Announcer's test
The announcer's test is the title given to a test sometimes given to those wanting to be a radio or television announcer.[1] It involves retention, memory, repetition, enunciation, diction, and involves ten factors that use every letter in the alphabet a variety of times.[1] The test originated at Radio Central New York in the early 1940s as a cold reading test given to prospective radio talent to demonstrate their speaking ability.[2]
Del Moore, a long time friend of Jerry Lewis's, took this test at Radio Central New York in 1941, and passed it on to him.
Jerry has performed this test on radio, television and stage for many years, and it has become a favourite tongue-twister (and memory challenge) for his fans around the world.
It is also known as the Tibetan Memory Trick, and has been performed by Danny Kaye as well as Flo & Eddie of The Turtles.[3] It has also been adopted and adapted for use as a, "repeat after me," chant unofficially by the Boy Scouts of America, with several variations in the wording, some including an eleventh line, "Eleven neutramatic synthesizing systems owned by the seriously cybernetic marketing department, shipped via relativistic space flight through the draconian sector seven."[4][5][6] This last line may have originated as a tribute to Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books and has since been corrupted by the oral transmission of this script. The books include references to "Nutrimatic Drink Dispenser systems" owned by the "Sirius Cybernetics Corporation."
Lyrics
- One hen
- Two ducks
- Three squawking geese
- Four limerick oysters
- Five corpulent porpoises
- Six pairs of Don Alverzo's tweezers
- Seven Thousand Macedonians in full battle array
- Eight Brass Monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt
- Nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic, old men on roller skates with a marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth
- Ten lyrical, spherical, diabolical denizens of the deep who haul stall around the corner of the quo of the quay of the quivery, all at the same time
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Jerry Lewis Discusses Hosting His 50th Telethon (transcript)." Larry King Live/CNN. September 1, 2000. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ↑ "The Announcer's Test." jerrylewiscomedy.com. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ↑ "The Sanzini Brothers: The Tibetan Memory Trick (Macromedia Flash)." The Turtles. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ↑ "Camp Hinds Songbook: One Hen, Two Ducks." Casco Bay District (Boy Scouts of America). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ↑ "One Hen." Scouting in Canada. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ↑ "One Hen, Two Ducks." Scouting in Canada. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
See also
- Don LaFontaine – a famous voice actor that recording over 5,000 movie trailers, television commercials, network promotions, and video game trailers.