Ferdinand A. Facey (October 19, 1930 – April 13, 2003) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and
televisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
announcerAn announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
.
Facey joined the announcing staff of
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1967, and remained with the network for the rest of his life. In time, he would join the likes of
Don PardoDominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
and
Howard ReigHoward Reig was an American radio and television announcer. His last name was pronounced "reeg."-Personal life:...
in holding lifetime contracts with the network. He was perhaps most notable as likely the highest-placed African-American in his profession during his active career. Prior to joining NBC, he had been a freelance announcer in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, the
Long IslandLong Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
area and New York City.
In his early years with NBC, Facey mainly did radio work, mostly with its New York
flagship stationIn broadcasting, a flagship is the broadcast which originates a television network, or a particular radio show or TV show, primarily in the United States and Canada. This includes both direct network feeds and broadcast syndication, but generally not backhauls...
WNBC (AM)WNBC was a radio station that operated in New York City from 1922 to 1988. For most of its history, it was the flagship station of the NBC Radio Network...
, and was heard occasionally on
live remoteIn broadcast engineering, a remote broadcast is broadcasting done from a location away from a formal television studio and is considered an electronic field production . A remote pickup unit is usually used to transmit the audio and/or video back to the television station, where it joins the...
s that were heard on the network's annual New Year's Eve radio broadcasts
http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p4.cgi?ArtistName=Quintet,+The+B.+B.+King&ArtistNumber=38668.
By the mid-1970s or so, Facey began working on the television side, first as a booth announcer on promotional spots and bumpers. Starting in 1979, he introduced
WNBC-TVWNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
's nightly
NewsCenter4. He would remain the announcer for the station's newscasts for much of its 1980-1995 run as
News 4 New YorkNews 4 New York is the brand identifier of WNBC-TV in New York City. It began using this for its news broadcasts in 1971 to 1972, again on October 13, 1980, and again in March 2008. Prior to this, WNBC used the NewsCenter 4 brand for their newscasts...
. In addition, he announced for
Live at FiveLive at Five was WNBC's 5 p.m. weekday newscast broadcasting from NBC Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Center. A mix of news, features and interviews, the Live at Five concept was first introduced in 1979 by WNBC News Director Ron Kershaw and Bob Davis. Their first anchors were Pia Lindstrom and Melba...
for its first two years on the air, before Don Pardo took over the duties for that show.
It was also in that period that Facey and Howard Reig became the main voices of
NBC NewsNBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
, following the retirement of another longtime staff announcer,
Bill HanrahanWilliam A. "Bill" Hanrahan , was an American radio and television announcer, perhaps best known as the "Voice of NBC News."...
. Over the next two decades, Facey's distinctive baritone voice would be heard on
The Today Show,
Meet the PressMeet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
,
The News with Brian WilliamsThe News with Brian Williams, first shown on July 15, 1996 , was the former flagship signature news broadcast on both MSNBC and CNBC. The show's host was Brian Williams...
and weekend editions of
NBC Nightly NewsNBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
, as well as the network's coverage of
political conventionIn politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...
s and
space shuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
launches and landings.
Besides his news work, his voice was also heard on
promoPromotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
s for such programs as
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
and
Last Call with Carson DalyLast Call with Carson Daly is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. The show is hosted by Carson Daly, the half-hour show featuring celebrity interviews, documentary-style coverage of a topic, and musical performances. Last Call airs weeknights at 1:35 a.m. Eastern / 12:35 a.m....
.
Facey died of
cancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in New York at age 72.
External links