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Melville Brandt (June 18, 1919 – March 14, 2008) was an actor and NBC staff announcer.
After returning from the war, Brandt worked as a freelance announcer for each of the major networks at the time. In September of 1945 Brandt auditioned for NBC radio’s Welcome Home, a program started in 1944 as a way to help World War II veterans obtain work in radio. First "Welcome Home Auditions" Year Reveals Impressive Record of Career Aid to Veterans, NBC Transmitter, November 1945, page 2 Encouraged by his "A plus" audition rating he auditioned for numerous radio series, and was hired to work in a commercial on a daytime radio serial on another network.
He was one of the stars of the first television soap opera, Faraway Hill, broadcast in 1946 on the DuMont Television Network.Richard Irvin, The Early Shows: A Reference Guide to Network and Syndicated Prime Time Television Series from 1944 to 1949, Chapter 8, Bear Manor Media, 2018 He announced the opening of the television soap opera, The Doctors. Extensions of Remarks, The Congressional Record, January 14, 1969, page 665, U.S. Government Printing His introduction was "The Doctors: The Emmy Award winning program, dedicated to the brotherhood of healing."
Brandt was the series announcer for other NBC-TV programs including The Bell Telephone Hour from 1959 through 1968,Hyatt, Wesley, Emmy Award Winning Nighttime Television Shows, 1948-2004, page 179, McFarland, Inc, 2015 and GE College Bowl on NBC from 1963–70, in which his introduction was "Match wits with the champions in America's favorite question and answer game, live from New York, the General Electric College Bowl,", and after a brief plug for General Electric would introduce "the man with the questions, Robert Earle."
From 1962 to 1975 Brandt was the NBC announcer who stated "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC"Irvin, Richard, The Early Shows: A Reference Guide to Network and Syndicated Prime Time Television Series from 1944 to 1949 (ebook version), Chapter 8, Bear Manor Media, 2018 when the second animated version of the NBC Peacock played at the start of certain shows.
Brandt replaced Don Pardo as the announcer on Saturday Night Live during the 1981-82 season – except for two episodes from that season in which Brandt was replaced by Bill Hanrahan, better known then as the voice of NBC Nightly News.
For many years, Brandt lived in Montclair, New Jersey. He had a wife, Doris, and three children. He later moved to Florida, and is buried at the Florida National Cemetery.
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