{{Short description|American Radio and Television announcer}} '''Raymond Storrs Morgan''' (May 5, 1914 – January 5, 1975) was an American radio and television announcer.
==Early life== Morgan was born on May 5, 1914, in [[Trenton, New Jersey]], to Dr. and Mrs. Walter Morgan.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wneck |first1=Bernice |title=The Seven Sports |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1958-06-01/ed-1/seq-191/#date1=1777&sort=relevance&rows=20 |access-date=5 April 2021 |work=Evening Star |date=June 1, 1958}}</ref> He grew up in [[Oak Park, Illinois]], and graduated from [[Dartmouth College]] in 1935. On June 26, 1937, he married Ruie Rideout in [[Englewood, New Jersey]]. Morgan’s father officiated the services. Prior to going into radio, Morgan worked for [[McGraw Hill Education|McGraw Hill]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Social News And Features Of Interest To Bergen County Women |work=The Record |date=June 12, 1937}}</ref>
==Career== ===Radio=== Morgan began his radio career in 1939 at [[WPGG|WPG]] in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]]. He then worked at [[WWDJ|WCOP]] in Boston and [[WBSS (AM)|WBAB]] in Atlantic City before moving to WINX in Washington, D.C., in 1941.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cox |first1=Jim |title=Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s : a Biographical Dictionary |date=2007 |publisher=McFarland & Company}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A Weekly Report of Fates and Fortunes |work=Broadcasting |issue=21 |date=July 21, 1941}}</ref> During [[World War II]] he worked for the [[United States Office of War Information]].<ref name="NYTObituary" /> After the war he joined [[WWDC (FM)|WWDC]], where he hosted ''Open House'' a daily program that aired from 10-11 a.m. He left the show in 1947 to become the secondary announcer for the [[History of the Washington Senators (1901–1960)|Washington Senators]] alongside [[Arch McDonald]].<ref>{{cite news |title=A Weekly Report of Fates and Fortunes |work=Broadcasting |issue=32 |date=February 3, 1947}}</ref> Morgan continued to cover sports for WWDC until 1958.<ref name="Broadcasting" />
Nationally, Morgan appeared on ''[[Gang Busters]]'', ''[[Counterspy (radio series)|Counterspy]]'', ''[[When a Girl Marries]]'', and ''[[We the People (American TV series)|We the People]]''.<ref name="NYTObituary" /><ref name="Broadcasting Obituary" />
===Television=== From 1948 to 1949, Morgan was the announcer for ''[[The Roar of the Rails]]'', a [[CBS]] television program designed to sell [[American Flyer]] toy trains.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Irvin |first1=Richard |title=The Early Shows: A Reference Guide to Network and Syndicated PrimeTime Television Series from 1944 to 1949 |date=2018 |publisher=BearManor Media}}</ref> From 1948 to 1949 he also hosted ''I'd Like to See'', an [[NBC]] program where viewers would write in to suggest places or things for the show to feature. The format was later adapted by the [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont Network]]’s ''[[You Asked for It]]''. From 1951 to 1952 he hosted, ''[[American Inventory]]'', an NBC educational program produced in conjunction with the [[Alfred P. Sloan Foundation]] that featured panel discussions in an attempt to create a "living newspaper".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |author2=Earle F. Marsh |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present |date=2009 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group}}</ref>
Morgan also announced for ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show|Toast of the Town]]'', ''[[Studio One (American TV series)|Studio One]]'', ''[[Kraft Music Hall (TV series)|Kraft Music Hall]]'', ''[[Robert Montgomery Presents]]'', ''[[The Original Amateur Hour|The Ted Mack Amateur Hour]]'' and acted on ''[[The Magic Clown]]''.<ref name="NYTObituary" /><ref name="Broadcasting Obituary">{{cite news |title=Deaths |work=Broadcasting |date=1974}}</ref>
===Wrestling=== In 1958, Morgan became sports director of [[WTTG]] in Washington, D.C.<ref name="Broadcasting">{{cite news |title=A Weekly Report of Fates and Fortunes |work=Broadcasting |date=April 7, 1958|url=https://archive.org/stream/broadcastingtele54unse_0/broadcastingtele54unse_0_djvu.txt|accessdate=26 March 2021}}</ref> Soon thereafter he became the announcer for [[Capitol Wrestling Corporation]]'s (forerunner to the [[WWE]]) ''[[Heavyweight Wrestling|Heavyweight Wrestling From Washington]]''. In 1966, Morgan left WTTG when the wrestling program moved from WTTG to [[WDCA]]. In 1971, CWC promoter [[Vincent J. McMahon]] moved his television broadcasts from D.C. to [[Hamburg, Pennsylvania]]. The following year, Morgan requested a pay raise to compensate for having to travel to Pennsylvania. McMahon instead chose to replace Morgan with his son, [[Vince McMahon|Vince K. McMahon]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hornbaker |first1=Tim |title=Capitol Revolution: The Rise of the McMahon Wrestling Empire |date=2014 |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=9781770906891 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0MlBQAAQBAJ |access-date=27 March 2021}}</ref>
==Death== On January 5, 1975, Morgan died of cancer at [[Englewood Hospital and Medical Center|Englewood Hospital]] in Englewood, New Jersey. At the time of his death, Morgan was residing in [[Tenafly, New Jersey]]. He was survived by his wife and daughter.<ref name="NYTObituary">{{cite news |title=Ray Morgan, Announcer, Dead; On 'We the People', 'Studio One' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/07/archives/ray-morgan-announcer-dead-on-we-the-people-studio-one.html |access-date=27 March 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=January 7, 1975}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Ray}} [[Category:1914 births]] [[Category:1975 deaths]] [[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]] [[Category:Deaths from cancer in New Jersey]] [[Category:People from Oak Park, Illinois]] [[Category:Radio and television announcers]] [[Category:People from Tenafly, New Jersey]] [[Category:American professional wrestling announcers]] [[Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) announcers]] [[Category:20th-century American people]]