# Ben Gage

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**Benjamin Austin Gage** (October 29, 1914 – April 28, 1978) was an American radio singer and announcer, occasional off-screen film singer dubbing the voice of non-singing actors, and television actor active from 1937 to 1975. Born in [Chicago, Illinois](/source/Chicago,_Illinois), his first wife was [Esther Williams](/source/Esther_Williams).

## Early career

Gage joined [NBC](/source/NBC)'s Hollywood announcing staff in 1937.[1] Later that year, he became the announcer for the [Olsen and Johnson](/source/Olsen_and_Johnson) radio program.[2] On May 20, 1940, *Blue Network Varieties* was launched on the NBC Pacific Blue network. Gage was the singing announcer of the five-day-a-week half-hour program.[3] That same year, he and Mary Jane Barnes were "featured singers" on *Remember This Song?*, a weekly program also on NBC Pacific Blue.[4] In September 1941, he joined the *Bob Hope Show*, replacing [Bill Goodwin](/source/Bill_Goodwin) as announcer.[5]

During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Gage was a sergeant in the U.S. [Army Air Force](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Forces). He worked with the USAAF's band on *Soldiers With Wings* on [CBS](/source/CBS) radio.[6]

## Postwar and television

He served as announcer and vocalist for *Maxwell House Coffee Time*, a musical summer replacement program in 1946.[7] In 1947, he was a regular on [Meredith Willson](/source/Meredith_Willson)'s *Ford Showroom*,[8] serving as singer and announcer. He also played Dr. Crenshaw on *[The Joan Davis Show](/source/The_Joan_Davis_Show)*.[9] In 1948, he was the announcer for the *Danny Thomas Show*.[10]

Gage resembled [James Arness](/source/James_Arness) and could imitate his voice perfectly, and played *[Gunsmoke](/source/Gunsmoke)* spoofs in four episodes of the *[Maverick](/source/Maverick_(TV_series))* television series, which is the work for which he is best remembered, especially for a 1959 *Maverick* episode with [James Garner](/source/James_Garner) called "[Gun-Shy](/source/List_of_Maverick_episodes)" (with Gage as "Marshal Mort Dooley" instead of "[Marshal Matt Dillon](/source/Marshal_Matt_Dillon)") as well as "A Tale of Three Cities" with [Jack Kelly](/source/Jack_Kelly_(actor)), "The Misfortune Teller" with Garner, and "A Technical Error" with Kelly.

He also appeared on *[Batman](/source/Batman_(TV_series))*, *[Bonanza](/source/Bonanza)*, *[F Troop](/source/F_Troop)*, *[The Donna Reed Show](/source/The_Donna_Reed_Show)*, *[The Lucy Show](/source/The_Lucy_Show)*, and *[Star Trek](/source/Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)*.

## Personal life

Gage married swimmer/actress [Esther Williams](/source/Esther_Williams) on November 25, 1945.[11] They divorced April 8, 1958,[12] and they had three children: Benjamin, Kimball (1950-2008), and Susan. Gage and Williams made a personal appearance tour September 10 - October 13, 1954.[13] *For Sentimental Reasons*, the couple's album, was released by [MGM Records](/source/MGM_Records) in November 1954.[14]

Gage later married Anne Martin Arnold in Beverly Hills, CA, on April 6, 1969, and they remained together until Ben's death. The couple did not have any children. Ann Gage was born [Anne Martin](https://www.archives.com/1940-census/anne-martin-wa-40836178) on January 24, 1934, in Seattle, Washington, and died on March 24, 2021, in Yucaipa, California.

Ben Gage died on April 28, 1978; he was 63 years old.

## Partial filmography

- *[The Big Operator](/source/The_Big_Operator_(1959_film))* (1959)[15]

## See also

- [List of Maverick episodes](/source/List_of_Maverick_episodes)

## References

1. ["Chicago"](http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Radio-Daily-IDX/RD-37/RA-1937-Jun-OCR-Page-0129.pdf). *Radio Daily*. June 21, 1937. p. 17. Retrieved 10 August 2015.[dead link]

1. ["Los Angeles"](http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Radio-Daily-IDX/RD-37/RA-1937-Oct-OCR-Page-0143.pdf). *Radio Daily*. October 26, 1937. p. 7. Retrieved 10 August 2015.[dead link]

1. ["(untitled brief)"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/40-OCR/1940-06-01-BC-OCR-Page-0083.pdf). *Broadcasting*. June 1, 1940. p. 83. Retrieved 10 August 2015.

1. ["Behind the Mike"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/40-OCR/1940-03-01-BC-OCR-Page-0050.pdf). *Broadcasting*. March 1, 1940. p. 50. Retrieved 10 August 2015.

1. ["Bob Hope Show Returns To Air Tonight On KMJ"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2980961/the_fresno_bee_the_republican/). *The Fresno Bee*. September 23, 1941. p. 11. Retrieved August 9, 2015. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. Abbott, Sam (October 24, 1942). ["Radio Talent: Hollywood"](http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/40s/1942/Billboard%201942-10-24-OCR-Page-0006.pdf). *Billboard*. p. 6. Retrieved 9 August 2015.[dead link]

1. [""Coffee Time" A Musical for 13-Wk. Summer Period"](http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Radio-Daily-IDX/RD-46/Radio-Daily-1946-May-0158.pdf). *Radio Daily*. May 23, 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 10 August 2015.[dead link]

1. ["(advertisement)"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2981064/the_decatur_herald/). *Herald and Review*. June 18, 1947. p. 17. Retrieved August 9, 2015. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. ["'Ford Showroom' Set For Wednesday, 9.30 P.M.; Meredith Willson Stars"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2981222/harrisburg_telegraph/). *Harrisburg Telegraph*. June 14, 1947. p. 19. Retrieved August 9, 2015. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. ["Danny Thomas Show"](http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/40s/1948/Billboard%201948-01-10-OCR-Page-0010.pdf). *Billboard*. January 10, 1948. p. 10. Retrieved 9 August 2015.[dead link]

1. ["Esther Williams Weds Announcer Ben Gage"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2980755/freeport_journalstandard/). *Freeport Journal-Standard*. November 26, 1945. p. 1. Retrieved August 9, 2015. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. ["Esther Williams Given Divorce From Ben Gage"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2980829/the_recordargus/). *The Record-Argus*. April 9, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved August 9, 2015. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. ["Virus Pneumonia Lays Lewis Low"](http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/50s/1954/Billboard%201954-08-28-OCR-Page-0083.pdf). *Billboard*. August 28, 1954. p. 83. Retrieved 9 August 2015.[dead link]

1. ["M-G-M to Release 6 Albums Nov. 19"](http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/50s/1954/Billboard%201954-11-05-OCR-Page-0019.pdf). *Billboard*. November 6, 1954. p. 21. Retrieved 9 August 2015.[dead link]

1. ["(advertisement)"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2981013/the_mason_city_globegazette/). *Globe-Gazette*. November 30, 1959. p. 12. Retrieved August 9, 2015. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

## External links

- [Ben Gage](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0300794/) at IMDb

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ben Gage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Gage) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Gage?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.