John Facenda

John Facenda was an American broadcaster, sports announcer and a fixture on Philadelphia radio and television for decades, achieving national fame as a narrator for NFL Films and Football Follies. Through his work with NFL Films, Facenda was known by many National Football League fans as "The Voice of God." Born John Thomas Ralph Augustine James Facenda on August 8, 1913, John Facenda attended Roman Catholic High School in Center City, Philadelphia and later Villanova University before he dropped out. After leaving school, he found employment with the now-defunct Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper, working as an announcer for the Ledger's also radio station, WHAT, evetually reaching the role as sports announcer. He left the newspaper in 1935 after a pay dispute and returned to Philadelphia and started working for WIP Radio, where he would remain until 1952. In 1948, Facenda began his work in television at WCAU-TV, which was then Philadelphia's CBS television affiliate) in 1948. He anchored his first newscast on the station on September 13, 1948 and started working full-time at the station after leaving WIP in 1952. He tipically ended his newscasts with the familiar refrain: "Have a nice night tonight and a good day tomorrow. Goodnight, all." The phrase even found its way into the 1956 film, "The Burglar," which starred Jayne Mansfield and Dan Duryea. The burglary in the film occurs as the victim is watching Facenda's broadcast. In 1966, he was one of several radio personalities, along with Al Schottelkotte, Chick Hearn and John Reed King, to do a guest voice on the popular TV series Gilligan's Ialand as a guest radio voice. During the 1950s and 1960s, Facenda became the dominant news broadcast in the Philadelphia area, achieving iconic status in Philadelphia as both a face and voice before his rise to national prominence. His newscasts, originally just five minutes long, were eventually expanded to 30 minutes. Facenda and WCAU-TV pioneered the television news format as it is still practiced today. In 1965, Facenda began an association with NFL Films that would continue until his death. He narrated many highlight films during his career with the company. His colleague, Bob Costas, called him "one of the most remarkable instruments in the history of broadcasting." As a result, his speaking style became the voice most closely linked with NFL Films, and, in some ways, football narration itself. Frequently emulated, even in a parodic manner in contemporary sports news, advertising, and even other sports-themed entertainment, his voice is so closely associated with the NFL that in July 2006, Facenda's son filed a lawsuit against the NFL, claiming that Facenda's voice was used without permission in an NFL Network program promoting the video game Madden NFL 06. Facenda also narrated a documentary on Notre Dame Football in 1980 titled, "Wake Up the Echoes," one of the few times he put his voice to something that wasn't NFL-related, although it was NFL Films-produced. In the early 1970s, rival WFIL-TV (now WPVI-TV) adopted the highly successful Action News format based on the news broadcasts heard on Top 40 radio stations and heavily influenced by tabloid newspapers. Brief coverage was given to almost every event happening in town. WCAU's ratings collapsed, and network executives decided that they needed a younger anchor to complement the sixty-year-old Facenda. In 1972, 27-year-old Judd Hambrick was brought in as co-anchor to Facenda, who soon graciously decided to step down and make way for the next generation. His last newscast as anchor for WCAU was on March 23, 1973. However, many viewers were upset over the loss of Facenda, and his retirement failed to improve ratings. After stepping down as anchor, Facenda continued to work for WCAU in various capacities as a narrator, program director and host of special reports. He was co-anchor for the station's coverage of Pope John Paul II's visit to Philadelphia in 1979, and he was also the familiar voice of the John Wanamaker department store Christmas Light Show. In 1983, he narrated the NFL Films production of "Frontiers and Beyond," the tour documentary of the rock band Journey. Twelve days before Facenda passed away, he was presented with the Governors Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Philadelphia chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He was also named Person of the Year by the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia in 1971 and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1992. On September 26, 1984, John Facenda died of lung cancer at the age of 71. His final voice-over work for NFL Films was the highlight film for Super Bowl XVIII.

Episode(s)

 * Ship Ahoax