Bill Kennedy (actor)
| Bill Kennedy | |
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Bill Kennedy as the racetrack announcer in Adventures of Superman, Ep. 66, "Joey"
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| Born |
June 27, 1908 Cleveland Heights, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | January 27, 1997 (aged 88) Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Years active | 1941–1984 |
| Spouse(s) | Suzanne Kennedy (1971–1997) (his death) 3 children |
Willard "Bill" Kennedy (June 27, 1908 – January 27, 1997) was an American actor, voice artist, and host of the long-running Detroit-based television show, Bill Kennedy at the Movies. He began his career as a staff announcer in radio; Kennedy's voice narrates the opening of the television series Adventures of Superman.
Kennedy was born June 27, 1908 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Kennedy began his media career as a staff announcer at WWJ, The Detroit News.
In the 1940s, he became a Warner Bros. contract player, appearing in dozens of Hollywood movies from 1941 through 1955. He was often cast as a police officer or detective. He played Thierache, the Executioner, who sets fire to Joan (played by Ingrid Bergman) in Joan of Arc (1948), and played opposite Cary Grant in Destination Tokyo.
For the Superman TV series, he was the announcer during its several year run. He appeared off-screen (uncredited) as the wrestling announcer in the 1952 episode, "No Holds Barred;" and on-screen, as one of the radio announcers (uncredited) in the 1953 episode, "Crime Wave"; and as the racetrack announcer in the 1955 episode "Joey". He is believed to have provided the voice on the phone for the 1954 episode, "Beware the Wrecker". Denver Pyle played the part on-screen and had a couple of spoken lines. Kennedy also appeared as a guest star in numerous series, such as The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid, The Gene Autry Show, and Death Valley Days.
In 1956 Kennedy returned from California to the Detroit area as host of Bill Kennedy's Showtime at CKLW-TV, based directly across the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario. The musical standard, "Just in Time" was his theme song. In 1969 he moved to WKBD and continued hosting the show, named Bill Kennedy at the Movies, until retiring to Florida in 1983.
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