Bill Mazer

Bill Mazer (born 1920 in Kiev during the Russian Civil War) is an American TV/radio personality.

Background

Mazer's family left Kiev, emigrating before his first birthday. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He received a BA at University of Michigan before being drafted. During World War II, he served the majority of his time in the Armed Forces-Air Force Transport Command in the Pacific theatre.

After returning home, he married Dora Sudarsky ("Dutch"), his pre-war sweetheart. They had three children. Their marriage lasted 50 years, ending with her untimely death from cancer in 1996. Bill Mazer has never remarried.

Career

Mazer's broadcasting career began in 1947, when he was the commercial announcer on the CBS William L. Shirer Newscast, as well as the commercial announcer for the soap opera, "When a Girl Marries". His career as a sportscaster began in Buffalo, New York in 1948, where he was sports director for WGR radio and WGR-TV for much of his time there, through the early 1960s.

With years of play-by-play and sports commentary in Buffalo under his belt, Mazer arrived in New York City in 1964 when WNBC (AM) went to its first all-talk format. His show was the first sports talk show in America. After filling in for Hugh Downs on the NBC game show Concentration, he was given his own show, "Reach for the Stars", in January 1967, but the show was quickly cancelled. Mazer served as a color analyst and intermission host, working alongside Dan Kelly on CBS' National Hockey League coverage from the late sixties until the early seventies, broadcasting the Stanley Cup Playoffs a few times. Golf was another Mazer specialty on NBC, including the U.S. Open and Bing Crosby tournaments in the mid-1960s. ABC used Mazer for its regional New York football lineup in the late 60s. During the 60s and 70s, Mazer did much voice-over commercial work, from L&M Cigarettes, Kodak, Ford automobiles to Trident chewing gum, among many others.

Mazer was a sportcaster at New York's WNEW-TV (channel 5) for twenty years, ending in the early 1990s. He also co-hosted a sports program, "Sports Extra", on WNEW-TV. Mazer originally teamed up with Lee Leonard and then later with Brian Madden and John Dockery, respectively. "Sports Extra" was considered a pioneering show for the Sunday Evening Sports Wrap-Up show format.

Mazer hosted a WFAN sports show from Mickey Mantle's restaurant from 1988 to 1991, and returned to the station on June 30, 2007 to host an hour long show from 10–11 AM during the station's 20th anniversary celebration and reunion weekend. He was also a morning talk show host on WEVD where he expanded to a comprehensive talk format from 1992 to 2001. The show ended when WEVD was optioned to ABC's ESPN division and became sports WEPN. He has appeared on the cable TV show "The Leon Charney Report" as well a minor parts in movies such as "Eyewitness" and episodes of ESPN "SportsCentury" as an expert on sport figures including Gordie Howe, Lawrence Taylor, and Mickey Mantle.

He earned the nickname "The A-Maz-In" for his deep knowledge of sports trivia which was made evident already at the WNBC radio show in the 60s. Based on this, he has written several sports trivia books, including "Bill Mazer's Amazin' Baseball Book: 150 Years of Baseball Tales & Trivia" published by Zebra Books in 1991. While doing sports for "The 10 O'Clock News" on WNEW-TV in the late 1970s and 80's, a daily contest was held in which a viewer would send in a question to "stump" Bill and would win a prize if he or she did.

Mazer currently hosts an afternoon interview program on WVOX in New Rochelle, New York from 3–6 PM EST (available via streaming from WVOX's website). Winning numerous awards and citations, including three Sportscaster of the Year awards for New York from 1964–66. Bill Mazer's indefatigable run of broadcasts might be the longest uninterrupted one in the industry (going on 60 years).Fact|date=May 2008