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[[Category:American male film actors]]
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Revision as of 18:47, 4 March 2019

Ed Prentiss
Ed Prentiss is pictured in his role
of Ned in the radio soap opera
The Guiding Light.
Born
Paul Edward Prentiss

September 9, 1909[a][unreliable source?]
Chicago, Illinois
DiedMarch 18, 1992 (1992-03-19) (aged 82)
Alma materUniversity of Iowa
OccupationActor
SpouseIvah Davidson (1941-?)
Children1 son

Ed Prentiss (September 9, 1909[1][unreliable source?] – March 18, 1992) was an actor in the era of old-time radio.[2] He was perhaps best known for portraying the title role on the radio version of Captain Midnight.

Early years

Prentiss was born Paul Edward Prentiss[3] in Chicago, Illinois.[2] He attended the University of Iowa.[4]

Radio

Radio historian Jim Harmon noted, in his book The Great Radio Heroes, "Ed Prentiss was not the first actor to play Captain Midnight, contrary to some published reports."[5] After Bill Bouchey had the role in the program's second season, Prentiss auditioned for the third season, got the part, and continued as Captain Midnight for seven years.[5]

On The Guiding Light soap opera, Prentiss played Ned (a "neglected youth") and was the program's "omniscient host."[6] Beginning in 1943, Prentiss was narrator for an hour-long block consisting of three soap operas: Today's Children, The Guiding Light and Woman in White. The three programs had interconnecting story lines, with Prentiss's narration "introducing each program segment and linking all three together."[7]

Prentiss's other roles on radio programs included those shown in the table below.

Program Role
Armstrong of the SBI Announcer[8]
The First Nighter Program Host[8]: 118 
Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy Announcer[8]: 167 
Johnny Lujack of Notre Dame Lujack's sidekick[8]: 178 
Silver Eagle Narrator[8]: 304 
Sweet River Minister [8]: 324 
A Tale of Today Michael Denby[9]

Prentiss had his own syndicated program, This Is The Story. An ad for the 15-minute program described it as follows: "Ed Prentiss, America's greatest story teller ... offers true and unusual tales, each with a surprisingly different ending."[10]

He also was a regular on Arnold Grimm's Daughter,[11] Painted Dreams, Bud Barton,[12] The Romance of Helen Trent, Springtime and Harvest[13] and Holland Housewarming.[8]: 153 

Film

Prentiss appeared in Westbound (1959)[14] and The FBI Story (1959).[15]

Television

Prentiss played Dr. Snyder on As the World Turns.[16] He was one of the hosts of Action Autographs,[17] was the host for Majority Rules.[17]: 643  and played Edward Elliott on Morning Star.[17]: 716  He also was the announcer for That's O'Toole.[18] He also played roles in various TV Westerns of the late 1950s-early '60s, often as a sheriff. He is easily recognized by his voice, as well as his physical appearance.

Personal life

Prentiss married Ivah Davidson on November 21, 1941.[19] They had a son, born September 14, 1943.[20]

Notes

  1. ^ Find a Grave gives his year of birth as 1908.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Ed Prentiss at Find a Grave
  2. ^ a b 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. 219.
  3. ^ "Louis Johnson to Discuss Defense". Belvidere Daily Republican. Illinois, Belvidere. July 9, 1940. p. 13. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Studio Notes". The Evening News. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. April 15, 1940. p. 24. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b Harmon, Jim (2001). The Great Radio Heroes, rev. ed (Revised ed.). McFarland. p. 183. ISBN 9780786483655. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  6. ^ Loviglio, Jason (2005). Radio's Intimate Public: Network Broadcasting and Mass-mediated Democracy. U of Minnesota Press. p. 82. ISBN 9780816642342. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  7. ^ Allen, Robert Clyde (1985). Speaking of Soap Operas. UNC Press Books. p. 162. ISBN 9780807841297. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 27.
  9. ^ "What Do You Want to Know?". Radio Mirror. 10 (2): 69. June 1938. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  10. ^ "(Snader Telescriptions Sales, Inc. ad)". Sponsor. 6 (5): 95. March 10, 1952. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  11. ^ "What Do You Want to Know?". Radio Mirror. 10 (3): 54. July 1938. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  12. ^ "Henry Aldrich on the Radio Tonight". Belvidere Daily Republican. Illinois, Belvidere. July 11, 1940. p. 5. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  13. ^ Ferris, Earle (December 9, 1939). "Right out of the Air". The Edinburg Daily Courier. Indiana, Edinburg. p. 3. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ^ Pitts, Michael R. (2012). Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films, 2d ed (2nd ed.). McFarland. p. 390. ISBN 9780786463725. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  15. ^ Mavis, Paul (2011). The Espionage Filmography: United States Releases, 1898 through 1999. McFarland. p. 100. ISBN 9780786449156. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  16. ^ "As the World Turns". TV Radio Mirror. 47 (5): 44. April 1957. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  17. ^ a b c Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 50.
  18. ^ "Television Reviews: That's O'Toole". Variety. March 16, 1949. p. 84. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  19. ^ "Behind the Mike". Broadcasting. December 1, 1941. p. 36. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  20. ^ "(untitled brief)". Broadcasting. September 27, 1943. p. 44.


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