Jackson Beck
23rd July 1912 - 28th July 2004
This week marks the anniversary of the death of Jackson Beck 5 days after his 92nd birthday. Jackson Beck like many of the great old time radio performers is an actor whose name turns up time and time again in the history of radio and it's wonderful shows.
He was born in New York the son of silent movie Actor Max Beck and followed in his father's footsteps becoming an (radio) actor in 1931 on the soap opera Myrt and Marge. From 1935 - 1938 he starred in the 15-minute radio version of the cartoon Popeye the Sailor as Popeye's archenemy Bluto prior to becoming the voice of Bluto in over 300 of the TV cartoon version.
In 1942 Beck played his first lead role as The Cisco Kid, pictured opposite. In 1943 he played the parts of Joe in the comedy serial Joe and Ethel Turp, Tank Tinker the famous pal of Hop Harrigan in the juvenile aviation adventure of the same name, Whizzer the salesman of the Bingle Pin Company in the situation comedy The Busy Mr Bingle, Emilio Prieto in soap opera A Woman of America and Inspector Logan in Casey Crime Photographer.
Throughout the 1940's and early 50's he went on to play many supporting roles in shows such as Creeps By Night, FBI In Peace and War, Matinee Theater, The Mysterious Traveler, The Brownstone Theater, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, Words at War, The Joe Dimaggio Show and Cloak and Dagger.
Two other notable leading roles were those of Philo Vance in the detective melodrama of the same name in 1948 and as Gregory Hood in The Casebook of Gregory Hood in 1949 after Elliott Lewis.
But of course the thing we will all remember Jackson Beck for is his famous words introducing The Adventures of Superman Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound! Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SUPERMAN!
Beck said, I found out that the character man comes and goes, but the announcer is there every day. It's a steady job, I made the switch, I started insinuating myself into announcing situations and auditioning for them. Of course his great acting skills were not lost, he said, Anybody can get up in front of a mike and say 'Come to Jones Department Store.' But to say it and make them come there, that's where your acting comes in.
And when you heard Beck's compelling voice narrating Superman you couldn't help being hooked and there was no way that you were not going to tune in the same time the next day!
Beck was also the announcer of two other great juvenile series, Mark Trail from 1950 - 1952 and Tom Corbett Space Cadet in 1952 again with compelling effect. In his radio career he was also the narrator of the war drama The Man Behind the Gun from 1942 - 1944 and an announcer and actor in You Are There from 1947 - 1950.
On a personal note Beck was married twice; both wives died, the second one, Bernice, in 1986. One son, Leslie, also of Manhattan, survived him.
I have dug out some shows starring Jackson Beck to add to RUSC in his memory throughout the week, beginning today with a Cloak and Dagger episode entitled Kachlin Story. The current Superman story culminates on Friday and a new one begins next week and I will add Philo Vance and also a Brownstone Theater play entitled The Lion and the Mouse.
Happy listening my friends,
