John Reed King

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Broadcaster | Radio Personality Born Oct. 25, 1914 in Wilmington, DE

From his teenage days broadcasting the big bands, John Reed King knew that his rich baritone voice and a radio microphone would be his life.

King was best known as the voice of radio’s "Sky King," "It's A Gift," "Chance of a Lifetime" and "Missus Goes A-Shopping" during the 1940s and 1950s.

King grew up in Atlantic City and worked in his family’s 120-room hotel there. He began his broadcasting career in the 1920s when, as manager of his high school dramatic club, he narrated a school play on now defunct WPG and then landed a summer job at the station. Soon he was broadcasting big band performances from the Steel Pier and Ambassador Hotel.

From 1933 to 1936, while attending Princeton University, King broadcast news for the CBS network in New York. During the same period, he was the voice of the Paramount newsreels.

During World War II, King worked in Europe with CBS newsmen Edward R. Murrow and Robert Trout. At the height of the hostilities, King narrated a weekly news show in French beamed into occupied France.

— Los Angeles Times July 11, 1979

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