André Baruch

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André Baruch (August 20, 1908 - September 15, 1991) was a familiar voice as a film narrator and on radio as an announcer, news commentator, talk show host, disc jockey and sportscaster.

Although Baruch made his name as a major announcer, he tried to begin his career as a pianist for NBC Radio. He got into the wrong line of applicants; he had entered the announcers' line, and of course, he was hired on the spot. A native of France, he spoke fluent French, as well as perfect English.

A World War II veteran, Baruch was in the original invasion of North Africa, spent almost four years overseas and was honorably discharged as a major. Baruch was involved in the mid-1940s launching of the Armed Forces Radio Service with stations in Algiers, Casablanca, Constantine, Italy, Oran, Sicily and Tunis.

[edit] Mr. and Mrs. Music

After WWII, Baruch and his wife, singer Bea Wain worked as a husband-and-wife disc jockey team in New York on WMCA, where they were billed as Mr. and Mrs. Music. Their show was later presented on the ABC and NBC networks.

Baruch was an announcer for such programs as The American Album of Familiar Music, The Fred Waring Show, The Kate Smith Show, The Shadow, Your Hit Parade and The United States Steel Hour.

In 1973, Baruch and Wain moved to Palm Beach, Florida where they did a top-rated daily four-hour talk show on WPBR, 1340 AM. Baruch was the host of the show and ran the control board. Wain on occasions asked him to play tape cartridges of vintage songs she had once recorded, the most popular being "Deep Purple."

When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls

And the stars begin to twinkle in the sky—

In the mist of a memory you wander back to me

Breathing my name with a sigh...

After nine years in Palm Beach, Baruch and Wain relocated to Beverly Hills.

The couple had two children: Bonnie Baruch and her husband, Mark Barnes, operate a vineyard in Northern California and run the Daisy Foundation, an organization which recognizes nurses for their critical role in patient care and supports research towards the cure of auto-immune diseases. Wayne Baruch has a career in the music and theatre business, and his wife, Shelley Baruch, is a theatrical producer and filmmaker.