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This isn't exactly new, but it's an interesting factoid I'd never heard before. Most people remember the late Thurl Ravenscroft as the voice of "Tony the Tiger" they grew up with in those infamous Saturday morning TV commercials.
But after he passed, they appointed a new actor in his place. His name was Lee Marshall and it turns out he was once a jock at CKLW. He held the gig for a few years, before handing it over to another radio guy but became very protective of the cereal character.
"Years later, with his own fame assured as the voice of Tony the Tiger, Lee Marshall was protective of Tony’s image. Another iconic radio talent, “Shotgun” Tom Kelly, remembered that strangers would recognize Lee’s distinctive voice, and approach him to “do” Tony.
“He wouldn’t do it with children around,” recalled Kelly."
Marshall died nearly 10 years ago, at the too young age of 64. But Tony lives on. Was he good at his job as the voice of an advertising icon? According to all reports, he was "Gr-r-eat!"
An interesting bit of trivia with ties to the Big 8. Who knew?
Tony the Tiger’s voice isn’t so grrrreat lately
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There was a newsman at CKLW named Lee Marshall, but I don't recall a jock by that name.
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I suppose it's possible, but the article clearly indicates he was a Top 40 jock in Phoenix, among other places. It's possible he changed to news, but in my experience, that doesn't happen often.
We have a few former Big 8 jocks on board here who may be able to confirm one way or the other. Hopefully, they'll weigh in.
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We had a Lee Marshall as a member here for some years that was was known as the voice of CFTO. I if remember correctly, he moved to Northern Ontario and has since gone silent.
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Marshall Aaron Mayer (Lee Marshall) was a news guy
He worked in Montreal too
I'm sure others can confirm all that
Was a big mark for professional wrestling & spent many years as an announcer for the AWA
I thought it was "common knowledge" that he voiced Tony but guess not
Last edited by unclefester (January 15, 2024 4:01 pm)
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Thanks for the update. I thought I'd heard of most of the news people at CKLW, thanks to Mark Dailey. But I guess that was one he never mentioned. And no, I had no idea he'd taken over Tony's voice. Sounds like he was an interesting character.
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mic'em wrote:
We had a Lee Marshall as a member here for some years that was was known as the voice of CFTO. I if remember correctly, he moved to Northern Ontario and has since gone silent.
Your Lee Marshall retired in the fall of 2019 suffering from complications of COPD
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The Big 8 news team in the early '70s, including Lee Marshall.