Del Sharbutt

The old days of radio had announcers who got worked into the actual programme. Harlow Wilcox, Ken Carpenter, Don Wilson, Harry Von Zell are among them. And there were others who were very solid but worked more along the traditional lines of handling the opening and closing and commercials.

Del Sharbutt falls in that category for the most part.

He was employed in the ‘40s by the Campbell Soup company. His job was to sell soup, not be part of the dialogue with the stars, though I have heard a summer replacement show where he hosted and sang. He took credit for coming up with the phrase “M-m-good!” that was worked into the Campbell’s jingle well into the television era.

When network radio collapsed, Sharbutt managed to get picked up by the Mutual network to read news. Mutual also hired Tony Marvin and Westbrook Van Voorhis, guys they never would have been able to afford when network radio was at its peak. Sharbutt retired to Palm Desert, California in 1976 but found another calling—working with various alcohol and drug recovery programmes. Alcohol was at the centre of the social life for radio’s announcers and Sharbutt, like many others, got caught in it, but managed to get out.

Here’s a feature story on Sharbutt from Radio Life magazine of December 2, 1945. At the time, Campbell’s had moved him from New York to Los Angeles to announce on Jack Carson’s show for Campbell on Wednesdays and Request Performance on Sunday nights.

Take It Easy
Says Del Sharbutt, Who Did! And Look What It Got Him—Head Mikeman for Top Shows
By Peggy Carter
Wednesday, 9 p.m., Sunday, 6 p.m.
CBS-KNX

WRITING THE STORY of tall, blond and good-looking Del Sharbutt is a pleasant task because it's the success story of boy makes good come true. Only "good" in this case is a mild understatement which covers a multitude of things.
As one of radio's most popular emcee-announcers, Del has hit his stride. His rich mellow voice, easy-going, friendly nature and his quick sense of timing have made him a "natural" for the job of head mike man. You hear him cavorting weekly with Jack Carson. On Sundays he can he found announcing the popular "Request Performance."
Often you hear his songs (although you may be unaware of it), "A Romantic Guy I," "Nickel Serenade," and others on your radio. He sings, plays the saxophone and piano. And someday (soon we hope) you'll see him as leading man in a musical comedy.
Versatile
Being able to do everything seems to be simple for Del. After leaving school, where he studied law, he joined a Texas radio station as staff singer, which, in turn, led to announcing. The time was ripe, young Sharbutt felt, to take a bigger step. And off he went to Chicago.
Chicago led to New York and in 1933, within a few months after his arrival, Del found himself emcee of the old Chevrolet program. In those days a studio audience was something of an innovation and frankly it scared.him to death.
It wasn't the prospect of the audience which was so terrifying as the thoughts of a warmup. “I had to wear a tux," he grinned as he reminisced with us, "because radio dressed at that time. The tux only added to my discomfort. I had no idea what to tell the folks but when the time came somebody gave me a push, I found myself in front of the audience and from there on it's a mental blank. I guess I got through it because no tomatoes flew in my direction, but it was the march of doom."
Likes Audience
With this initiation over, Del never feared an audience again, in fact he preferred (and still does) to work with one. But a new worry cropped up. He found that his working hours were very irregular. Sometimes his schedule called for a 6 a.m. broadcast, with his previous day's shift having ended only four hours prior. That wasn't much time for sleep and oh, how Del loved to sleep! His "out" lay in the fact that he was impossible to awaken.
With typical Sharbutt ingenuity he solved this crisis. He began collecting alarm clocks. At last count he had thirteen and wouldn't arise until the thirteenth had rung. "I wasn't late but it took me half the night to set the things."
The ensuing years found him on shows with every top name in New York radio. Yet during all of this time, music had not been forgotten. He acquired a Hammond organ and began taking "hints" from friend, Ethel Smith. Another pal, Lanny Ross, and he opened a music company, presenting the public with many of their own tunes, including "A Romantic Guy I." Del even spent some time training for opera, but decided he'd stick to lighter variations.
Today wife, singer Mary Bell, and he have built their lovely Beverly Hills home around music. The beloved organ is still there, myriads of records, and two lively youngsters who love to carol with mom and pop and bang on pop's piano.
Del's still writing tunes and when Lanny is a civilian again the music company will go back into business. He confesses he's a jitterbug at heart and at one time used to hold jam sessions in his apartment with contemporary jazz notables as stars.
He plays a mean game of golf and is quite a handy man about the house. California is an ideal spot for him because he likes its leisurely way of living. And he wishes he could wear sports clothes the rest of his life. His fondest memories include the days when he played straight man to a young comedian named Bob Hope. "We were terrific," grinned Del which brings up a point! Young Sharbutt has never become a comedian, which is just about the only credit he hasn't to his record. But don't be too sure about that!

Long after Jack Carson left the radio airwaves, Sharbutt was caught up in Watergate-like shenanigans during the Nixon White House. Variety reported on March 6, 1974:

Washington, March 5.—District Police and the FBI are investigating the discovery of an electronic eavesdropping device found Saturday (2) in the offices of the Mutual Broadcasting System here.
Police said an electrician found the bug implanted in the ceiling near the desk of Del Sharbutt, a national news correspondent.

M-m-Bad! If someone wanted to hear Sharbutt, they could just turn on the radio.

He was 90 when he died in 2002.

Listen to a snippet below of The Jack Carson Show as Sharbutt introduces the proceedings.