Press & broadcasting / Film & TV
Fred Foy
1921–2010 · radio and television announcer, narrator
Detroit-born announcer whose 'Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear' opening for The Lone Ranger (WXYZ, 1948–1954) became radio's most famous introduction.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Woburn, Massachusetts
aged 89- Birth name
- Frederick William Foy
- Detroit years
- 1921–1950s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Foy was born in Detroit and started in broadcasting right after high school in 1938 with a part-time job at WMBC, a small independent Detroit station. He moved to WXYZ in 1942, but the war intervened: as an Army sergeant in Cairo he was the American voice of Egyptian State Broadcasting and produced shows for Allied troops. Back at WXYZ after the war, he became announcer and narrator of The Lone Ranger on July 2, 1948, and kept the job until the last broadcast in 1954; once, in March 1954, he played the Ranger himself when Brace Beemer lost his voice. His galloping opening, from 'A fiery horse with the speed of light' to 'The Lone Ranger rides again!', is widely considered the best-known introduction in American radio, and he recorded it again for the TV series. He later spent decades at ABC in New York, including five years as announcer of The Dick Cavett Show, and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2000.
Highlights
- Began at Detroit's WMBC in 1938 and joined WXYZ in 1942
- Announcer and narrator of The Lone Ranger, July 2, 1948, to 1954
- Played the Lone Ranger once, on March 29, 1954
- Announcer of The Dick Cavett Show on ABC
- National Radio Hall of Fame, 2000
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1942, 1946–1950s
Maccabees Building (former WXYZ studios)
WXYZ's studios, where Foy announced and narrated The Lone Ranger.