User:Teblick/Pierre Andre (announcer)

Pierre Andre (born Philip Litman; November 25, 1899 - July 21, 1962) was an announcer in the era of old-time radio.

Early years
Andrea was born Philip Litman, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Rae Litman, in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated from high school in Superior, Wisconsin. He next tried acting, which resulted in what he called "my first disastrous experience". The small stock theater company with which he performed ran out of money, leading him to enter law school at the University of Minnesota (UM). Andre won competitions in public speaking and dramatics while he was a student at UM.

Career
Drawn to reporting, Andre left Um after two years to be a journalist. He worked as a reporter in Cleveland, Minneapolis, and St. Paul and briefly operated a weekly newspaper in Minnesota's Messabe iron range.

Andre's initial performance on radio, at WEBC in Duluth, Minnesota, resulted from his being invited to speak over the microphone at a studio party. His obituary in the Chicago Tribune reported, "His performance was so good that he immediately was engaged as an announcer." In 1929, he went from WEBC to KSTP in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked for two years. He changed his name when he began working at KSTP. He was a continuity writer at KTSP in addition to announcing.

Andre began working at WGN in Chicago, Illinois, on August 4, 1930, and stayed there for the rest of his career, with much of his work also being broadcast nationally via network connections. He was one of the early announcers for soap operas when they began to become staples of daytime radio.

His obituary noted that he "introduced the first of the remote dance band broadcasts, the Midnight Flyers program from the Blackhawk resaurant." It also reported that he adapted to different types of programming as old-time radio formats disappeared, being replaced by talk shows and other genres.

Programs on which Andre was heard nationally as an announcer included Little Orphan Annie, The Couple Next Door, The Romance of Helen Trent, Arnold Grimm's Daughter, Betty and Bob, Backstage Wife, Carters of Elm Street, Easy Aces, Sky King, Captain Midnight, How's the Family? and The Romance of Helen Trent.

Death
Andre died of lympho-sarcoma July 21, 1962, in Evanston, Illinois. He was 62. He was survived by his wife, a son, a brother and a sister.