It is misleading to label film-actor Bill Goodwin as a "former radio announcer," since he never truly left announcing. Signed on the basis of his radio credentials to a Paramount movie contract in 1942, Goodwin seldom rose above "hero's best friend" roles, though he was allowed to play the nominal hero in the Universal scarefest House of Horrors (1946). The biggest movie success with which Goodwin was associated was The Jolson Story (1946), in which he played Al Jolson's (fictional) agent Tom Baron; he repeated the characterization in the 1949 sequel, Jolson Sings Again. Even while pursuing his film career, Goodwin remained a familiar radio presence. For many years, he was the announcer on The Burns and Allen Show, his fictional persona being that of a skirt-chasing bachelor. He remained with Burns and Allen during their first season on television, leaving the series in 1951 to host his own local New York TV program. Later, Goodwin emceed the 1955 summer-replacement quiz show Penny to a Million, and in 1956 he was the announcer for the first prime-time network cartoon series, Gerald McBoing Boing. Bill Goodwin died of a heart attack in 1958 at the age of 47.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Birdmen & Birdsongs, Vol. 1: A Tribute to Charlie Parker
Archival Appearance |
1998 | |||
|
Going Steady
Actor |
1958 | |||
|
The Big Beat
Actor |
1958 | |||
|
Bundle of Joy
Actor |
1956 | |||
|
The Opposite Sex
Actor |
1956 | |||
|
Lucky Me
Actor |
1954 | |||
|
The Atomic Kid
Actor |
1954 | |||
|
The First Time
Actor |
1952 | |||
|
Tea for Two
Actor |
1950 | |||
| 1950 | ||||
|
It's a Great Feeling
Actor |
1949 | |||
|
Jolson Sings Again
Actor |
1949 | |||
|
The Life of Riley
Actor |
1949 | |||
|
Mickey
Actor |
1948 | |||
|
So This Is New York
Actor |
1948 | |||
|
Heaven Only Knows
Actor |
1947 | |||
|
Hit Parade of 1947
Actor |
1947 | |||
|
Earl Carroll Sketchbook
Actor |
1946 | |||
|
House of Horrors
Actor |
1946 | |||
|
The Jolson Story
Actor |
1946 | |||
|
To Each His Own
Actor |
1946 | |||
|
Incendiary Blonde
Actor |
1945 | |||
|
River Gang
Actor |
1945 | |||
|
Spellbound
Actor |
1945 | |||
|
The Stork Club
Actor |
1945 | |||
|
Bathing Beauty
Actor |
1944 | |||
|
No Time for Love
Actor |
1943 | |||
|
Riding High
Actor |
1943 | |||
|
So Proudly We Hail!
Actor |
1943 | |||
|
Blondie Goes to College
Actor |
1942 | |||
| 1942 | ||||
|
Wake Island
Actor |
1942 | |||
|
Blondie in Society
Actor |
1941 | |||
|
Let's Make Music
Actor |
1940 |

