Once upon a time, there was a young fellow named Ernie Anderson who wanted to become a performer and go into show business.Only one problem: Ernie couldn’t memorize lines if his life depended on it.
So did Ernie see his inability to memorize lines as a fatal flaw in his aspirations – a total career derailer? Did he try to muscle his way through his weaknesses in a futile attempt to fix himself?
On the contrary. Instead, he drew on his intuitive understanding of the “playing to your strengths” concept by focusing on two performing contexts that didn’t depend on memorizing lines – improvisation and voice-over.
First, Ernie became a Cleveland icon as the hipster horror-movie host Ghoulardi, who ruled late-night television in Northeast Ohio from 1963 to 1966 and whose image and comic influence remain strong among generations of Clevelanders to this day. As Ghoulardi, Ernie took full advantage of the freewheeling make-it-up nature of local tv by improvising a stream-of-consciousness patter that poked fun at the very movies he hosted as well as anything he considered unhip – including local tv personalities and entire suburbs (“Paaar-ma!?”).
Ernie then moved on to L.A. and even greater personal success (though less visibility) as a voice-over legend, “The Voice of ABC TV,” whose rich tones and assured readings graced decades of program promos and commercials. If you grew up with television in the 70s and 80s, you may not know his name but you know his voice – as announcer for such shows as America’s Funniest Home Videos, Three’s Company, and most notably The Love Boat (or, in Ernie’s interpretation, “the Loooooove Boat”).
Ernie passed away in 1997 - but somehow I suspect he's keeping everyone entertained "ova dey."
(For more on the life and career of Ernie Anderson, I highly recommend the book Ghoulardi: Inside Cleveland TV's Wildest Ride, by Tom Feran.)
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