1674-21 Arthur Godfrey-- - -
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THU MAR 17 1983 ED: FINAL
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: 1A LENGTH: 1231 LONG
ILLUST: photo: *Arthur*Godfrey* (2) , with McGuire sisters
SOURCE: RICHARD WALLACE and MARY VOBORIL Herald staff writers �m�
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TV, RADIO PERSONALITY*ARTHUR*GODFREY*DIES
79-year-old entertainer and aviator
mad Miami a household word.
*Arthur*Godfrey*- the ukulele-strumming "Old Redhead"
whose breezy, irreverent manner and mischievous humor endeared
him to millions of listeners and viewers for decades -- died
Wednesday in New York. He was 79.
At the height of his popularity in the early 1950s ,*Godfrey*
� broadcast his national television variety show from Miami Beach ,
a promotional boost that helped make Miami -- with or without
,
Beach after it -- a household word.
A Miami Beach road is named for him.
*Godfrey,*entertainer , aviator , raconteur and phenomenally
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successful commercial pitchman , died of pneumonia and emphysema
after a 13-day stay at New York ' s Mount Sinai Hospital .
Over the years, he had suffered a succession of health
problems, including hip-implant surgery and lung cancer .
Upon learning of his death , President Reagan said , " In a
long career , he not only won national popularity, but triumphed CO
over illness and physical disability in a way that was an
inspiration to his fans. ''*Gcdfrey 's*death , thc President added ,
mar passing of an outstanding American. "
���.�,/�.��g for riamz Beach Mayor Horman Ciment , publicity '
consultant Andre Bialolenski said: "Although he was sometimes
controversial , his value to Miami Beach as a personality
entertaining from this area was incalculable. . . . He was a
friend to Miami Deach , a charitable, amiable man , a very
talented artist , and he shall certainly be missed. " 1
Longtime South Florida publicist Hank Meyer , who met*Godfrey* ,
in the late 1940s, recalled*Godfrey ' s*first Wednesday night
broadcast from Miami Beach:
"He went out in about a 35-foot boat. We had big , big
searchlights on the beach. He went out 100 yards, 75 yards,
dived in the water and swam to shore All the entertainers, the
.
McGuire sisters, the Tony Marvins, were sitting on the beach
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with a campfire. There were lights on them and on the food. He
swam to shore. He was afraid of being electrocuted by the
microphone.
"But he said , ' This is absolutely beautiful . Look at those
stars. Look at the moon over Miami . This is wonderful . '
"Everywhere else, it was cold and blizzardy and miserable,
and here was*Arthur*Gmdfrey*raving about Miami , . . . " Meyer said. �� �
w �
In 1954,*Godfrey*became a part owner of the old:Keni lworth* ���
Hotel in Bal Harbour. He already had helped make the hotel
famous by using it as base for many of his broadcasts.
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Recently , though , Meyer said , *Godfrey 's*contact with South
Florida was limited. "He didn 't have too many friends down
here. Most of them are no longer here, I 'm sorry to say, " Meyer |
said. "They have died. �
"He bought a house in Bal Harbour about two years ago, but ,
he was not there much . . . ���
, " In recent years, he was not in good shape. He would say, ��r
'Oh , God , if I could just breathe. ' He had only one lung and
a bad hip , " Meyer said.
During most of the 1950s ,*Godfrey*starred in two weekly
prime-time TV programs for CBS, as well as a daily radio show.
His personal trademarks were the omnipresent ukulele and the .
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ebullient greeting "Howa 'ya, howa 'ya. "
He also did well for other people ' s trademarks: The show
business publication Variety reported that*Godfrey*was
responsible for $150 million in advertising for CBS in
1959. Kidded his sponsors
His commercial success was an apparent contradiction.
*Godfrey*frequently kidded his sponsors; sometimes was sarcastic ,
occasionally scornful .
Once, he told his vast radio audience of how they could take
advantage of a sponsor 's special offer. "All you do is send in
the front half of the package and 50 cents, "*Godfrey*said. " If
you bought a knife like this in a store, it would cost you at
least 35 cents, " he added.
On another show, he received advertising copy for a
Washington department store about "filmy, clingy , alluring silk
underwear in devastating pink and black. "*Godfrey*got off some
satirical quips - and the store was swamped with buyers.
By the late '40s,*Godfrey*had arguably become the best known 4:1
personality in the history of U. S. radio. He transferred much
of that popularity to television.
*Godfrey*made a personal relationship with his audience a
part of his life.
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Always interested in flying ,*Godfrey*p1ugged aviation to the
extent that pioneer flyer Eddie Rickenbacker said the
entertainer had done more for the industry than anyone since
Charles Lindbergh'
( In June 1966, *Godfrey,*then 62, and three other pilots
-- including the late Dick Merrill of Miami -- took off from
New York 's La Guardia Airport and flew around the world in 87
hours in a twin-engine executive jet. )
*Godfrey*sharply reduced his broadcasting in 1959 after
removal of a cancerous lung. " It would have been easier if I 'd
known more about cancer , " he once said. "What I didn 't know was
that the fear is worse than the reality. "
In a tearful farewell to his daytime audience, *Godfrey*said
he didn 't want viewers to see him waste away. His successful
battle with the disease brought an avalanche of letters and
public support.
His career , however , was not all adulation. His public
firing of singer Julius LaRosa on live television raised an
outcry. ��
And when his shows ' ratings slipped in the late '50s, other '
firings of staffers and entertainers by the patriarch of a huge
TV "family" caused some disillusionment . The airport buzzing
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, ,
He also generated unfavorable headlines with his private
plane by "buzzing" the control tower at Teterboro, N. J. In 1954,
the Civil Aeronautics Board suspended his pilot 's license for
six months in the incident. CIIn 1948,*Godfrey*made his TV debut with "Talent Scouts. " He
followed that the next year with the long-running*"Arthur*
` *Godfrey*and His Friends. "
In March , 1981 , *Godfrey*brought some of his friends together
for a television special . Among them were Teresa Brewer , Frankie
Laine, Patti Page, Guy Mitchell , Rosemary Clooney and The Four
Lads.
He had , at that time, mixed emotions about tel
"Some of it is excellent , "*Godfrey*said. "M*A*S*H, for
instance, is terrific. Some of it stinketh. "Voice was his
fortune
*Godfrey 's*distinctive baritone voice was a key to his
fortune -- along with his offbeat outlook. He parlayed those
assets into a personal wealth in the millions.
Born Aug. 31 , 1903, in New York City,*Godfrey*was raised in
Hasbrouck Heights, N. J. He left home at 15 enlisting in the
Navy. He later joined the Coast Guard and , during service,
appeared as an amateur banjoist on a Baltimore radio station. He
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eventually got a job as an announcer , launching a storied
career.
In 1945,*Godfrey*gave the radio commentary on the funeral
procession for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. When he saw
Roosevelt 's vice president and successor ,*Godfrey*broke into
tears and cried out , "God bless President Truman. " ��
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*Godfrey*was married in 1938 to the former Mary Bourke. They
had three children , two sons, Richard and Mike, and a daughter ,
Pat.
This report was supplemented by Herald wire services.
ADDED TERMS: obituary*godfrey*
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