Alec Templeton
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Alec Templeton (July 4, 1909 - March 28, 1963) was a pianist and satirist. Blind from birth, he studied at London's Royal Academy. In 1936, he moved from Wales to the United States, where he played with a number of orchestras and gave his first radio performances on The Rudy Vallee Show, The Chase and Sanborn Hour, Kraft Music Hall and The Magic Key,
His radio program, Alec Templeton Time, sponsored by Alka-Seltzer, was first broadcast from 1939 to 1941, returning in 1943 and 1946–47. It was sometimes known as The Alec Templeton Show. Guests included Kay Lorene and Pearl Bailey.
He memorized the scripts for his shows by having them read to him 20 times. From 3 June to 26 August 1955, It's Alec Templeton Time appeared on the DuMont Television Network.
Templeton's compositions include "Bach Goes To Town", "Mozart Matriculates" and "Scarlatti Stoops to Conga."
There is some confusion concerning Alex Templeton's year of birth. Most published and Internet biographies give his birth year as 1909, but his headstone shows 1910 as his year of birth. He died at age 52 or 53 and is interred at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich, Connecticut.
[edit] References
- Dunning, John. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-507678-8
