Ray Heatherton(1909-1997)

Born In Orange, New Jersey in 1909. Ray Heatherton's family moved to Floral Park, Long Island, New York, where he made his debut as a vocalist with a jazz band that performed at local functions. He won a radio talent contest sponsored by Atwater Kent Inc. But, he made his professional debut with 'Paul Whiteman''s jazz band on Mr. Whiteman's "Old Gold Show" on The CBS Radio Network. From there, Heatherton performed at The New Amserdam Theater as part of Zigfeld's "Midnight Frollics". He eventually went on to perform in nightclubs, on several radio shows, in Broadway musicals and he cut two kids' records. One of them became the basis for The Merry Mailman (1950) TV show. After his stint in the US Marine Corps, he returned to the USA to host his first TV show: "Heatherton House!" - a weekday morning talk/variety show that aired on WJZ-TV Ch. 7 in New York City during the spring of 1949. But it was his next TV series that made him famous. In 1950, the station execs at WOR-TV invited him to audition for a new kids TV show. He won the audition and when he was asked "What type of character to you want to play on the show?", he decided to use his "Merry Mailman" character. The Merry Mailman (1950) debuted on WOR-TV Ch. 9 in NYC on Monday, October 16, l950. It was seen weekday evenings and afternoons on WOR-TV Ch. 9 in NYC until the show went off the air on Friday, March 22, 1956.