"Cartoon Playtime" host Tom Gregory dies, 79

Posted:
Dec 16, 2006

"It's 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?"

TV anchor Tom Gregory used that catchphrase at the beginning of his newscast. It gained a measure of immortality.

Gregory, host of the 1950 kids' TV shows Cartoon Playtime and Wonderama in New York City, died Monday in Sarasota, Florida of heart disease. He was 79.

Gregory introduced the catchphrase in the 1960s while anchoring Faces and Places in the News at WNEW-TV 5, then an independent station in New York. It continues on its successor -- WNYW, a cornerstone of the Fox network -- on the 10 p.m. newscast that succeeded Faces and Places in 1967. "He coined the phrase," said his daughter, Linda Stelzen of Sarasota.

He became famous to kids as "Uncle Tom Gregory," host of Cartoon Playtime, which aired weekday afternoons from about June 30, 1958 to January 29, 1965 on WNEW. Its segments included The Gabby Movie Cartoon Show; other cartoons screened on the program included Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. The program's hosts also included "Uncle" Fred Scott and "Uncle" Ed Ladd.

Reportedly, actress and producer Whoopi Goldberg loved watching Cartoon Playtime as a child.

Gregory was a guest MC on The Sandy Becker Show, where Looney Toons and Merrie Melodies were also screened weekday evenings and afternoons.

"He had a voice that if you heard it and didn't know he was an announcer, you'd say he should be an announcer," Patricia Gregory, his wife of 57 years, told the Sarasota News-Tribune. "He had a very clear and distinct and resonant voice."

A father of four, he loved children, so it was that he hosted children's TV shows, she said.

Gregory also appeared on other TV kids' shows originating inthe Big Apple, including The Soupy Sales Show and Captain Kangaroo. He also made commercials for several decades; in the 1950s and 1960s, he did them live.

Gregory became known as "Metromedia Man" for hosting Faces and Places in the News, a news show produced by Metromedia.

He was born in Charleston, South Carolina on July 26, 1927. At age 17, he enlisted in the Navy in 1944. The following year, he was stationed aboard the fuel carrier USS Tolovana near Japan when ship was hit by a typhoon. Because of the turbulent, 70-foot seas, the captain and first officer were unable to pilot the ship, Stelzen said.

"My dad actually took over the ship and became the de facto captain. He navigated eight ships behind him through the Ryukyu chain (of Japanese islands), and you had to be extremely careful because there was an undersea mountain chain that you had to avoid."

Because of his heroism, Stelzen said, he received several honors during his two years of military service.

Shortly after the Second World War, Gregory studied law at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. While in college, he became a radio announcer.

Gregory changed majors and received a bachelor's degree in communications. After he graduated, New York station WPAT hired him.

His daughter recounted how Gregory worked nights, often not leaving the job until 2 or 3 a.m.

A vicious nighttime attack by muggers ended Gregory's on-camera career. While walking to his car, he fell prey to an assault and required over 200 stitches, Stelzen said: "He was extremely scarred and needed extensive plastic surgery."

Gregory switched to announcing duties for the station, which was bought in 1986 by Rupert Murdock's News Corp. and which is now WNYW.

He and his wife moved to Sarasota six years ago.

Fox 5 News at 10 gave an on-air eulogy for his long career at the station.

Besides his wife and daughter Linda Stelzen, Tom Gregory is survived by another daughter, Kathleen Lee of Port Charlotte, Florida; son Jim Gregory of Casco, Maine; brother John Gregory of Sarasota; and seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Funeral services were private. Memorial donations may be made to the Autism Research Institute, 4182 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116.




Tom Gregory interviews children on Cartoon Playtime on New York TV station WNEW.