Jerry Damon

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H. Jerome D'Amato (born August 24, 1927 ^[1]; died January 24, 1979), known professionally as Jerry Damon, was an American radio and television announcer and actor.

Damon was a staff announcer for NBC in New York from the mid-1950s until his death. He was part of a core group that, during his years with the network, also included such other noted voice-over artists as Bill Wendell, Don Pardo, Mel Brandt, Wayne Howell and Howard Reig. As such, his duties included handling network program introductions and closes, bumpers, promos, and teasers. He also handled such duties, as well as occasional sign-offs and Emergency Broadcast System tests, for the network's New York flagship station WNBC-TV and its radio sister stations (now WFAN and WQHT, respectively).

Damon's radio announcing credits include Monitor, the original version of X Minus One, and The Eternal Light. His most notable television credit was the 1964-65 American version of That Was the Week That Was, and other shows for which he announced included G.E. College Bowl, Haggis Baggis and The Jan Murray Show. He also was a spokesman for coverage of political conventions, and from 1975 to 1977, he was food editor for NBC's ill-fated News and Information Service radio network.

Outside of the announcing booth, Damon owned a dairy farm in Milford, New York. In addition, in the early 1960s, he was part of a group that made a bid to purchase Ellis Island.

Damon died at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan at age 51.