Mark McGovern remembers…

Bill Kennedy
by Mark McGovern with Jim Nolt

Jim: I don’t recall when I first learned who provided the voice for the opening to the Adventures of Superman, but most likely I learned the name Willard Bill Kennedy from Gary Grossman in the addendum included in the pocket size edition of Superman: Serial to Cereal.

Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Yes, it’s Superman… strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman… who can change the course of mighty rivers… bend steel in his bare hands… and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.

Later, I learned that Kennedy also appears as the racetrack announcer in “Joey” (#66, 1955).

Mark McGovern learned about Bill Kennedy from the man himself, and then took it one step further. And now, The Adventures Continue is grateful to Mark for sharing these items with all of us.

Mark McGovern: I am a (nearly) lifelong resident of Toledo, Ohio. As I was growing up, before the Digital Age, much of our television came from Detroit. During my college years, if I wasn't in class or working the evening shift at UPS, I enjoyed Bill Kennedy's daily afternoon show. He'd host a movie and reminisce about the Hollywood in which he'd worked during the 1940s and 1950s. Mr. Kennedy mentioned on his show that he had done the opening narration for the Adventures of Superman, which is what inspired me to ask for an interview. I thought this material had gotten lost in a move until just a few weeks ago when I dug it out of an old filing cabinet. I know Mr. Kennedy will be happy that now his story is finally getting out!

Nowadays I'm a retiree with an awful plastic modeling addiction, which you can see from my website, mcgovernsmodels.com.

Included here are:
My interview notes,
A letter from Bill Kennedy,
A signed photo.