Norman Rose
Encyclopedia
Norman Rose was an actor, film narrator and radio announcer whose velvety baritone was often called "the Voice of God" by colleagues. He was best known as the voice of fictitious coffee grower Juan Valdez
in the Colombian coffee television commercials and the announcer-narrator of NBC's Dimension X
.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, Rose started acting while a student at George Washington University
in Washington, DC. Rose honed his craft at the Actors Studio
Drama School in New York, then landed parts in plays on and off-Broadway.
to work as a radio newscaster. After the war, Rose lent his distinctive voice to radio programs such as Dimension X
and CBS Radio Mystery Theater
. He narrated the short film Harold and the Purple Crayon
in 1959, and provided several of the voices on the 1963 CBS cartoon Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
.
In 1948, Rose co-founded New Stages, an off-Broadway repertory company, with producer David Heilweil. New Stages presented the American debut of Jean-Paul Sartre
's best-known play, The Respectful Prostitute
, prior to its Broadway run. Rose was an accomplished stage actor appearing in Broadway productions of Richard III and St. Joan and off-Broadway in The Brothers Karamazov
.
From 1969 to 1974, Rose stepped in front of the camera to portray the same character -- psychiatrist Dr. Marcus Polk -- on two ABC soap operas (One Life to Live
and All My Children
). He also appeared in the soap operas The Edge of Night
and Search for Tomorrow
.
" in Woody Allen’s
1975 comedy Love and Death
. Rose’s other film work includes Woody Allen's Radio Days
and the opening narration for director Kinji Fukasaku’s
Message From Space
(1978), narrating the English dub of the 1968 Soviet Union production of War and Peace
and as a newsreel announcer in Mike Nichols’
Biloxi Blues
(1988). On screen he was seen in The Violators (1957), Sidney Lumet’s The Anderson Tapes
(1971), Who Killed Mary What’s Her Name? (1971) and Martin Ritt's
The Front (1976) (also starring Woody Allen). He also narrated the 1989 film documentary, How Hitler Lost the War, produced by David Hoffman
.
Rose was also the offscreen narrator for the telecast of Mikhail Baryshnikov
's production of the ballet The Nutcracker
(1977), a production that has been repeated many times on television and is available on DVD. He narrated the satirical "Deteriorata
" for the National Lampoon album Radio Dinner. Rose recorded numerous books for the blind and narrated the 70th anniversary broadcast of the Academy Awards. He also was a drama instructor at the Juilliard School
.
Norman Rose died November 12, 2004 in Upper Nyack, New York.
Juan Valdez
Juan Valdez is a famous fictional character that has appeared in advertisements for the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia since 1959, representing the Colombian coffee farmer. The advertisements were designed by the Doyle Dane Bernbach ad agency, with the goal of distinguishing...
in the Colombian coffee television commercials and the announcer-narrator of NBC's Dimension X
Dimension X
Dimension X was an NBC radio program broadcast on an unsponsored, sustaining basis from April 8, 1950 to September 29, 1951. The first 13 episodes were broadcast live, and the remainder were pre-recorded...
.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Rose started acting while a student at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in Washington, DC. Rose honed his craft at the Actors Studio
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
Drama School in New York, then landed parts in plays on and off-Broadway.
Radio
During World War II, he was recruited by the United States Office of War InformationUnited States Office of War Information
The United States Office of War Information was a U.S. government agency created during World War II to consolidate government information services. It operated from June 1942 until September 1945...
to work as a radio newscaster. After the war, Rose lent his distinctive voice to radio programs such as Dimension X
Dimension X
Dimension X was an NBC radio program broadcast on an unsponsored, sustaining basis from April 8, 1950 to September 29, 1951. The first 13 episodes were broadcast live, and the remainder were pre-recorded...
and CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater was a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS affiliates from 1974 to 1982....
. He narrated the short film Harold and the Purple Crayon
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Harold and the Purple Crayon is a 1955 children's book by Crockett Johnson. Johnson's most popular book, it led to a series of books, and inspired many adaptations.-Plot:...
in 1959, and provided several of the voices on the 1963 CBS cartoon Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales is a popular, semi-educational animated cartoon TV series that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1966. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that produced the earlier King Leonardo and the later Underdog, and primarily sponsored by General Mills...
.
In 1948, Rose co-founded New Stages, an off-Broadway repertory company, with producer David Heilweil. New Stages presented the American debut of Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
's best-known play, The Respectful Prostitute
The Respectful Prostitute
The Respectful Prostitute is a French play by Jean-Paul Sartre, written in 1946, which observes a woman, a prostitute, caught up in a racially tense period of American history. The audience understands that there has been an incident on a train with said woman involved, but also a black man of...
, prior to its Broadway run. Rose was an accomplished stage actor appearing in Broadway productions of Richard III and St. Joan and off-Broadway in The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov is the final novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky spent nearly two years writing The Brothers Karamazov, which was published as a serial in The Russian Messenger and completed in November 1880...
.
From 1969 to 1974, Rose stepped in front of the camera to portray the same character -- psychiatrist Dr. Marcus Polk -- on two ABC soap operas (One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
and All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
). He also appeared in the soap operas The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
and Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
.
Films
Nicknamed “The Voice of God” by colleagues because of his deep, recognizable voice, Rose was cast as something akin, actually the voice of "DeathDeath (personification)
The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
" in Woody Allen’s
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
1975 comedy Love and Death
Love and Death
Love and Death is a 1975 comedy film by Woody Allen. Starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, Love and Death is a satirical take on Russian epic novels. Coming in between Sleeper and Annie Hall, Love and Death is in many respects an artistic transition between the two...
. Rose’s other film work includes Woody Allen's Radio Days
Radio Days
Radio Days is a 1987 comedy film directed by Woody Allen. The film looks back on an American family's life during the Golden Age of Radio using both music and memories to tell the story.-Plot:...
and the opening narration for director Kinji Fukasaku’s
Kinji Fukasaku
was a Japanese film actor, screenwriter, and best known as a celebrated and innovative filmmaker. He was born in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, and died in Tokyo, from prostate cancer...
Message From Space
Message from Space
is a film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Released in 1978, the film is seen by many critics as a Japanese mockbuster of Star Wars The film was produced by Toei and cost $6 million dollars, the most expensive movie made in Japan up to that date...
(1978), narrating the English dub of the 1968 Soviet Union production of War and Peace
War and Peace
War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
and as a newsreel announcer in Mike Nichols’
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
Biloxi Blues
Biloxi Blues
Biloxi Blues is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. The second chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy, it follows Brighton Beach Memoirs and precedes Broadway Bound....
(1988). On screen he was seen in The Violators (1957), Sidney Lumet’s The Anderson Tapes
The Anderson Tapes
The Anderson Tapes is a 1971 crime film. It was directed by Sidney Lumet and stars Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam, and comedian Alan King. The screenplay was written by Frank Pierson, based upon a best-selling 1970 novel of the same name by Lawrence Sanders...
(1971), Who Killed Mary What’s Her Name? (1971) and Martin Ritt's
Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt was an American director, actor, and playwright who worked in both film and theater. He was born in New York City.-Early career and influences:...
The Front (1976) (also starring Woody Allen). He also narrated the 1989 film documentary, How Hitler Lost the War, produced by David Hoffman
David Hoffman
David Hoffman is one of America’s veteran documentary filmmakers. During his 40-year career, Hoffman has made five feature-length documentaries including King, Murray, an experimental feature film about a Long Island salesman who goes to Las Vegas on a junket to gamble with other high rollers....
.
Rose was also the offscreen narrator for the telecast of Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
's production of the ballet The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
(1977), a production that has been repeated many times on television and is available on DVD. He narrated the satirical "Deteriorata
Deteriorata
Deteriorata is a famous parody of San Francisco radio and television personality Les Crane's spoken word recording of Desiderata. It was written by Tony Hendra. It was recorded by National Lampoon as part of their National Lampoon Radio Dinner album of 1972...
" for the National Lampoon album Radio Dinner. Rose recorded numerous books for the blind and narrated the 70th anniversary broadcast of the Academy Awards. He also was a drama instructor at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
.
Norman Rose died November 12, 2004 in Upper Nyack, New York.