Gary

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Gary OwensGary Vinson

Gary
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Portrays:	Voice of Cy
Date of Birth:	May 10, 1934
Date of Death:	February 12, 2015
Age at Death:	80
Nationality:	USA
Related Media
		@ BW Media
[{{{site}}} Official Site]
IMDb profile

Gary Owens (born Gary Bernard Altman; May 10, 1934 – February 12, 2015) was an American disc jockey, voice actor, radio announcer, and radio personality who provided the voice of Cy in the Galactica 1980 episode "The Return of Starbuck". His polished baritone speaking voice and deadpan delivery made him one of the most recognizable voices in American broadcasting across a career spanning seven decades.

Early Life and Career

Born Gary Bernard Altman on May 10, 1934, in Mitchell, South Dakota, Owens was the son of Venetta Clark, an educator and county auditor, and Bernard Joseph Altman, a county treasurer and sheriff. He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of eight, a condition he managed throughout his life.

Before entering broadcasting, Owens showed artistic talent, winning a cartooning scholarship at age twelve in a competition judged by Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. The scholarship was for a correspondence course with a cartoon company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Owens later befriended Schulz in San Francisco when both were members of the cartoon committee there.

Owens began his broadcasting career in 1952 as a news reporter at KORN in Mitchell, South Dakota, and was promoted to news director two years later at age 22. Interestingly, his high school history teacher was future U.S. Senator and presidential candidate George McGovern. He subsequently worked at radio stations across the midwest and southern United States, including KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa, and KOIL in Omaha, Nebraska, where a station owner suggested he adopt the surname "Owens."

In 1959, Owens moved to California, initially working at KEWB-AM in Oakland, where he partnered with future radio legend Casey Kasem. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1961, joining KFWB-AM before moving to KMPC-AM in 1962, where he hosted a popular afternoon show for two decades. His KMPC show was known for surrealistic humor, including segments like the "Moo Cow Report," which gave fictional traffic information based on the supposed movement of cows across Los Angeles freeways. He also created nonsense words such as "krenellemuffin," "creebling," and "insegrevious," the latter of which was briefly included in the Funk and Wagnalls Dictionary. One of his famous promotions was offering an autographed photo of the Harbor Freeway, which generated 50,000 requests; recipients received a picture of the freeway signed "Yours truly, Harbor Freeway."

Owens also coined the phrase "Beautiful downtown Burbank," which later became a catchphrase on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The phrase originated in his radio weather reports, which would announce temperatures in various Los Angeles locations with humorous descriptions: "It's 80 degrees in romantic Reseda, 75 degrees in lascivious Laguna, and in beautiful downtown Burbank, it's 500 degrees." He used similar colorful phrasing for other areas, such as "Magnificent Monrovia" and "Romantic Reseda."

Television Career

Owens achieved national fame as the hand-over-ear announcer on NBC's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, appearing in all 140 episodes from 1968 to 1973. He was one of only two cast members, along with Ruth Buzzi, to remain with the show for its entire run. His distinctive on-camera persona featured him holding his right hand cupped over his ear while speaking into a microphone, imitating early radio announcers who relied on acoustic feedback to monitor their delivery. On his radio show, he would humorously explain this pose by claiming a piece of shrapnel had taken off his ear during the war, or that he had a wooden ear he needed to hold in place.

Owens was hired for Laugh-In following a fortuitous encounter with producer George Schlatter at the Smoke House restaurant in Burbank. While washing his hands in the restaurant's resonant bathroom, Owens demonstrated his announcing style by cupping his hand to his ear and remarking on the acoustics. Schlatter immediately recognized this as the perfect transition device for the show's rapid-fire sketch format. Arte Johnson, who had been previously hired for the show, also recommended Owens for the announcer position.

On the show, Owens delivered absurdist transitions and mock-serious announcements in his signature deadpan style, such as "This just in – the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France is not made of Eiffel at all!" and "John Chancellor is back in our NBC newsroom practicing a speech that is worthy of Cicero – or any other small town in Illinois." Despite the show's demanding schedule, Laugh-In was one of Owens' easier commitments; episodes typically finished in just two days, with Owens taping his segments in the morning and returning the following day for the weekly cocktail party sketch, all while continuing his daily radio show and extensive voice work.

During the late 1960s, Owens also appeared regularly as a television newscaster in eight episodes of The Green Hornet and hosted the short-lived game show Letters to Laugh-In in 1969. Over his television career, Owens guest-starred in numerous episodic programs including The Munsters, McHale's Navy, I Dream of Jeannie, Mad About You, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Night Court, and That '70s Show. He also served as the original host of The Gong Show.

In the 1980s, Owens cohosted and announced the "Miss Piggy Goes Hollywood" special on CBS along with Dick Van Dyke, Rita Moreno, and Johnny Mathis. When the building's power failed during the taping at the Ambassador Hotel, Owens was asked to fill for forty-five minutes while emergency power was restored. Despite having already used his material warming up the audience, he successfully entertained the all-star audience by introducing celebrity guests including Dick Van Dyke, father to Galactica 1980's Barry Van Dyke (Dillon).

Owens later served as the announcer for America's Funniest Home Videos from 1995 to 1997, the final three years of Bob Saget's hosting tenure, replacing Ernie Anderson.

Voice Acting Career

Owens became one of the most prolific voice actors in animation history, with credits on more than 3,000 cartoon shows. His first cartoon voice role was as the title character in Roger Ramjet in the 1960s. The series, which lampooned the military-industrial complex with extremely limited animation, was elevated by clever writing and Owens' note-perfect portrayal of the titular character. He wrote for the show alongside Gene Moss and Jim Thurman at Ken Snyder Productions.

Owens is best known for voicing the superhero Space Ghost in the original Space Ghost series beginning in 1966, as well as in Space Stars. He reprised the role in a cameo appearance on Space Ghost Coast to Coast in 1998 and on Batman: The Brave and the Bold in 2011.

His extensive voice work also included Blue Falcon in Dynomutt, Dog Wonder (1976-1977), the narrator in The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Commander Ulysses Feral in SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (1993-1994), Powdered Toast Man in The Ren & Stimpy Show, and announcing for Garfield and Friends. He also narrated Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center pavilion, World of Motion, from 1982 to 1996, and served as the voice of Lt. Dirk Niblick on PBS's Square One Television from 1987 to 1992.

Owens also contributed to the development of several animated projects. He worked as a scriptwriter for Jay Ward Productions, writing for shows including Rocky and Bullwinkle and Fractured Flickers alongside comedy writers Chris Hayward, Allan Burns, and George Atkins. For twenty years (1968-1988), Owens co-owned a production company with animation legend Mel Blanc and his son Noel Blanc, producing syndicated radio comedy shows.

In his later years, Owens was the promotional announcing voice for Antenna TV, an over-the-air digital network dedicated to classic television shows, intoning the catchphrase "Vintage...without the funny smell."

Galactica 1980

Owens provided the uncredited voice of Cy, a Cylon Centurion that Starbuck repairs, in "The Return of Starbuck," the final episode of Galactica 1980 which aired on May 4, 1980. Unlike other Cylon voices in the series, Cy's voice featured Owens' natural vocal inflections supplemented by the standard Cylon vocoder effect, giving the character a more expressive quality. Through Owens' performance, Cy developed a distinct personality characterized by sarcasm, wounded pride, and philosophical questioning, making him one of the most memorable characters in Galactica 1980.

Commercial and Promotional Work

Throughout his career, Owens provided voiceovers for over 30,000 commercials for radio and television, making him one of the most heard voices in American advertising. He served as a top promo announcer for every major television network. Owens emphasized that success in television announcing required adding vocal color to scripted material, maintaining high energy, and fitting the tone of voice to the specific job.

In discussing commercial work in his book How to Make a Million Dollars With Your Voice, Owens explained that voice artists in great demand possess either a straight announcing voice or a personality voice. He noted that while many voice artists may not be recognized on the street or become household names, successful professionals can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions per year.

Other Work and Recognition

Beyond radio and animation, Owens appeared on more than 1,000 network television shows throughout his career. He hosted twelve thousand local and national radio shows and recorded numerous comedy albums. He appeared on fifteen record albums and CDs and was nominated for six Grammy Awards. His first book, Elephants, Grapes, and Pickles, sold more than seven hundred thousand copies for Price Stern and Sloan and helped popularize elephant jokes. His second book, The Gary Owens What to Do While Holding the Phonebook, was a successful trivia hardback. He also narrated dozens of audiobooks and lent his voice to numerous videos and DVDs, including hosting Richard Jones's Emmy Award-winning "Dinosaurs" series with Eric Boardman, which sold more than five hundred thousand copies on videotape.

Owens appeared in films such as Disney's The Love Bug (1969) and Spy Hard (1996). He also served as the master of ceremonies and hosted thousands of Hollywood events, including major movie premieres, charity shows, and Emmy and Grammy telecasts.

Owens was honored as the Top Radio Personality in the United States and Top Radio Personality in the World by Billboard and Radio & Records magazines. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980, positioned between those of Walt Disney and Betty White at 6743 Hollywood Boulevard. His ear print was also encased in cement at NBC Studios in "beautiful downtown Burbank." He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Television Hall of Fame in 2001.

In 1983, Owens organized a successful campaign to secure a Hollywood Walk of Fame star for The Three Stooges, personally knowing Moe Howard and Larry Fine through regular lunches at the Smoke House restaurant. He emceed their unveiling ceremony on August 30, 1983, which drew six or seven thousand people across four blocks, one of the largest crowds ever assembled for a Walk of Fame ceremony.

In the foreword to Owens' book, comedian Jonathan Winters, who considered Owens one of his two best friends in show business (along with Robin Williams), praised him as "a man for all seasons" and noted that "the best therapy in the world is laughter, and when and if you should run into Gary Owens, all your troubles will disappear."

Personal Life

Owens married Arleta Markell on June 26, 1956; they remained married for nearly sixty years until his death. Together they had two sons: Scott Owens (born Scott Michael Owens), an Emmy and Producers Guild of America award-winning producer, and Chris Dane Owens, a musician and Emmy-nominated producer. Owens met Arleta in college, and both sons followed their father into the entertainment business.

Owens died on February 12, 2015, at his home in Encino, California, at age 80, surrounded by his family. The cause of death was complications from Type 1 diabetes, a condition he had battled since childhood. His son Chris stated, "His body just kind of failed. We are grateful that he died so peacefully with all of us present and that he was able to remain vital throughout his life." Owens continued working until the end of his life, voicing television promos just one month before his death. Producer George Schlatter, who hired Owens for Laugh-In, remembered him as "a lovely, lovely man" with "a whimsical, fey sense of humor," noting that "Gary did not work. Gary played. He was a very charming, creative, witty guy who had a good time."

References

Book

Commentary and Interviews

External Sources

External Links

• Gary Owens at the Radio Hall of Fame
• Gary Owens at the Television Academy
• Gary Owens at the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Gary
{{{credit}}}
Portrays:	Doyle
Date of Birth:	October 22, 1936
Date of Death:	October 15, 1984
Age at Death:	47
Nationality:	USA
Related Media
		@ BW Media
[ Official Site]
IMDb profile

Gary Vinson (born 22 October 1936, Los Angeles, California, died 15 October 1984, Redondo Beach, California) was an American actor and writer.

Vinson had minor roles in some theatrical films in the late 1950s before landing other significant minor and recurring roles in television classics such as Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, and Wagon Train. In 1963, Vinson landed his more memorable role as George 'Christy' Christopher in McHale's Navy and as Sheriff Harold Sikes in the series Pistols 'n' Petticoats.

In the 1970s, Vinson landed only supporting guest roles in series such as The Streets of San Francisco, S.W.A.T., and Baa Baa Black Sheep, including his role as Doyle in the Original Series episode, Greetings From Earth.

Vinson had a minor role in another Glen Larson series, The Fall Guy, as well as Barnaby Jones and The Incredible Hulk.

Rumored to be distraught over a criminal charge, Vinson committed suicide in 1984.

Gary HutzelGary B. Winter

Gary
Role:	Visual Effects Supervisor
BSG Universe:	Re-imagined Series and Caprica
Date of Birth:	November 4, 1955
Date of Death:	March 3, 2016
Age at Death:	60
[{{{site}}} Official Site]
IMDb profile

Gary Hutzel was the Visual Effects Supervisor on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica and its prequel series, Caprica.

Hutzel was responsible for many special effects and ship designs. During the production of the Caprica pilot, he was involved in key creative decisions regarding the show's technology. He was initially skeptical of the "paper computer" concept and repeatedly questioned its necessity. He also had significant input on the design of the Serge robot, providing practical reasons for its large size and successfully pushing back against producer Ronald D. Moore's more complex idea of a smaller, telescoping robot.

He was a veteran effects artist and cinematographer, with credits on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Spy Kids, and Red Planet.

External Links

• Gary article at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki.

• Gary article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

References

Gary
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Role:	Associate producer
BSG Universe:	Original Series
Date of Birth:
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
[ Official Site]
IMDb profile

Gary B. Winter was an associate producer on the Original Series, from "The Lost Warrior" until the series' finale, "The Hand of God".

Aside from the Original Series, Winter's only other associate producer credit is on the 1978 production called Evening in Byzantium with Patrick Macnee and Vince Edwards.

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