Lou Steele
None
Louis J. (Lou) Steele
|
|
---|---|
Born |
Louis Ferraioli
( 1928-03-07 ) March 7, 1928
Brooklyn, New York
, U.S.
|
Died |
February 25, 2001
(2001-02-25)
(aged
72)
Paterson, New Jersey
, U.S.
|
Years active | 1952-1990 |
Louis J. "Lou" Steele [1] (March 7, 1928 – February 25, 2001) was an American actor , radio , and television announcer . [ citation needed ]
Career
Born Louis Ferraioli in 1928, he was an announcer on Armed Forces Radio during the Korean War , and was the voice who informed the troops that their commander, General Douglas MacArthur , had been recalled by President Harry S Truman . Beginning in the 1950s, Lou was an announcer on WNEW-TV Channel 5 out of New York City .
Prior to this, he was a staff announcer on radio station WPAT in Paterson, New Jersey . In the late 1980s, Steele was an anchor of a nightly newscast on a low-power television station in New York. [2]
Steele voiced the catch phrase , coined by his announcer-booth colleague Tom Gregory : "It's 10 P.M. Do you know where your children are?" In addition, in the early 1980s Steele voiced another brief public service announcement for the station, "It's 7 P.M. Did you hug your child today?"
While on at WNEW-TV Lou was also the host for the local horror show Creature Features (1969–1973). Known as "The Creep," Lou would appear without the normal make-up or costume typical of horror hosts of the day. He wore sunglasses and a tuxedo and appeared on a plain studio set with harsh lighting. At various times, Lou would conduct contests that involved coming up with trivia questions, made-up quotes spoofing notable horror film titles, or flashing parts of a title at select times throughout that night’s movie. Contest winners were announced on air. [ citation needed ]
Death
Steele died on February 25, 2001, in his home in Paterson, New Jersey , of a heart attack, aged 72.
Filmography
- Some of My Best Friends Are... (1971)
- The Pawn (1968)
- September Affair (1950)
- The Furies (1950)
References
- ↑ Security Death Index - based on this entry, by the time of his death he had legally changed his surname.
- ↑ James Barron (December 31, 1988). "About New York; An I.R.S. Form? No, W44AI Is No-Frills TV" . New York Times .
External links
- Lou Steele at IMDb
- Obituary in Variety , March 11, 2001
- The Creep
- Web page with audio of 1959 WNEW-TV sign-off by Lou Steele
- 1983 video clip of Lou Steele announcing, "Did you hug your child today?"