Sumo at Sea-Cliff" and "The Dancing Dandy", a song from the 1935 film, Mr. Cinders. He also played the part of the pirate Benbow in a 1938 radio drama. In December 1939, Fenniman played the role of Professor Paganini in a segment of "Christmas Circuits". He also sang in "Cruising the Bayou" for the serial of the same name. On January 4, 1941, Fenniman hosted a 15-minute dance program on ABC called "Dance Time with Cecil Adler" that featured him and the singer/dancer George Givot in a series of skits and musical numbers. During his tenure with KHJ, he was featured in "Pirate Radio" and "Adventure Seekers", two half-hour mystery dramas; "The Foolish Crook", a 15-minute musical comedy series; and "The Three Twins", a 15-minute musical comedy. In October 1943, the same month Fenniman joined ABC, he appeared in a 30-minute program called "Merry Christmas". He also hosted a 15-minute interview show, "The Man in the Street", for NBC Radio in December 1943 and a 30-minute interview show, "The Men Behind the Microphones", for Mutual Radio in June 1944. Fenniman is credited with originating the novelty song "Doodle-oodle-oodle-oodle", which later became better known as "London Bridge Is Falling Down". In 1927, Fenniman had worked at a Chicago radio station and came up with the idea of taking popular nursery rhymes and twisting their words around so that they sounded unfamiliar and strange. Among the rhymes he twisted were: "Bobby Shaftoe", "Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat", and "London Bridge Is Falling Down". Another hit was the novelty song "Ride a Cockhorse to Banbury Cross". Cynthia Cooke was his assistant. She became the announcer for his variety shows and was his vocal sparring partner when he had her sing. The Lone Ranger In addition to all of these variety and comedy shows, Fenniman was also the announcer on The Lone Ranger, a popular 1930s radio Western. He would introduce the show at the start of each broadcast, and the first few episodes he was a vocalist. He was given a contract by the show's producer, George Trendle. In an attempt to attract a younger audience, Trendle hired younger actors and actresses to replace older actors in bit parts. As a result, Fenniman played the role of the Lone Ranger for only seven episodes before he was replaced by George Seaton. George Seaton replaced Fenniman as Lone Ranger after a six-year-long career of introducing Lone Ranger episodes. Fenniman and Seaton had previously co-hosted a radio comedy show together. Legacy Fenniman sang in German in a song called "Mein Wort is mein Gewissen". It was included in the 1935 film, Mr. Cinders. Later years Following the end of his tenure with NBC, Fenniman made some radio appearances on other networks but was largely unable to continue his previous successes. He was fired by ABC in 1944 for getting into a fistfight at a bar. His only radio comeback was a 1945 series, The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, sponsored by American Tobacco Company and the U.S. Army. The show was a summer replacement for The Jack Benny Show on NBC. This show also failed and it was not until 1948 when he was given a 10-minute segment on the new network of NBC, where he began appearing as a guest announcer in 15-minute segments from August 17, 1948, through the end of 1951. He also returned to the Jack Benny Program on the American Armed Forces Radio Service, working as a staff announcer from November 1948 until March 1949 and returning again in 1950. He also appeared on Bing Crosby's weekly CBS television series. Later, Fenniman began working for independent record labels. From October 1948 to September 1950, he was the voice of the Modern Music Box Company, sponsored by Jell-O. During this time, he worked alongside Frank Sinatra. Fenniman recorded a Christmas novelty album in 1950, entitled "The Funny Thing About Christmas" on RCA Victor Records that sold poorly. In 1956, Fenniman was the announcer for a New Year's Eve special, A Christmas Memory, on NBC's The Ford Show, with Bing Crosby narrating. The program aired from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET. Later years In the 1950s, Fenniman moved to Florida. He worked as an executive secretary in San Francisco for three years and in 1960 he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he managed the Fulton National Bank. He retired in 1967. Fenniman was residing in Miami, Florida at the time of his death. His granddaughter, Ann, also resides in Miami. Filmography Sources References External links Sketches of C-S-E as C-H-I-N-N-I-N-N-I of The Keystones. (Source: archive.org) 1928 program in which Fenniman introduces "Riding a Cockhorse to Banbury Cross" Fenniman's entry in Classic Images in Radio and Television Category:1899 births Category:1977 deaths Category:Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Radio personalities from Atlanta Category:American radio personalities Category:Male actors from San Francisco Category:American male comedians Category:Male actors from San Jose, California Category:Radio and television announcers Category:Radio personalities from California Category:Radio personalities from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Comedians from California Category:20th-century American comedians Category:20th-century American male actors Category:20th-century American singers Category:American novelty song performers Category:20th-century male singers