Ralph Gunderman spent over a decade working as an announcer on Dateline NBC, the long-running investigation series that began in 1992 and continues until this day. He also contributed to comedy bits on the Late Show With David Letterman, providing the voice for phony commercials and announcements during the host’s monologues.
Gunderman was born in 1948 in Cleveland as the fourth of seven children. He worked in college radio at WRHA at the University of Akron, where he developed a love for performing. “While still in school, he landed a gig in summer 1969 as a deejay at WING in Dayton and then back in Akron at WCUE,” The Hollywood Reporter explained. “After graduation in 1970, he moved on to television in Cleveland at WKBF and, as a booth announcer, WEWS.”
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Gunderman moved to New York in 1981 where he started his voice-over work. He was featured in thousands of commercials and video games over his four-decade career. Some of the most popular games he was involved in were Bully, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Grand Theft Auto V. He retired in 2021, and enjoyed spending his free time doing crossword puzzles and singing cabaret.
His family also said, “He had hopelessly wished for a Cleveland baseball championship, since their last one had been the year he was born.”
On March 1, Gunderman passed away at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York from complications to pneumonia. He was 77. He is survived by his second wife, Pamela, who he married in 2022, and his son, Benjamin. He also has siblings, Ann, Ruth, Colette, Clare, and Joseph.
For anyone interested in paying their respects to the iconic voice artist, The Hollywood Reporter also announced, “A celebration of his life is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation in White Plains, New York, with a second celebration to be held at 2 p.m. on Aug. 1 at Olmsted Community Church in Olmsted Falls, Ohio.”
Donations in his memory can be made to WNYC Radio, the National Resources Defense Council, and Feeding Westchester, which provides fresh, healthy foods to households that are facing hunger.