Ernie Anderson

admittedly had lifelong difficulty with memorization. He moved behind the microphone when Fred Silverman made Anderson the voice of the American Broadcasting Company. His voice was heard in the ABC bumpers during the 1970s and 1980s saying “This is… ABC!” Anderson’s voice is likely best remembered for introducing and promoting the ABC television series The Love Boat and for his newscast introductions for various ABC stations across the country: “Eyewitness News…starts…NOW!” (WEWS in Cleveland, the employer of Dorothy Fuldheim, would be one of these affiliates, utilizing Anderson’s voice throughout the 1980s.) Anderson was also the announcer of America’s Funniest Home Videos from 1989 to 1995, and did the voiceover for the previews of new episodes during the first three seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation until he was replaced by Don LaFontaine. In addition to his work for ABC, Anderson also did commercial work for Ford, RCA and other clients.

Anderson’s signature was putting emphasis on a particular word. Examples included his enunciation of “Love” when saying “The Love Boat”, and “The Man… The Machine… Street Hawk!” from the 1985 motorcycle action series. Anderson told the San Francisco Chronicle that his goal as an announcer was to “try to create a mood. I have to concentrate on each word, on each syllable. I have to bring something special to every sentence I say. If I don’t do that, they might as well just get some announcer out of the booth to read it. I want people to hear me talk about a show and then to say, ‘Hey, this is going to be great. I want to watch this.