Happy Birthday, Berry Kroeger

Actor Berry Kroeger, possessing one of the most distinctive and instantly recognizable voices of the radio era, was born October 16, 1912. Kroeger appeared on the big and small screens and the stage, but he got his start on radio. He announced for and appeared in supporting roles on Suspense and he played dastardly villains on The Shadow. This writer will forever associate Kroeger with a particularly chilling Shadow episode called "The Face." Kroeger played a handsome actor whose features were horribly and irreparably damaged in a plane crash. He began taking revenge on anyone who recoiled in horror upon seeing his new face, strangling and beating them beyond recognition. Kroeger could also be heard on Escape, Dimension X, and Murder at Midnight. He was one of the first voices of "the Man in Black" on Suspense, and he also made a number of memorable appearances in the series itself. One of my favorites finds Kroeger starring opposite Lucille Ball in "A Little Piece of Rope." Lucy plays a woman who uses her looks to lure men into robberies, but she discovers her latest mark (Kroeger) is a serial killer wanted by the police. She tries to set a new trap while Kroeger hunts for the one woman who can identify him.