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^AP-CA--Obit-Walsh<


^George Walsh, newsman and ``Gunsmoke'' announcer, dies at 88<
^

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (AP) _ The announcer for the ``Gunsmoke''
radio and television programs has died.

George Walsh died of congestive heart failure December fifth in
Monterey Park.

He became the ``Gunsmoke'' announcer in 1952. He introduced the
live, weekly radio series with the famous line: ``Around Dodge City
and in the territory out West, there's just one way to handle the
killers and the spoilers, and that's with a U-S marshal and the
smell of 'Gunsmoke.'''

He remained the announcer when the show moved to T-V in 1955.

In the Los Angeles area, Walsh was a longtime fixture at
K-N-X-A-M, serving as an interviewer, sports reporter, newscaster
and announcer from 1952 to 1986. His voice also was used in the
Smokey Bear forest fire prevention campaign and on two Disneyland
rides.

George Walsh, dead at 88.

(APcredit: Los Angeles Times)
^



(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APNP-01-11-06 0506PST<

A rather more comprehensive obituary on George Walsh can be found at the Los Angeles Times web site:
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-walsh11jan11,0,6831960.story?coll=la-news-obituaries

The Los Angeles Times web site does require registration, but generally has quite informative obituaries on entertainment people.


Signing off for now,

I heard a rather subdued George Walsh as announcer on an old radio show before Gunsmoke. Can't recall it. IMHO GW's voice was was intregal to Gunsmoke. Without his intro, it would not have been the same show.

Hal Evans wrote:... IMHO GW's voice was was intregal to Gunsmoke. Without his intro, it would not have been the same show.

I agree - his announcing at the start of each show is so classic. What a great voice.

The original obit has a wrong word, though -
"Around Dodge City and in the territory out West..."

It's actually ON west, not OUT west...sounds funny but that's what he said.

GK

Speaking of Gunsmoke ...

Hopefully y'all looked in the book review section of this forum for Stewart Wright's monograph, "Gunsmoke: The Myth of the Prime-Time Repeats"

Here is a shortcut:
www.old-time.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=186