With the passing of Sam Edwards, I’ve been remiss in noting the passing of another of the “old guard” of Old-Time Radio, Jackson Beck.

Although you may not recognize the face, particularly from this photo of Jackson as The Cisco Kid, the voice is unmistakable. Whether performing the voice of Bluto in the Popeye cartoons, announcing the opening of series like Superman or Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, or even the commercial voiceover work for companies like Little Caesar’s Pizza, that gravelly voice with more authority than just about any other reaches out and grabs you by the scruff of the neck, demanding your attention.

Jack was a fixture at Friends of Old-Time Radio Conventions for as long as I remember, missing only the last few years due to failing health. He was an unrepentant smoker, which must have driven Jay Hickerson apoplectic, but he once told me when I joked that it was amazing he kept his voice with all those cigarettes, “It sounds like that because of ‘em.”

Being able to hear him announce episodes of Supermanand Tom Corbett live is an experience I will always treasure…but I have to tell you, we forget that he was one heck of an actor, too. Dialects, character parts, Jack was a talent that reached far beyond the sonorous announcer duties we usually ascribe him. During rehersals, he had a quick wit and little patience for foolishness or bad jokes…but a good one could raise a laugh that sounded as if it came from the depths of the earth itself.

I’m honored I knew him, slight though the connection was. His voice, now silenced, will never be replaced.

From the Washington Post: Radio host Bob Edwards, who drew millions of listeners to National Public Radio for three decades but was demoted earlier this year, is taking his signature voice to a competing radio universe, according to Edwards and executives of Washington-based XM Satellite Radio.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22089-2004Jul28.html

So only a few months from now we’ll have that familiar voice back in our homes, offices, and cars. An XM receiver is around a hundred bucks, with a $10/month fee for programming. Use the money you would normally send to your public radio station, and pick one up.

From Wired: Television fans who like to choose when and where they watch their favorite programs are in for a rude awakening next year when new copy controls encoded in digital television streams will limit such freedoms.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,64309,00.html/wn_ascii

You know, everyone should read Lawrence Lessig’s book, Free Culture, to understand what the “entertainment” industry is taking away from us…