Ed Prentiss

Paul Edward Prentiss[1] (September 9, 1908 – March 18, 1992) was an actor in the era of old-time radio.[2] He was perhaps best known for portraying the title role on the radio version of Captain Midnight.

Ed Prentiss
Ed Prentiss is pictured in his role of Ned in the radio soap opera The Guiding Light.
Born	Paul Edward Prentiss September 9, 1908 Chicago, Illinois
Died	March 18, 1992 (1992-03-19) (aged 83)
Alma mater	University of Iowa
Occupation	Actor
Spouse(s)	Ivah Davidson (1941-?)
Children	1 son

Early years

Prentiss was born in Chicago, Illinois.[2] He attended the University of Iowa.[3]

Radio

Radio historian Jim Harmon noted, in his book The Great Radio Heroes, "Ed Prentiss was not the first actor to play Captain Midnight, contrary to some published reports."[4] After Bill Bouchey had the role in the program's second season, Prentiss auditioned for the third season, got the part, and continued as Captain Midnight for seven years.[4]

On The Guiding Light soap opera, Prentiss played Ned (a "neglected youth") and was the program's "omniscient host."[5] Beginning in 1943, Prentiss was narrator for an hour-long block consisting of three soap operas: Today's Children, The Guiding Light and Woman in White. The three programs had interconnecting story lines, with Prentiss's narration "introducing each program segment and linking all three together."[6]

Prentiss's other roles on radio programs included those shown in the table below.

Program	Role
Armstrong of the SBI	Announcer[7]
The First Nighter Program	Host[7]^:118
Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy	Announcer[7]^:167
Johnny Lujack of Notre Dame	Lujack's sidekick[7]^:178
Silver Eagle	Narrator[7]^:304
Sweet River	Minister [7]^:324
A Tale of Today	Michael Denby[8]

Prentiss had his own syndicated program, This Is The Story. An ad for the 15-minute program described it as follows: "Ed Prentiss, America's greatest story teller ... offers true and unusual tales, each with a surprisingly different ending."[9]

He also was a regular on Arnold Grimm's Daughter,[10] Painted Dreams, Bud Barton,[11] The Romance of Helen Trent, Springtime and Harvest[12] and Holland Housewarming.[7]^:153

Film

Prentiss appeared in Westbound (1959)[13] and The FBI Story (1959).[14]

Television

Prentiss played Dr. Snyder on As the World Turns.[15] He was one of the hosts of Action Autographs,[16] was the host for Majority Rules.[16]^:643 and played Edward Elliott on Morning Star.[16]^:716 He also was the announcer for That's O'Toole.[17] He also played roles in various TV Westerns of the late 1950s-early '60s, often as a sheriff. He is easily recognized by his voice, as well as his physical appearance. In 1957 Prentiss appeared as Bob Gentry on the TV western Cheyenne in the episode titled "Top Hand."

Personal life

Prentiss married Ivah Davidson on November 21, 1941.[18] They had a son, born September 14, 1943.[19]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	Violent Road	Mr. Nelson
1958	Home Before Dark	Dr. Collins	Uncredited
1959	Westbound	James Fuller - U.S. Post Office	Uncredited
1959	The FBI Story	U.S. Marshal
1959	Beloved Infidel	Attendee at Preview	Uncredited
1960	Man on a String	Adrian Benson
1960	The Crowded Sky	Joseph Bruce aka J.B.	Uncredited
1960	Sunrise at Campobello	Barker	Uncredited
1961	A Fever in the Blood	Convention Chairman	Uncredited
1961	Ada	Clergyman at Legislative Meeting	Uncredited
1961	The Children's Hour	Head of Hospital	Uncredited
1961	Lover Come Back	Zachary, Ad Council Member	Uncredited
1961	The Outsider	Speaker	Uncredited
1963	A Gathering of Eagles	Duty Controller
1963	Wall of Noise	Paddock Steward	Uncredited
1964	One Man's Way	Mr. Boardman
1964	Kisses for My President	Max Kloch	Uncredited
1964	Quick, Before It Melts	Dentist in Antarctica	Uncredited
1967	Eight on the Lam	Minister	Uncredited
1968	Project X	Hicks
1971	The Barefoot Executive	Harry - Justice Dept. Man
1971	The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker	Mr. Franklin

Notes

Perry Mason, Series 7, Episode 12. "The case of the badgered brother". Credited as Voice on recording, at the reading of the will in Perry's office.

References

1. "Louis Johnson to Discuss Defense". Belvidere Daily Republican. Illinois, Belvidere. July 9, 1940. p. 13. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
2. DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2. P. 219.
3. "Studio Notes". The Evening News. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. April 15, 1940. p. 24. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Harmon, Jim (2001). The Great Radio Heroes, rev. ed (Revised ed.). McFarland. p. 183. ISBN 9780786483655. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
5. Loviglio, Jason (2005). Radio's Intimate Public: Network Broadcasting and Mass-mediated Democracy. U of Minnesota Press. p. 82. ISBN 9780816642342. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
6. Allen, Robert Clyde (1985). Speaking of Soap Operas. UNC Press Books. p. 162. ISBN 9780807841297. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
7. Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 27.
8. "What Do You Want to Know?". Radio Mirror. 10 (2): 69. June 1938. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
9. "(Snader Telescriptions Sales, Inc. ad)". Sponsor. 6 (5): 95. March 10, 1952. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
10. "What Do You Want to Know?". Radio Mirror. 10 (3): 54. July 1938. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
11. "Henry Aldrich on the Radio Tonight". Belvidere Daily Republican. Illinois, Belvidere. July 11, 1940. p. 5. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Ferris, Earle (December 9, 1939). "Right out of the Air". The Edinburg Daily Courier. Indiana, Edinburg. p. 3. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Pitts, Michael R. (2012). Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films, 2d ed (2nd ed.). McFarland. p. 390. ISBN 9780786463725. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
14. Mavis, Paul (2011). The Espionage Filmography: United States Releases, 1898 through 1999. McFarland. p. 100. ISBN 9780786449156. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
15. "As the World Turns". TV Radio Mirror. 47 (5): 44. April 1957. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
16. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 50.
17. "Television Reviews: That's O'Toole". Variety. March 16, 1949. p. 84. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
18. "Behind the Mike". Broadcasting. December 1, 1941. p. 36. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
19. "(untitled brief)". Broadcasting. September 27, 1943. p. 44.

External links

• Ed Prentiss on IMDb
• Ed Prentiss at Find a Grave