Alois Havrilla

Alois Havrilla (July 6, 1891 – December 8, 1952) was a Slovak American singer, radio announcer, and Broadway performer. Born in Prešov, in what was then Austria-Hungary, he emigrated to the United States at age four when his father, John, a pharmacist, relocated the family to Bridgeport, Connecticut. Havrilla arrived speaking no English, and his early schooling in Bridgeport was conducted in his native language. He began learning English at age seven under the instruction of John Baker, choir director at Bridgeport Trinity Church, who also taught him singing and speech. As a young child he had an alto voice spanning three octaves; by age sixteen that voice had settled into a baritone.

At thirteen, Havrilla took on an apprenticeship as a civil engineer with a New England railroad, a commitment that left little time for music beyond choir singing. When the United States entered World War I, he attempted to enlist but was turned away due to poor vision. He was eventually drafted, only to be rejected again thirteen days after joining. Following his return to civilian life, he studied music at New York University and subsequently taught music in public schools in New Jersey and later in Briarcliff Manor, New York. A 1923 Carnegie Hall concert in which he served as soloist alongside Percy Grainger drew the attention of Graham McNamee and Elliot Shaw, who directed him toward a career in radio.

Havrilla's Broadway appearances took place between 1924 and 1925 and included three productions: the play Hassan, the musical Louie the 14th, and Princess Flavia. These stage credits coincided with the early years of what became a lengthy career in broadcasting. From 1924 to 1946 he worked in New York City radio as an announcer, commentator, and narrator, employed at various times by WABC, WEAF, WJZ, and WOR. Among the network programs for which he served as announcer were The Jack Benny Program, on which he appeared from 1933 to 1934, as well as The Palmolive Hour, Strange as It Seems, Colgate House Party, Conoco Presents, Spartan Triolians, and Double or Nothing. In 1946 he moved to WNJR in Newark, New Jersey, and WPAT in Paterson, New Jersey, where his duties at WNJR included hosting Alois Havrilla Presents, a program featuring popular and semi-classical recordings accompanied by his commentary on composers and performers he had known personally.

His voice was also heard in film, serving as narrator and commentator from 1928 to 1946 for travelogues from RKO and for productions from Paramount Pictorial, Pathe Newsreel, and Universal Pictures. Films he narrated included This Is America (1933), This Is China (1937), The World's Largest Electrical Workshop (1938), You Bet Your Life (1939), and Hercules Land (1944).

In 1935, the American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded Havrilla its radio diction medal, given on the basis of pronunciation, articulation, tone quality, accent, and cultural effect. While living in Briarcliff Manor, he directed the Briarcliff unit of the Westchester Choral Union and led two choirs at the Briarcliff Congregational Church. He had met his wife, Marion Munson, when both sang at Bridgeport's Universalist Church, and the two married on September 28, 1928; they had one daughter. Havrilla died on December 8, 1952, at Englewood Hospital at the age of sixty-one. His papers, which include correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, scrapbooks, scripts, and sheet music dating from 1893 to 1965, are held in the archival collections of the University of Maryland Libraries.