Introducing KEN ROBERTS

Wall, Street or radio? Ken made the lucky choice

KEN ROBERTS enjoys his job as quizmaster on Quick as a Flash, heard Sundays at 5:30 PM, EST over the Mutual network. But the part of the program that really delights him more than anything else is the spot where he stops mc-ing long enough to say, “And now, announcer Cy Harris has a few words to say . . .” For to Ken, that moment is a complete switch in what has almost always been the Roberts routine. As the announcer on Take It or Leave It, Correction Please, Battle of the Sexes and some other shows, someone else was always saying, “And now Ken Roberts with a few words–”

“And now ken Roberts with a few words –”

Ken Roberts was born on Washington’s Birthday, 1910, in New York City. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School where, incidentally, one of his closest schoolmates was New Calmer, now one of CBS’s top newscasters.

Early 1929 saw Ken in dire straits and badly in need of a job. He had heard there were many opportunities for enterprising young men on Wall Street, so he got himself a job as runner—but he left in June!

Ken got the acting itch again and put on plays for the underprivileged kids at Eddie Cantor’s camp at Surprise Lake, N.Y. That summer over, Ken hooked up with the Christopher Morley stock company in Hoboken, which was making a big thing out of reviving old time melodramas. Ken wound up playing leads there after nine months.

1930 saw Roberts—and a lot of depression hit actors stalking Broadway in search of a job. Discussing the sorry state of affairs and discussing that was practically all most of them could do to fill in their days—one “at liberty” thespian happened to mention radio as a possibility. Ken decided to take a crack at radio announcing and began making the rounds of small stations, realizing that he’s need some experience. He auditioned and landed a job with WLTH in Brooklyn, stayed there six months, until the work and the long subway ride got too tiring. He be announcers, and got a job. He played straight dramatic roles for five years.

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