Frank Barton, who is the dean of the NBC Burbank announcers staff, is a native Californian who became an announcer because of a gabby orchestra leader. Frank was a singer and trumpeter with a band in Denver when he got his first chance to announce on radio. The local radio station used to announce the orchestra's music, but threatened to quit doing so unless the orchestra leader, who talked too much, didn't let someone else do the announcing. That's when Barton's career started. He became a "pro" in 1936 when hired by NBC's station in San Francisco. He came to Hollywood in 1942 and he's been here ever since.
