Ken Niles

Ken Niles
Born (1906-12-09)December 9, 1906[1]
or (1908-12-09)December 9, 1908 or
Livingston, Montana
Died (1988-10-31)October 31, 1988 (aged 79–81)
Santa Monica, California
Nationality American
Occupation Radio announcer

Ken Niles (December 9, 1906 or 1908, in Livingston, Montana – October 31, 1988) was an American radio announcer. He was married to Nadia Niles, and had two children, Kenneth Niles and Denise Niles. His brother, Wendell Niles, was also a radio announcer.

Niles debuted in radio on KJR in Seattle, Washington, late in the 1920s.[2] "Mr. Niles began a series of original radio dramas called Theater of the Mind in 1928."[3][4] Niles subsequently narrated, or served as announcer, in several other feature films. His most notable film role was the murdered lawyer Leonard Eels in Out of the Past (1947) with Robert Mitchum.

Niles also served as commercial announcer and foil for Bing Crosby in the Bing Crosby Entertains series (1933-1935) and also on several series sponsored by Camel Cigarettes, notably The Abbott and Costello Show.[5] Niles was frequently paired in comedy skits opposite Elvia Allman as his fictitious wife Mrs Niles. Niles was also the announcer for The Amazing Mrs. Danberry.[5]

For his work in radio, he received a "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,[3] as did his brother, making them the first brothers to be so honored. Ken Niles' star is at 6711 Hollywood Avenue, in the Radio section. It was dedicated February 8, 1960.[6]

Filmography

References

  1. IMDb lists 1906 as the birth date
  2. DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2. P. 205.
  3. 1 2 "Ken Niles - Hollywood Star Walk". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  4. "Ken Niles Dies at 82; a Pioneer Broadcaster". The New York Times. November 2, 1988. p. 27.
  5. 1 2 Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. P. 2, 24.
  6. "Ken Niles". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  • Ken Niles on IMDb
  • "The CBS Radio Workshop, Theater of the Mind - Old Time Radio". Radio Treasury. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2013-12-07.


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