It was sad to read that Jack Voorhies passed away yesterday at age 81. He was a legend with his radio commercials. I especially remember the Frederickson ads on the radio that he did.
What a great man! I was fortunate enough to be a part of the children's choir programs at 1st Methodist Church in Florence during the time that Jack and his former wife Dee were there. We grew up under the watchful musical guidance of Mr. Jack and Miss Dee and those are some of the most fond memories I have of childhood in the late 60s and early 70s. Farewell dear friend!
Those of us of a certain age who grew up in the Shoals will always remember Jack Voorhies from his WVNA work -- his morning show that included his many characters, especially Luther J. Applebee, that opened with "The Waltzing Cat" playing in the background; the Deshler High radiocasts, especially the basketball games when he sat courtside with his microphone and a satchel bag full of electronics (in those tube-driven days) for the remote broadcasts; the Sunday evenings with "Great Music of the Centuries," the only local broadcasts of classical music at the time.
I also remember his work in the local theater, especially as Horace Vandergelder in "Hello Dolly," among others.
Jack Voorhies was my very first crush when I was a young girl. I went to First United Methodist and loved to hear him sing. My parents took me to go see him in Fiddler on the Roof and I wrote him a fan letter. He came over to our house and brought me a gift for sending him that letter and I will never forget how special I felt. He was a wonderful man!
Mr. Voorhies was a personal fried of my dad's, and we listened to him on WVNA every morning before school.
I was shocked to hear that "Irving Loblolly" and the other characters on his show were really just Mr. Voorhies speaking in funny voices (I was about 8 ya know). After that, I just really got a hoot out of him.
Jack.. Syndicated some of those characters on the stations throughout the SE....He was on the Birmingham talk radio shows a lot in the 80's and 90's with Luther and other characters...His type of talent does not come along often...
I saw him the other night in a commercial. I had one of my ESP moments, I thought, just like I had with my Daddy, the thought went through my mind, He's so sweet and humorous, I don't believe he's gonna live much longer. I'm so sad about his death. He was really really good at what he did.
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