by G. Jack Urso
While an
overlooked aspect of Hot Hero Sandwich,
one of the show's little gems is Barbara Feldon’s voiceovers for the commercial
breaks. A trained actress at HB Studio in New York City, Feldon‘s early work modeling
and a popular commercial for Top Brass
hair pomade where she practically purred the sales pitch. Feldon then made her
mark in broadcasting history as Agent 99 in Get
Smart and appearances in Laugh-In and many of the top network shows of the
era. Snagging Feldon, along with America’s
Top 40’s Casey Kasem for the introductions, ensured not only instantly
recognizable and professional voice work, but also meant a higher
budget. Producers Bruce and Carole Hart could have had the actors do the voiceovers,
or opted for any number of available voice talent and paid scale, but the Harts
knew that quality is not measured in the big strokes, but in the attention to
details.
Feldon's Top Brass commercial from the 1960s.
After the first
couple episodes, Feldon settles in and begins to have fun, matching
her tone to the segments preceding the break, running the spectrum from happy
to sad to tearful to sexy. As a former radio announcer who has also done
narration and spoken word, and a public speaking instructor, I admire Feldon’s
voice work for her articulation, breath control, intonation, and emotive delivery.
They are worth studying for any budding voiceover artist.
The videos below from Hot Hero Sandwich Central contain each of the five breaks from the episode indicated.
Episode 1 Episode 2
Episode 3 Episode 4
Episode 5 Episode 6
Episode 7 Episode 8
Episode 9 Episode 10
Episode 11
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