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Bob Braun

Bob Braun’s screen career grew out of broadcasting rather than the usual path through film and theatre. Born in Ludlow on April 20, 1929, he started remarkably early, hosting a Saturday morning Knothole Baseball sports show on WSAI Radio at thirteen. That beginning set the pattern for a career built around an easy command of live entertainment. A major break came in 1957, when Braun won the $1,000 top prize on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts and was immediately hired by WLWT and WLW-AM. He became a regular presence on Ruth Lyons’ weekday program The 50-50 Club, sometimes filling in as host. After Lyons retired in 1967, Braun took over the time slot; the program later became The Bob Braun Show and, toward the end of its run, Braun and Company. He also hosted Bob Braun’s Bandstand, a local showcase for teenagers dancing to current hits, with visiting singers and groups sometimes appearing. Music remained another strand of Braun’s work. After several early pop recordings, he signed with Decca Records and reached the Top 40 in 1962 with “Till Death Do Us Part,” his only hit at that level. He continued recording afterward, including the 1982 album Women of My Dreams. Braun’s television work was closely tied to Cincinnati, including his annual support for the Ruth Lyons Christmas Fund. Much of his daytime broadcasting before 1982 was lost through tape wiping, although shorter segments and at least one earlier prime-time special survived. Preserved editions of The Bob Braun Show and Braun and Company are held by the Cincinnati Museum Center. In 1984, Braun moved to California, where he worked in commercials, talk shows and small movie roles. His film appearances included a part in Die Hard 2. It was a modest extension of a much longer broadcasting career: Braun was primarily a host and presenter, someone whose comfort in front of a camera carried naturally across television, advertising and film.