Larry Thor

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Larry Thor
Born Arnlelfur Lawrence Thorsteinson[1]
(1916-08-27)August 27, 1916 [2]
Lundar, Manitoba, Canada[3]
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Santa Monica, California, U.S.

Larry Thor (August 27, 1916 - March 15, 1976)[4] was a radio newscaster and announcer, an actor in film and radio, and a university professor. He "was noted for his distinctive voice ... his rich resonant tones."[5]

Early professional life

A native of Lundar, Manitoba, Canada, Thor was a soldier, a construction worker, a farmer, and a rancher before he went into broadcasting. His first experience in radio came in 1937[6]as an unpaid singer at CFAR in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada. He soon became the writer for CFAR, a job he held for three years. From there he went to CKGB in Timmins as an announcer. Later, he moved to CKCL in Toronto as a newscaster.[1] In 1946, he moved to the United States, joining the staff of KFAC in Los Angeles.[6] Following that, Thor worked at KMPC, in Hollywood, California, as a newscaster[7] and writer[8] In 1948, he left KMPC and went to KNX in Hollywood as an announcer.[9]

Radio drama

Thor's involvement with drama on radio began in Canada. In addition to his work as an announcer (noted above), he began his own company, Peak Radio Ltd., which produced radio dramas.[6] During Thor's time on American network radio, he was an announcer for Green Lama[10] Rocky Jordan,[11] and Suspense[12] He was perhaps best known for starring in Broadway Is My Beat, playing Detective Danny Clover.[11] He also was the announcer on the syndicated radio program, The Clyde Beatty Show.[10]

Recordings

In 1964, Thor recorded a 12-song album for children.[5] Galloping on My Dinosaur was released on the Harmony label.[13] Thor also wrote the music and lyrics for the songs in the album.[6]

Writing

Thor wrote his first script for an episode of Suspense. "The Man Who Cried Wolf" was broadcast February 9, 1953.[12] He went on to write scripts for episodes of This is our Heritage, Fantasy of Fact, The Record Collectors, and Hallmark Hall of Fame. He also wrote four books.[6]

Teaching

Thor began teaching in the screenwriting program at the University of California, Los Angeles, in January 1968, offering "a special course for the advanced writers."[6] He continued to teach there, enhancing his courses with "many professional actors, producers and writers who were brought into his class as guest lecturers" until he died in 1976.[6]

Family

While still in Canada, Thor married the former Leona Finnie of Winnipeg[1] when he was 21. They had four children.[5] In 1956, Thor married Jean Howell, an actress and writer.[6] She divorced him after four months.[14]

Filmography

Thor had roles in 26 feature films, as shown in the table below.[15]

Title Year Role
The Pride of St. Louis 1952 Announcer
The Mississippi Gambler 1953 Captain
The Kid from Left Field 1953 Example
The Roar of the Crowd 1953 Announcer
The Fast and the Furious 1955 Police sergeant
Five Guns West 1955 Confederate captain
Portland Expose 1957 Captain Vincent
Hell Bound 1957 Doctor
Zero Hour! 1957 Radio operator
The Amazing Colossal Man 1957 Dr. Eric Coulter
The Hunters 1958 Captain Owynby
The True Story of Lynn Stuart 1958 Police sergeant
Machine-Gun Kelly 1958 Drummond
A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed 1958 Detective
The Littlest Hobo 1958 Police captain
Tarawa Beachhead 1958 Colonel Kempler
Battle of the Coral Sea 1959 Army major
Gunmen from Laredo 1959 Captain Garrick
Holiday for Lovers 1959 Captain
Wake Me When It's Over 1960 TV broadcaster
Where the Boys Are 1960 Doctor
Spartacus 1960 Staff officer
Let's Make Love 1960 Wilson
Company of Killers 1970 Clarington
The Phantom Tollbooth 1970 Tock the Watchdog
Night Games 1974

References

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  2. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0861158/
  3. http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/221018/Larry-Thor
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  10. 10.0 10.1 Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. Pp. 139, 277.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. P. 120, 582.
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External links