Guest announcers

[Twentington]

Guest announcers. They used to be fairly normal, especially in the days when one man would be announcing several shows. That said, it seems the concept has all but disappeared. If an announcer isn't available, just dub him in post.

Obviously, this would be far too big a hassle to do with TPIR given the huge amounts of copy on that show, so Rod got his share of fill-ins when he was sick; there were the on-air auditions after his death and Rich's firing; and I think Burton filled in once because Rich had laryngitis. Likewise, Wheel did on-air auditions after Charlie's death (although I doubt the 3 weeks Johnny Gilbert did were true "auditions" so much as a last-minute replacement).

But beyond those examples, has any other show in the past several years had a guest announcer?

[Jimmy Owen]

Nope.

[BrandonFG]

Keep in mind a lot of shows don't even use main announcers anymore. Some do out of tradition, but it's looking like an endangered species...

[Jimmy Owen]

In a world where a guy with the nickname "Stuttering John" can be a network-level announcer, yeah, announcing is not that valued as an artform.

[clemon79]

In a world where a guy with the nickname "Stuttering John" can be a network-level announcer,

...and did a TON of voice training to get rid of said stutter before the fact, and in fact that stutter never once manifested itself during his tenure as Tonight Show announcer.

Way low blow. Unsurprising, considering the source, but utterly out of line.

[Matt Ottinger]

Since we seem to have expanded our discussion to beyond game shows, it might be worth pointing out that both Paul Shaffer and Alan Kalter skip shows that fall during Jewish holy days, requiring a guest announcer (and separate guest bandleader) to handle their duties.

[Jimmy Owen]

In a world where a guy with the nickname "Stuttering John" can be a network-level announcer,

...and did a TON of voice training to get rid of said stutter before the fact, and in fact that stutter never once manifested itself during his tenure as Tonight Show announcer.

Way low blow. Unsurprising, considering the source, but utterly out of line.

I'd rather have professional announcers selected for announcing jobs.

[clemon79]

I'd rather have professional announcers selected for announcing jobs.

Well, I'd rather you realized how inappropriate your comment was.

Guess neither one of us gets what we want, do we?

[GrandGame1440]

Since we seem to have expanded our discussion to beyond game shows, it might be worth pointing out that both Paul Shaffer and Alan Kalter skip shows that fall during Jewish holy days, requiring a guest announcer (and separate guest bandleader) to handle their duties.

I didn't remember Alan being absent in recent years, did anyone we might have heard of fill-in?

[JasonA1]

it might be worth pointing out that both Paul Shaffer and Alan Kalter skip shows that fall during Jewish holy days, requiring a guest announcer (and separate guest bandleader) to handle their duties.

Who fills in for Alan?

-Jason

[Matt Ottinger]

Who fills in for Alan?

Usually a woman, but I don't know her name.  It's extremely rare.

[BrandonFG]

Something else just hit me as to why a show may not use alternate announcers: in addition to everything being done in post, a lot of shows knock out their seasons over the summer or in a month or two, so it's not like Joey Fatone* has to worry about whether Chris Kirkpatrick can fill in for him this coming Tuesday, with Lance Bass announcing on Thursday.

I'd love to see more Johnny Olson or Charlie O'Donnell types, or hell, see Randy and Alan Kalter get more gigs, but I'm just happy that some game shows realize that announcers help set the mood just as well as a theme song. If the announcer has a set of pipes that brings an air of drama to the game and an extra dimension, then I'm fine. I'm not going to become a snob because they picked up a goofy shock jock sidekick or, in the current case of The Tonight Show, a voice talent who does work on Family Guy, among other shows.

*/Gotta admit, that was a left-field choice for Family Feud
//I really need to stop twiddling my thumbs and get into voiceovers

[chris319]

What exactly were John's Melendez' qualifications for getting the Tonight show?

[PYLdude]

In a world where a guy with the nickname "Stuttering John" can be a network-level announcer,

...and did a TON of voice training to get rid of said stutter before the fact, and in fact that stutter never once manifested itself during his tenure as Tonight Show announcer.

Way low blow. Unsurprising, considering the source, but utterly out of line.

I'd rather have professional announcers selected for announcing jobs.

I'd rather have you post a whole lot less, but like Chris L. said.

[J.R.]

In a world where a guy with the nickname "Stuttering John" can be a network-level announcer, yeah, announcing is not that valued as an artform.

You are truly a shameful individual.