Dick Lane (announcer)

Dick Lane
Born	Richard Lane (1899-05-28)May 28, 1899 Rice Lake, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	September 5, 1982(1982-09-05) (aged 83) Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Years active	1936–1978

Richard Lane (May 28, 1899 – September 5, 1982) was an American television announcer and actor who made his mark broadcasting wrestling and roller derby shows on KTLA-TV, mainly from the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.^[1]

Contents

• 
  1 Biography
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 Early years
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 Work with KTLA
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 Later years
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Partial filmography
  


• 
  3 Sources
  


• 
  4 References
  


• 
  5 External links
  

Biography

Early years

Lane was born in 1899 in Rice Lake, Wisconsin to a farm family. Early in life he developed talents for reciting poetry and doing various song-and-dance acts.^[2]

By his teenage years, he was doing an "iron jaw" routine in circuses around Europe and worked as a drummer touring with a band in Australia. After the decline of vaudeville, Lane obtained extensive work in motion pictures and was best known at the time for playing Inspector John or William Faraday or Farraday (depending on the film) in all fourteen Boston Blackie Columbia Pictures features starring Chester Morris, starting with Meet Boston Blackie in 1941. During World War II, he appeared as emcee with USO troops entertaining G.I.s. His unit appeared at Fort MacArthur in September 1944. Lane also announced for the Jalopy Derby and Destruction Derby at Ascot Park, Gardena California.

Lane also played Faraday in the first radio version of Boston Blackie, which ran on NBC from June 23, 1944 to September 15, 1944.^[3] Lane appeared in character roles in over 150 films between 1936 and 1951. One of his most memorable roles was in Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944), as the tough Sergeant "Alphabet" Czeidrowski, who alternately clashes with and befriends the mild-mannered Mr Winkle (Edward G. Robinson).

Work with KTLA

Due to his work at Paramount Pictures, Lane was able to obtain work at KTLA, which was owned by the studio at the time. When the station went commercial for the first time in 1947, Lane started work as a news presenter. One of the early highlights of his career was reporting on the first atomic explosion covered by a television newscast.^[4]

When KTLA agreed to broadcast wrestling matches from the Olympic Auditorium in 1946, Lane was hired to comment on the action. He started announcing for Roller Derby in 1951, and for Roller Games in the 1960s. His broadcasts featured such personalities as Gorgeous George, Mr. Moto and Doc Grable. Contrary to popular opinion, it was Lane and not former ABC sports announcer Keith Jackson who coined the exclamatory expression "Whoa, Nellie!" when something "bad" happened in the ring or on the track.^[5] Lane was also the character "Leather Britches" on the Spade Cooley show on KTLA.

One of his wrestling calls was 'meat on the table' when one wrestler pretended to bite the ear of another wrestler. Another call familiar to viewers was "Wow, what action!" which invariably preceded a commercial break.

Later years

After Lane retired from television full-time in 1972, he accepted few offers for work, but did make a notable cameo appearance in Raquel Welch's film Kansas City Bomber.^[6] Lane died in Newport Beach, California on September 5, 1982. In 1996, he was posthumously inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.^[7]

Partial filmography

• 
  The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1937)


• 
  Flight From Glory (1937)^[8]
  


• 
  Should Wives Work? (1937)


• 
  Danger Patrol (1937)


• 
  Radio City Revels (1938)


• 
  I'm from the City (1938)


• 
  Mr. Doodle Kicks Off (1938)


• 
  Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)


• 
  Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939)


• 
  Union Pacific (1939)


• 
  Stronger Than Desire (1939)


• 
  Sued for Libel (1939)


• 
  Mutiny on the Blackhawk (1939)


• 
  Drunk Driving (1939 short)


• 
  The Biscuit Eater (1940)


• 
  Brother Orchid (1940) as Mugsy O'Day


• 
  Boom Town (1940) as Assistant District Attorney


• 
  Hired Wife (1940)


• 
  Youth Will Be Served (1940)


• 
  Yesterday's Heroes (1940)


• 
  I Wanted Wings (1941)


• 
  Meet Boston Blackie (1941) as Inspector Faraday


• 
  Sunny (1941)


• 
  Time Out for Rhythm (1941)


• 
  Tight Shoes (1941)


• 
  Riders of the Purple Sage (1941)


• 
  Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941) as Inspector Farraday


• 
  Hellzapoppin' (1941)


• 
  To the Shores of Tripoli (1942)


• 
  Junior G-Men of the Air (1942 serial)


• 
  Alias Boston Blackie (1942) as Inspector Farraday


• 
  A-Haunting We Will Go (1942)


• 
  Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood (1942) as Inspector Farraday


• 
  Arabian Nights (1942)


• 
  Drums of the Congo (1942)


• 
  Air Force (1943)


• 
  It Ain't Hay (1943)


• 
  After Midnight with Boston Blackie (1943) as Inspector Farraday


• 
  Corvette K-225 (1943)


• 
  Crazy House (1943)


• 
  The Chance of a Lifetime (1943) as Inspector John Farraday


• 
  Gung Ho! (1943)


• 
  Louisiana Hayride (1944)


• 
  Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944)


• 
  A Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944)


• 
  One Mysterious Night (1944) as Inspector Farraday


• 
  Bowery to Broadway (1944)


• 
  Here Come the Co-Eds (1945)


• 
  Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion (1945) as Inspector Farraday


• 
  The Bullfighters (1945)^[9]
  


• 
  Wonder Man (1945)


• 
  Boston Blackie's Rendezvous (1945) as Inspector Farraday


• 
  A Close Call for Boston Blackie (1946) as Inspector Farraday


• 
  The Phantom Thief (1946)


• 
  Pardon My Terror (1946 short)^[10]
  


• 
  Sioux City Sue (1946)


• 
  Boston Blackie and the Law (1946) as Inspector Farraday


• 
  Song of Scheherazade (1947)


• 
  Out of the Blue (1947)


• 
  Devil Ship (1947)


• 
  Tenth Avenue Angel (1948)


• 
  The Return of the Whistler (1948)


• 
  Trapped by Boston Blackie (1948)


• 
  The Babe Ruth Story (1948)


• 
  The Creeper (1948)


• 
  He's in Again (1949 short)


• 
  Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture (1949) as Inspector Farraday


• 
  Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)


• 
  Mighty Joe Young (1949) (uncredited)


• 
  That Midnight Kiss (1949) (uncredited)


• 
  The Big Wheel (1949)


• 
  The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) as Clay Hopper, Montreal Manager


• 
  I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1951)


• 
  Visit to a Small Planet (1960)


• 
  The Killers (1964)


• 
  Dear Brigitte (1965)


• 
  Kansas City Bomber (1972)


• 
  The Shaggy D.A. (1976)


• 
  The One and Only (1978) (uncredited)

Sources

• "Dick Lane, Pioneer TV Announcer, Dead at 83", Los Angeles Times, September 6, 1982.

References

1. 
   ^ Selection of photographs featuring Richard "Dick" Lane
   


2. 
   ^ Richard Lane biography at Fandango
   


3. 
   ^ Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. P. 110.
   


4. 
   ^ Photo of Dick Lane's star on Hollywood Star Walk
   


5. 
   ^ Andrew Krebs, Wide world of Jackson Archived 2007-12-26 at the Wayback Machine., The Daily Collegian, November 8, 1997. {When accessed on October 19, 2016, this link was no longer active}
   


6. 
   ^ Photo of Dick Lane with Raquel Welch and Patty Cavin in Kansas City Bomber
   


7. 
   ^ "Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
   


8. 
   ^ B.R.C. {Bosley Crowther}. "THE SCREEN / At the Rialto" (The New York Times, September 11, 1937, p.20)
   


9. 
   ^ Photos of Richard Lane from The Bullfighters
   


10. 
    ^ Special to the New York Times. "Grofe Will Write Music for Films" (The New York Times, July 18, 1945, p.21)
    

External links

• 
  http://www.tvparty.com/nitro.html Rare online clips of Dick Lane calling wrestling matches.


• “Whoah, Nellie!” Happy Birthday, Richard “Dick” Lane


• 
  Richard Lane on IMDb


• 
  Richard Lane at the American Film Institute Catalog
  


• 
  Richard Lane at the TCM Movie Database
  


• 
  Richard Lane at AllMovie
  


• 
  Richard "Dick" Lane at Find a Grave
  

Authority control	BNE: XX1797204 ISNI: 0000 0003 7420 2329 SNAC: w6qd3qxd VIAF: 87595327 WorldCat Identities (via VIAF): 87595327

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