View source for Jerry Damon

{{short description|American staff announcer and actor (1927–1979)}}
'''Horace Jerome D'Amato''' (August 24, 1927<ref>[http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?letter=y&lastname=DAMATO&firstname=JEROME&ssn=150-20-4663&birth=24+Aug+1927&death=Jan+1979&middlename=&namesiffix= Social Security Death Index entry] (name entered as Jerome Damato)</ref> – January 24, 1979), known professionally as '''Jerry Damon''', was an American [[radio]] and [[television]] [[announcer]] and [[actor]].
==Biography==
Damon was a staff announcer for [[NBC]] in [[New York City|New York]] from 1954<ref name="death">[http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201979/BC%201979%2002%2005.pdf  Fates & Fortunes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309113705/http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201979/BC%201979%2002%2005.pdf |date=2012-03-09 }} (PDF file). ''[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]'', February 5, 1979, p. 85. Retrieved 2010-06-04.</ref> until his death.  He was part of a core group that, during his years with the network, also included [[voice-over]] artists [[Bill Wendell]], [[Don Pardo]], [[Mel Brandt]], [[Wayne Howell]], [[Vic Roby]] and [[Howard Reig]].  He handled network program introductions and closes, [[Commercial bumper|bumper]]s, [[Promotion (marketing)|promo]]s, and [[Cold open|teaser]]s.  He also handled occasional [[sign-off]]s and [[Tagline|live tag]]s, for the network's New York flagship station [[WNBC|WNBC-TV]] and its radio sister stations ([[WNBC (AM)]], which became [[WFAN (AM)|WFAN]] and WNBC-FM/WNWS/WYNY, later [[WQHT]]).
Damon's radio announcing credits include ''[[Monitor (NBC Radio)|Monitor]]'', the original version of ''[[X Minus One]]'', and ''The Eternal Light''.  His main television credits were the 1964-65 American version of ''[[That Was The Week That Was#Alternative versions|That Was the Week That Was]]'', plus other shows for which he announced, ''[[General Electric|G.E.]] [[College Bowl]]'', ''[[Haggis Baggis]]'' and ''[[Jan Murray|The Jan Murray Show]]''.  He also was a [[spokesman]] for coverage of [[political convention]]s, and from 1975 to 1977, he was [[Food critic|food editor]] for NBC's ill-fated News and Information Service radio network.
Outside of the announcing booth, Damon owned a [[Dairy farming|dairy farm]] in [[Milford (village), New York|Milford, New York]].  In addition, in the early 1960s, he was part of a group that made a bid to purchase [[Ellis Island]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/11/archives/2100000-bid-for-ellis-island-as-site-of-wright-dream-city.html "$2,100,000 Bid for Ellis Island As Site of Wright 'Dream City' "], by Milton Bracker. ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 11, 1962. Retrieved 2010-06-06.</ref>
Damon died of [[cancer]] at [[Newark Beth Israel Medical Center|Beth Israel Medical Center]] in [[Newark, New Jersey]] at age 51.<ref name="death" />
==References==
*Obituary in [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]], February 7, 1979.
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==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=2938775|name=Jerry Damon}}
*[http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p4.cgi?ArtistName=Damon,+Jerry&ArtistNumber=20738  Jerry Damon radio credits] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715145710/http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p4.cgi?ArtistName=Damon,+Jerry&ArtistNumber=20738 |date=2011-07-15 }}
*[http://www.tv-signoffs.com/1950s_signoffs.htm  Web page with audio clip of 1958 WRCA-TV (now WNBC) sign-off by Jerry Damon]
*[http://www.goldenage-wtic.org/jean_Colbert.mp3  1960 interview with Jerry Damon from ''The Jean Colbert Program'' on WTIC (Hartford)]  (.mp3)
*{{YouTube|OKflH0TC8sw|Video clip of 1965 opening of ''Karen'' episode with sponsor bumper announced by Jerry Damon}}
*[http://www.gameshowfame.com/people/damon_jerry.htm  Hall of Game Show Fame entry on Jerry Damon]
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[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in New Jersey]]
[[Category:American radio personalities]]
[[Category:American television personalities]]
[[Category:American male voice actors]]
[[Category:Radio and television announcers]]
[[Category:NBC network announcers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:People from Milford, New York]]