George Eisenhauer(1926-2007)
- Actor
Born to George E. and Jean Cooper Eisenhauer in Armbrust, Westmoreland Country, he grew up singing while his mother played piano to make money during the Depression. When at age five he played a wooden soldier in a show at Syria Mosque, he knew he was meant to be a performer.
As a student at Oliver High School, Mr. Eisenhauer signed on for a 15-minute show at WWSW called "Evening Melodies" and worked a replacement stint at KDKA for a vacationing vocalist.
After high school, he served in the Navy on the battleship USS Massachusetts in the Pacific theater.
Following the war, he attended Carnegie Tech to study dramatics and music, and after two years, he decided to continue his studies at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. He completed the course in Acting Technique from the Playhouse School of the Theater in 1949.
In that same year, he received a call from the station manager at WDTV, the DuMont television station that was sold a few years later to Westinghouse and changed to KDKA. When the manager offered him a position as an announcer, Mr. Eisenhauer told him he had no experience announcing, but the manager liked his voice.
By the next day he was speaking as the first staff announcer hired in Pittsburgh television.
In those first few years, he wore many hats at the television station, and did everything from announcing and singing to acting and publicity.
"I was just starting my career so I knew it was important to learn all I could," Mr. Eisenhauer said in a 1978 article in The Advertiser.
In 1954, the year before WDTV changed to KDKA, Mr. Eisenhauer was promoted to staff announcer and later, to senior announcer. At that time, every element of the broadcast was live, and Mr. Eisenhauer voiced the station breaks every 15 and 30 minutes and on the hour.
He also spoke commercial announcements, such as Kaufmann's, Giant Eagle and the Pittsburgh Symphony, and he narrated the nationally syndicated "MGM Family Theater."
Mr. Eisenhauer appeared on camera when he hosted the Friday night show, "The 13th Hour," which featured horror movies, and "Not Just Sunday," a talk show for which he interviewed religious personalities who were visiting Pittsburgh. Among the guests on the latter show were Coretta Scott King and Billy Graham.
A seasoned actor, Mr. Eisenhauer performed in numerous community productions at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, the White Barn, and the Odd Chair Playhouse.
In addition to his rich speaking voice, Mr. Eisenhauer had a talented baritone singing voice, and he sang on his KDKA show, "Music for Meditation," on the annual Children's Hospital holiday program, and in the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Choir.
Mr. Eisenhauer's singing prowess won him a spot in the finals on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scout Show, but he only tried out on a whim and refused to go to New York for the finals.
Mr. Eisenhauer retired in 1987 to spend more time with his 11-month-old son.
As a student at Oliver High School, Mr. Eisenhauer signed on for a 15-minute show at WWSW called "Evening Melodies" and worked a replacement stint at KDKA for a vacationing vocalist.
After high school, he served in the Navy on the battleship USS Massachusetts in the Pacific theater.
Following the war, he attended Carnegie Tech to study dramatics and music, and after two years, he decided to continue his studies at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. He completed the course in Acting Technique from the Playhouse School of the Theater in 1949.
In that same year, he received a call from the station manager at WDTV, the DuMont television station that was sold a few years later to Westinghouse and changed to KDKA. When the manager offered him a position as an announcer, Mr. Eisenhauer told him he had no experience announcing, but the manager liked his voice.
By the next day he was speaking as the first staff announcer hired in Pittsburgh television.
In those first few years, he wore many hats at the television station, and did everything from announcing and singing to acting and publicity.
"I was just starting my career so I knew it was important to learn all I could," Mr. Eisenhauer said in a 1978 article in The Advertiser.
In 1954, the year before WDTV changed to KDKA, Mr. Eisenhauer was promoted to staff announcer and later, to senior announcer. At that time, every element of the broadcast was live, and Mr. Eisenhauer voiced the station breaks every 15 and 30 minutes and on the hour.
He also spoke commercial announcements, such as Kaufmann's, Giant Eagle and the Pittsburgh Symphony, and he narrated the nationally syndicated "MGM Family Theater."
Mr. Eisenhauer appeared on camera when he hosted the Friday night show, "The 13th Hour," which featured horror movies, and "Not Just Sunday," a talk show for which he interviewed religious personalities who were visiting Pittsburgh. Among the guests on the latter show were Coretta Scott King and Billy Graham.
A seasoned actor, Mr. Eisenhauer performed in numerous community productions at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, the White Barn, and the Odd Chair Playhouse.
In addition to his rich speaking voice, Mr. Eisenhauer had a talented baritone singing voice, and he sang on his KDKA show, "Music for Meditation," on the annual Children's Hospital holiday program, and in the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Choir.
Mr. Eisenhauer's singing prowess won him a spot in the finals on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scout Show, but he only tried out on a whim and refused to go to New York for the finals.
Mr. Eisenhauer retired in 1987 to spend more time with his 11-month-old son.