Avram, Eugene – ‘Gene’

WXYZ: TV announcer.

Before becoming a booth announcer at WXYZ-TV, Gene sang with a group of men called The Grenadiers a quintet subset of men from the The Don Large Chorus.  Then a short gig with the Wayne King Hour on NBC in Chicago.

Gene also sang during some daytime music programs during the early days of television at WXYZ.  Because of his powerful voice, he easily moved into being one of the star announcers at the station.

Gene died from a heart attack at age 54 while still working at WXYZ as a TV announcer.

References:

• Detroit Memories
• University of Detroit Chorus Collection

• AFTRA Strike

  

• WXYZ Morning Show with Bob Hynes, 1967

  {“id”:2,”name”:”Single Video – Mason Weaver, Bob Hynes, Gene Avram”,”videos”:[{“title”:”Bob Hynes Morning Show”,”mp4″:”http:\/\/connertmedia.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/WXYZ_BobHynes_MasonWeaver_GeneAvram_1967.mp4″,”videoAdShow”:”videoAdShow”,”videoAdGotoLink”:”videoAdGotoLink”,”mp4AD”:”mp4AD”,”description”:”description”,”info”:”info”,”thumbImg”:”thumbImg”,”popupImg”:”popupImg”,”popupAdShow”:”popupAdShow”,”popupAdStartTime”:”popupAdStartTime”,”popupAdEndTime”:”popupAdEndTime”,”popupAdGoToLink”:”popupAdGoToLink”,”textAdShow”:”textAdShow”,”textAd”:”textAd”,”textAdStartTime”:”textAdStartTime”,”textAdEndTime”:”textAdEndTime”,”textAdGoToLink”:”textAdGoToLink”}],”videoPlayerWidth”:500,”videoPlayerHeight”:420,”responsive”:true,”allowSkip”:false,”videoPlayerShadow”:”Effect1″,”playlist”:”Off”,”skinPlaylist”:”Default”,”skinPlayer”:”Default”,”youtubeSkin”:”dark”,”youtubeColor”:”red”,”vimeoColor”:”00adef”,”youtubeShowRelatedVideos”:”Yes”,”onFinish”:”Stop video”,”autoplay”:false,”loadRandomVideoOnStart”:false,”playVideosRandomly”:false,”posterImg”:””,”rightClickMenu”:true,”autohideControls”:4,”fullscreen”:”Fullscreen native”,”nowPlayingText”:”No”,”shareShow”:”Yes”,”facebookLink”:””,”twitterLink”:”http:\/\/twitter.com\/connertmedia”,”googleplusLink”:””,”logoShow”:”Yes”,”logoPath”:””,”logoPosition”:”bottom-right”,”logoClickable”:”Yes”,”logoGoToLink”:””,”embedShow”:”No”,”embedCodeSrc”:””,”embedCodeW”:500,”embedCodeH”:500,”videoType”:”HTML5″,”submit”:”Save Changes”,”rootFolder”:”https:\/\/broadcastingvault.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/ultimate-video-player\/”}

  Bob Hynes, Mason Weaver and Gene Avram

Recommended Reading

Detroit Television (Images of America) – Tim Kiska and Ed Golick

It began atop the Penobscot Building on October 23, 1946, when WWDT shot a signal to the convention center, part of a “”New Postwar Products Exposition.”” WWJ-TV offered scheduled programming in June 1947, and WXYZ-TV and WJBK-TV jumped in a year later. The medium has influenced the city’s personality and social agenda ever since. Soupy Sales turned getting a pie in the face into an art form. Mort Neff celebrated the state’s outdoor charms. George Pierrot showed Detroiters the world. Other beloved personalities include: Milky the Clown, Ed McKenzie, Sonny Eliot, John Kelly, Marilyn Turner, Robin Seymour, Bill Bonds, Dick Westerkamp, Jingles, Bill Kennedy, Lou Gordon, Captain Jolly, Johnny Ginger, Auntie Dee, and many more.