Bob Hite(1914-2000)

Born in Decatur, Indiana in 1914, Bob Hite Sr. began his broadcast career at WXYZ in Detroit. His family had moved there in his late teens, and while taking a course in broadcasting at the University of Michigan he also took a job as a Nabisco cookie salesman. After landing the job at WXYZ things moved swiftly for Bob as he became one of he better known narrators of The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, Yukon Challenge and The Shadow! Losing his first wife to polio in 1944, Hite, along with his 2-year old daughter, set off for New York City and WCBS Radio where his former colleague from WXYZ, Doug Edwards, had told him he should come. There Hite anchored the news and on May 8th, 1945, he was the first announcer to herald our Victory in Europe to the country. With the development of television held back until after the WWII, Bob Hite soon took the anchor desk doing the CBS Television local metropolitan news, among his other duties. The last ten years of his career at CBS he became the announcer for The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. During his 35-years at CBS before retirement, he also narrated many RKO Pathe Film Screenliners, Periscope Films and commercials. He and his pal from WXYZ, Doug Edwards, also narrated Stanley Kubrick's first two films he ever produced, "The Day of the Fight" and "The Flying Padre," narrated by Bob. As a matter of fact, it was while auditioning for one of his many narrations that he met his future wife, our mother, Nancy Boyle, who was a casting director at Compton Advertising - no surprise that a few of their offspring ended up in broadcasting. But as a CBS staff announcer our dad's beautiful baritone was always present on the station and was one of those special voices that helped to characterize CBS as the "Tiffany Network." He passed away in February of 2000 at the age of 86. To view an excellent 8.5-minute video bio of my father, type in "Bob Hite Eulogy and Last Ride," here on YouTube. Some of this piece aired on the CBS Sunday Morning program with Charles Osgood two days after dad's passing. The brief documentary was produced by my brother Bob Hite Jr., senior anchor at WFLA TV Channel 8, Tampa for 30-years, from 1977-2007. I'm his middle daughter, Cindy Hite, and, yes, I still do radio.