André Baruch

André Baruch
Born August 20, 1908
Paris, France
Died September 15, 1991
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation Film narrator
Spouse(s) Bea Wain
Children 2

André Baruch (August 20, 1908 - September 15, 1991) was a French-born American film narrator, radio announcer, news commentator, talk show host, disc jockey and sportscaster.

Early life

Baruch was born on August 20, 1908 in Paris, France.[1] He emigrated to the United States as a teenager.[1]

During World War II, Baruch served in the original invasion of North Africa, spent almost four years overseas and was honorably discharged as a major.[1] Baruch was involved in the mid-1940s launching of the Armed Forces Radio Service,[1] with stations in Algiers, Casablanca, Oran, Sicily and Tunis.

Career

Baruch began his career as a pianist for NBC Radio. He got into the wrong line of applicants; he had entered the announcers' line and was hired on the spot.

After World War II, Baruch and his wife worked as a husband-and-wife disc jockey team in New York on WMCA, where they were billed as Mr. and Mrs. Music. Their show was later presented on the ABC and NBC networks.

In the 1960s, Baruch narrated short films for the Hamilton Wright Organization, an American public relations firm hired covertly by the South African government to counter the anti-apartheid movement.[2]

Baruch was an announcer for such programs as The American Album of Familiar Music,[3] The Fred Waring Show, The Kate Smith Show, The Shadow, Your Hit Parade and The United States Steel Hour.

In 1973, Baruch and Wain moved to Palm Beach, Florida where they did a top-rated daily four-hour talk show on WPBR, 1340 AM. Baruch was the host of the show and ran the control board. Wain on occasions asked him to play tape cartridges (a selection of about 12 hung in a metal rack on the wall to the right of Bea) of vintage songs she had once recorded, the most popular being "Deep Purple."

When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls
And the stars begin to twinkle in the sky—
In the mist of a memory you wander back to me
Breathing my name with a sigh...

After nine years in Palm Beach, Florida at WPBR radio, Baruch and Wain relocated to Beverly Hills, California. During the early 1980s, the pair hosted a syndicated version of Your Hit Parade, reconstructing the list of hits of selected weeks in the 1940s and playing the original recordings.

Personal life and death

Baruch married singer Bea Wain. They resided in Beverly Hills, California.[1] They had two children: Bonnie Baruch and her husband, Mark Barnes, who operate a vineyard in Northern California and run the Daisy Foundation, an organization which recognizes nurses for their critical role in patient care and supports research towards the cure of autoimmune diseases. Wayne Baruch has a career in the music and theatre business, and his wife, Shelley Baruch, is a theatrical producer and filmmaker.

Baruch died on September 15, 1991 in Beverly Hills.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Andre Baruch, 83, Famous Radio Voice". The New York Times. September 17, 1991. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  2. ↑ Nixon, Ron (2016). South Africa's Global Propaganda War. London, U.K.: Pluto Press. p. 23. ISBN 9780745399140. OCLC 959031269.
  3. ↑ Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. P. 25.

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