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A voice finally identified


Samantha

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Nothing has driven me crazy this decade like trying to identify that voice.

 

You know, the one who did 20+ years of KFVS opens, a similar body of work for KWWL, and other stations from Idaho to Iowa to North Carolina to...lots more Iowa.

 

"Really, given the volume of work he's done, it's amazing nothing has ever turned up on him, even so much as a name." –ChesapeakeTV

 

"This was the VO for WQAD for many years up to 1997. Does anyone know the name of him?" –now-inactive @FirstNews8 in 2009

 

"The nameless voiceover" –the title of an email I sent the NMSA in 2010

 

I tried looking and decided my last chance to figure this long-running mystery out was to email KFVS.

 

Years of searching ended in 23 minutes and vindicated my decision. This guy would never have turned up in any searches. So I feel extra special being able to give this man the credit he so deserved.

 

Jeff Ellingson (1948-2008) lived in Cedar Rapids and did work for three AFLAC stations at the same time (KWWL, KFVS and WAFF). This is what KFVS Marketing Director Paul Keener had to say about Jeff in the email I got back from the station:

 

Quote

The man’s name was Jeff Ellingson and he worked out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was also cutting audio for our then AFLAC sister station KWWL in Waterloo. We all laughed that he may have had the two most difficult station call letters to pronounce in newscast opens and station promos (KWWL and KFVS12).

 

Jeff was a fine gentleman, and a pleasure to work with. Back then we had to fax copy to him and he would over-night quarter-inch audio reels via FedEx.  How times have changed!

 

After we sold from AFLAC to Raycom, Jeff was taken out of our announcer pool, but I would hire him ala-cart on occasion because I really liked his voice.  Coincidentally, I tried to contact him several years ago but was told he passed away.

 

Ellingson's body of work, of course, was larger than just KWWL and KFVS. He should be credited with 68 different NMSA samples for 16 different stations when all is said and done. (Contemporaneously, he did a third AFLAC station, WAFF, and a fourth ex-AFLAC station after the insurer exited the television business, WITN.)

 

Even though Ellingson died February 5, 2008 at the age of 59, his voice lingered around for a time longer at some of his final client stations. At KIMT, which had just had a new open series done not long before Ellingson passed, it took at least into 2009 for a new voiceover to be brought in for the opens. WABG Greenwood, MS, was using his voice on the air as late as 2010.

 

I'm glad that, after all these years, we are able to finally put a name to the voice and give Ellingson the credit he so richly deserved for his voiceover career.

 

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I read your message too, and this reminds me of the time when I was looking for the person who did VO work for WLWT in Cincinnati (his home city) as well as WOKR in Rochester and KSBY in San Luis Obispo, and found his name in the credits on a WLWT special on Paul Dixon via YouTube.

Let me tell you how thankful I am for you sharing your heart about Jeff Ellingson who did one of the finest jobs voicing opens for newscasts in the United States for so many years. It is a reason why I love TV News Talk, because you never know what you are going to find.

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2 minutes ago, VHS2004 said:

This guy also did the voiceovers for WSEE in Erie during the 90s until his passing.

 

Yeah, I forgot about those! 73 samples for 18 stations (can't forget KHIZ) total. So glad I was able to do this for Jeff.

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On 3/26/2019 at 9:50 PM, KnoxvilleTVFan said:

I also want to mention that Jeff Ellingson did news opens for a Gray station in Lansing, Michigan. You can watch at 2:05 to hear his voice on the news intro.
 

 

And interestingly enough...the VO on the intro before it is the guy I mentioned in my previous post. What a coincidence.

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  • 9 months later...

Jeff Ellingson had quite a voice. Every time I heard his voice whenever I listened to the KFVS and WQAD news opens, I'd always think to myself "Who in the world is that guy?". I always felt like he had such a commanding and authoritative voice. No wonder he stuck around KFVS12 for so long.

 

I think Ellingson just didn't want to become famous for his work and that's why he always was the "nameless voiceover". Can't blame him for wanting a little privacy.

 

 

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