The President's Announcer
It becomes available every four years. It offers no pay. It's one of the most exclusive and prestigious voiceover gigs in the world.
For 52 years, Charlie Brotman has served as the president's announcer for the inaugural parade. tomorrow --- Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 --- Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, at which point Charlie will extend his streak to 10 presidents and 14 parades.
He's had the job long enough to be a little fuzzy on the details of landing it, but even Charlie has to "audition" each time the gig comes up:
Brotman isn't sure how he got the announcing gig in the first place, although he believes Eisenhower remembered him as the announcer at Griffith Stadium when the president threw out the first pitch for the old Washington Senators in 1956.
By now, one would think that Brotman's selection for the job every four years would be automatic, but he has to break through layers of bureaucracy to make his pitch anew whenever there's a change in administration. Once he had persuaded Obama's workers that he was for real — "I'm sure they Googled me and asked references and that type of thing," Brotman said — they invited him on board and even started asking him for help with the parade script.
Here's a salute not only to our new Chief Executive, but to the voice of experience that will help usher him in tomorrow.
