Fenneman

TV announcer George Fenneman was born on this date in 1919 in Beijing, the only child of an American accountant and his missionary wife.

A clean-cut good sport with a rich broadcast voice and courtly manner, George Fenneman was plucked from radio obscurity to be Groucho Marx's announcer and comic foil on Marx's quiz show, You Bet Your Life, beginning on radio in 1947 and continuing on television from 1950 to 1961. Fenneman died on May 29, 1996 in Los Angeles.

"Groucho called him the male Margaret Dumont. George took it as the highest praise. Groucho called him the perfect straight man." -- F. Ferrante.