William Gibiral "Bill" Hay, in full Scots regalia, 1929. Hay announced
Correll and Gosden's broadcasts from their arrival at WGN in 1925 until
mid-1942, when a recurring heart ailment compelled his retirement from
daily broadcasting. Born in Dumfries, Scotland in 1887, Hay emigrated to
the United States as a young man, hoping for a career as a professional
singer. His journey eventually led him to Hastings, Nebraska -- where he
took a job as a piano salesman for the Gaston Music Company, gave voice
lessons, and conducted the choir for a local Methodist church. In November
1923, he took a job that would change the course of his life -- when the
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company opened radio station KFKX
on an upper floor of the Gaston Building. Hay became the station's chief
announcer -- and his rolling Scots "r's" soon captivated listeners. After
two years as the voice of KFKX, Hay relocated to Chicago and worked
briefly at station WOK as both an announcer and a bass singer. In October
1925, Hay joined the staff of WGN, where he remained until
he accompanied Correll and Gosden to WMAQ in 1928. In addition to his announcing
duties, and his work as WMAQ's General Sales Manager, Hay also presented
a Scots-dialect program of poetry, humorous readings, and philosophy under
the name of "Auld Sandy." Following his retirement from "Amos 'n' Andy"
in 1942, he could still be heard in a syndicated series of Bible readings,
entitled simply "Bill Hay Reads The Bible." Away from the microphone, Hay
was an avid lawn bowling enthusiast, eventually becoming the Honorary Life
President of the American Lawn Bowling Association -- and his final professional
announcing work proved to be his stint as the voice of the ALBA's annual
Buck Hill Open competition from 1960 to 1969. Hay's simple, conversational
announcing style never crossed the line into false familiarity -- he viewed
himself not as an entertainer but as the sponsor's voice, no more and no
less -- and presented the nightly sales messages for Pepsodent Toothpaste
and Pepsodent Antiseptic, and later Campbell's Soup, Campbell's Tomato
Juice, and Campbell's Pork and Beans, with plain-spoken, unadorned dignity.