Alan Kalter
Encyclopedia : A : AL : ALA : Alan Kalter
Alan Kalter, or "Big Red," began his stint as the "voice" of The Late Show with David Letterman on September 5, 1995. He announces the guests at the top of each show and acts in occasional comedic sketches often while wearing an Elvis-style sequined jumpsuit or almost nothing at all.
Kalter has done hundreds of voiceovers for national radio and television commercials, and was also the lead continuity voice for the USA Network throughout much of the 1980s (his voice can still be heard on USA when the disclaimer before infomercials is read). Previously, he was the announcer for many New York-based television shows including To Tell the Truth, The $10,000 Pyramid, The Money Maze, and The $128,000 Question. Of note: all of those series (except The Money Maze) were taped at some point in the Ed Sullivan Theater, where The Late Show is now produced. A further coincidence: Kalter replaced the same man, Bill Wendell, as announcer on both Truth and Letterman.
Kalter is a native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn and raised in Little Neck and Cedarhurst. He was an English teacher at Baldwin High School on Long Island in the late 1960s, and was also the voice of the Michelin Man. He attended Hobart College in Geneva, New York and began his broadcasting career on local radio stations.
On The Late Show with David Letterman, Kalter often performs in comedy bits where he is portrayed alternatively as a sexual deviant or as a powerless sap who is often beat-up to within inches of his life. Usually in these skits, Letterman will set up a premise based on a current event and ask Kalter about it. Kalter then begins a monologue where he speaks directly to the camera in a sexually provocative manner. Letterman then interrupts Kalter and chides him for behaving inappropriately. Kalter then says the punch-line of the bit by making a provocative quip to Letterman.
Kalter resides in Stamford, Connecticut. He was a lifelong bachelor before finally getting married in 2003.
Lately, Alan has been referring to himself as "TV's Uncle Jerry", much to Letterman's delight at first, but recently, Letterman has regarded the moniker with faux-irritation, which appears to be part of the joke.
Filmography
- Ed 2000
- Get Well Soon 2001 as Announcer
- $128,000 Question 1976 TV Series (uncredited) as Announcer
- The Money maze 1974 TV Series as Announcer
External links
- [Alan Kalter at IMDB]
- [Official Late Show biography]
- [A San Francisco Chronicle article about Alan Kalter]
See also
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.