age of 88.