A PASSING – AT 8:56 A.M. ET:  We note the passing, at Christmas time, of Fred Foy, a man with a special relationship to kids.  Never heard of him?  Think maybe he was a member of the Foy vaudeville family?  No, no, he wasn't.  Fred Foy, who died this week, at 89, was a radio announcer.

But what he announced was listened to, intently, by a generation of kids:

"A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi-Yo, Silver! ..."

Fred Foy announced "The Lone Ranger," one of the greatest, and longest-running, radio adventure shows ever. My, how we would sit at those old Emerson and Philco radios and wait for Fred to tell us that the Ranger, and his trusty native-American sidekick, Tonto, were galloping our way.

These days, the show would be considered politically incorrect.  But to us, the Lone Ranger and Tonto were heroes, moral and otherwise.

The wonderful thing about radio is that it stimulated a child's imagination.  We had to imagine what people looked like, what things looked like.  The sound effects people provided the clapping of a horse's hoofs, but we had to imagine the horse.  That ended with television, and I guess it was inevitable.  But I remember my Radio Workshop teacher in junior high school, Vera Larner, telling us how sad it was. 

So, adios Fred.  We'll never forget that voice, or one of the best-written introductions to a radio show...ever.

The obit is here.

December 24, 2010