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DON BALL — CBS Announcer
TAON BALL was born in Block Island, R. I. — February 8, 1904 — and he early knew more about nets and fishing schooners than he knew about toys. Llis was a seafaring heritage and it might have been expected that he would follow the sea. When he was twelve Don’s parents moved to Providence where his father went into the hotel business. Graduating from high school young Ball entered Brown University from which he emerged with a Ph.B., the honor of having been leader of the musical clubs and a reputation as champion ukulele player. Don joined his father in the hotel business with headquarters at The Providence Biltmore, where he took such diverse roles as food-checker and assistant manager. A year later he was sent to Columbus, Ohio, as manager of a hotel in that city. One of the buildings under his managership housed radio station WCAH where Don made friends with the manager. One day he happened to be in the studio when an artist failed to appear in time for his program. The manager asked Don if he could fill in the 15-minute period with a real estate talk. But real estate was beginning at that time to show a depression and Ball felt the quarter hour could be filled more cheerfully. Spotting an idle ukulele Don tucked it under his arm and marched into the studio and to a new career. So numerous were enthusiastic phone calls and letters that Don was signed as a regular feature. His next step was from Columbus to Columbia. He arrived in New York with many letters of introduction to influential radio executives but believed that if he was capable he could land a job on his own. Coming first to WABC he was given an audition and assigned to the announcers’ staff. He is one of radio’s most season announcers. Don is blue-eyed and curly-haired. Near six feet in height he weighs 165 pounds. He is fond of swimming, boating and tennis. His memory is so notoriously poor that he has a series of multi-colored strings to tie around his finger, each color denoting a certain duty or appointment he is otherwise sure to forget.
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