Lone Ranger Announcer Fred Foy Passes On

Fred Foy, best known as the announcer on The Lone Ranger, passed on December 22, 2010 at the age of 89.

Fred Foy was born on March 27, 1921 in Detroit, Michigan. Not long after graduating high school, he was hired by radio station WMBC. It was in 1942 he was hired by WXYZ, the radio station from which The Lone Ranger, Sgt Preston of the Yukon, and The Green Hornet aired. During World War II Fred Foy served in the United States Army as an announcer for Armed Forces Radio in Cairo, Egypt.

It was in 1948 he began announcing The Lone Ranger. He was certainly not the first announcer on the radio show (it had begun in 1933), but he would become the voice most identified with it. Beginning in 1949, he also announced the television version. He remained with both until they went off the air. He also announced The Green Hornet and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon. Mr. Foy would later serve as a narrator on documentaries, as well as an announcer on The Dick Cavett Show. The Generation Gap, and The $20,000 Pyramid.

Author Jim Harmon called Fred Foy as "the announcer, perhaps the greatest announcer-narrator in the history of radio drama." I doubt there would be many who would say Mr. Harmon was exaggerating. Mr. Foy had a stentorian voice that fit adventure series such as The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet perfectly. Indeed, it is because of his magnificent voice that he would become one of the most celebrated announcers among fans of Old Time Radio. He was truly one of the greats.