Harry von Zell Biography

Fast Facts

• Started out as an announcer for the "Old Gold Hour" radio show with the Paul Whiteman band in 1929
• Worked as a staff announcer for CBS on the East Coast in the 1930s
• During the height of his radio career he was an announcer on as many as 20 shows a week, including "The Fred Allen Show" and "The Eddie Cantor Show․"
• Appeared in a number of films in the 1940s and 1950s, including "Uncle Harry," "Two Flags West," and "I Can Get It for You Wholesale․"
• Best known as an actor and radio announcer who appeared in the "Burns and Allen" radio and television series
• Worked with a number of big names in radio, including Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor, Jack Benny, and Gracie Allen
• Once famously flubbed President Herbert Hoover's name during a radio tribute speech, referring to him as "Hoobert Heever․"