Hank Simms obit

Hank Simms, Prolific TV Announcer Has Died

Sims worked for years on Quinn Martin productions, including The FBI, The Streets of San Francisco and Barnaby Jones.

 

 He was not on my list.

Henry F. "Hank" Simms, an announcer whose voice was heard on numerous television programs, died August 7, 2013, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was 90.

Born May 25, 1923, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Simms graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1940 and went on to attend the University of Oklahoma.

In 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, and after basic training in Sheppard Field, Texas, was sent to Officers Training School in Boca Raton, Florida, and later to Yale University, where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. 
Following assignment to a training station in Mountain Home, Idaho, he joined a B-24 Bomber Group, the 456th, in Muroc Dry Lake, California. Shortly afterward, the Group was ordered to Stornara, Italy, where Simms was successively an Assistant Squadron Engineering Officer, Head of the Technical Inspectors at Group Headquarters (in which capacity he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant) and finally a Squadron Engineering Officer. In the later position, he was promoted to Captain.

When the war ended, he returned to Oklahoma University and later attended Tulsa University. Encouraged by his brother, Frank, he entered the field of radio announcing. After broadcasting jobs in Tulsa, Wichita and Dallas, he moved to Los Angeles, and later to Honolulu, Hawaii.

In 1951, during the Korean War, he was recalled to the Air Force and promoted to Major. Soon afterward, he met his future wife, Moe, while they were greeting mutual friends at the Honolulu Airport. The two were married in Oklahoma City in 1954.

The couple later returned to Los Angeles, where Simms worked as an announcer for the next quarter-decade. His many television credits included The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Academy Awards, The Emmy Awards, The Golden Globes and some 15 Quinn Martin Productions series, including The FBI, Cannon, The Streets of San Francisco and Barnaby Jones.

The Simmses retired to John’s Island in Vero Beach, Forida, where they lived for ten years and pursued their shared interests in golf and bridge. They then moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas.

In lieu of flowers, it is suggested that donations be made to either the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity or to the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation at UCLA.

Additional Crew (28 credits)

 1982 Police Squad! (TV Series) (announcer - 6 episodes)

- Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh) (1982) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood) (1982) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi) (1982) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand) (1982) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment) (1982) ... (announcer - uncredited)

1981 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV Series) (Narrator - 11 episodes)

- The Dorian Secret (1981) ... (Narrator)

- Testimony of a Traitor (1981) ... (Narrator)

- The Hand of the Goral (1981) ... (Narrator)

- Shgoratchx! (1981) ... (Narrator)

- The Satyr (1981) ... (Narrator)

1973-1980 Barnaby Jones (TV Series) (announcer - 178 episodes)

- The Killin' Cousin (1980) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Deadline for Murder (1980) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Silent Accuser (1980) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Final Victim (1980) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Death Is the Punchline (1980) ... (announcer - uncredited)

1978-1979 The Runaways (TV Series) (announcer - 16 episodes)

- 48 Hours to Live (1979) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- False Images (1979) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Street of Terror: Part 2 (1979) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Street of Terror: Part 1 (1979) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- They'll Never Forgive Me (1979) ... (announcer - uncredited)

1977 Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) (announcer - 8 episodes)

- No Way Out (1977) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- You're Not Alone (1977) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Force of Evil (1977) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- A Hand for Sonny Blue (1977) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Nomads (1977) ... (announcer - uncredited)

 

 1972-1977 The Streets of San Francisco (TV Series) (announcer - 119 episodes)

- The Canine Collar (1977) ... (announcer)

- Time Out (1977) ... (announcer)

- Let's Pretend We're Strangers (1977) ... (announcer)

- Breakup (1977) ... (announcer)

- Dead Lift (1977) ... (announcer)

1971-1977 Columbo (TV Series) (announcer - 38 episodes)

- The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case (1977) ... (announcer)

- Old Fashioned Murder (1976) ... (announcer)

- Fade in to Murder (1976) ... (announcer)

- Last Salute to the Commodore (1976) ... (announcer)

- Now You See Him (1976) ... (announcer)

1977 Lanigan's Rabbi (TV Series) (announcer - 4 episodes)

- In Hot Weather, the Crime Rate Soars (1977) ... (announcer)

- Say It Ain't So, Chief (1977) ... (announcer)

- The Cadaver in the Clutter (1977) ... (announcer)

- Corpse of the Year (1977) ... (announcer)

 1971-1977 McMillan & Wife (TV Series) (announcer - 39 episodes)

- Have You Heard About Vanessa? (1977) ... (announcer)

- Affair of the Heart (1977) ... (announcer)

- Coffee, Tea, or Cyanide (1977) ... (announcer)

- Philip's Game (1977) ... (announcer)

- Dark Sunrise (1977) ... (announcer)

1971-1977 McCloud (TV Series) (announcer - 39 episodes)

- McCloud Meets Dracula (1977) ... (announcer)

- London Bridges (1977) ... (announcer)

- The Moscow Connection (1977) ... (announcer)

- The Great Taxicab Stampede (1977) ... (announcer)

- 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas... (1976) ... (announcer)

1976-1977 Quincy M.E. (TV Series) (announcer - 4 episodes)

- Hot Ice, Cold Hearts (1977) ... (announcer)

- A Star Is Dead (1976) ... (announcer)

- Who's Who in Neverland (1976) ... (announcer)

- Go Fight City Hall... to the Death (1976) ... (announcer)

 1976 Bert D'Angelo/Superstar (TV Series) (announcer - 11 episodes)

- Serpent's Tooth (1976) ... (announcer)

- Scag (1976) ... (announcer)

- What Kind of Cop Are You? (1976) ... (announcer)

- Flannagan's Fleet (1976) ... (announcer)

- A Concerned Citizen (1976) ... (announcer)

1971-1976 Cannon (TV Series) (announcer - 120 episodes)

- Madman (1976) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Blood Lines (1976) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Point After Death (1976) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Snapshot (1976) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Quasar Kill (1976) ... (announcer - uncredited)

1975-1976 McCoy (TV Series) (announcer - 4 episodes)

- New Dollar Day (1976) ... (announcer)

- In Again, Out Again (1976) ... (announcer)

- Double Take (1975) ... (announcer)

- Bless the Big Fish (1975) ... (announcer)

 1975 Caribe (TV Series) (announcer - 13 episodes)

- Assault on the Calavera (1975) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Assassin (1975) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Counterfeit Killer (1975) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Patriots (1975) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- One Second to Doom (1975) ... (announcer - uncredited)

1975 Ellery Queen (TV Series) (announcer - 1 episode)

- Too Many Suspects (1975) ... (announcer)

 1974-1975 Amy Prentiss (TV Series) (announcer - 3 episodes)

- Profile in Evil (1975) ... (announcer)

- The Desperate World of Jane Doe (1974) ... (announcer)

- Baptism of Fire (1974) ... (announcer)

 1972-1974 Hec Ramsey (TV Series) (announcer - 10 episodes)

- Only Birds and Fools (1974) ... (announcer)

- Scar Tissue (1974) ... (announcer)

- Dead Heat (1974) ... (announcer)

- The Detroit Connection (1973) ... (announcer)

- A Hard Road to Vengeance (1973) ... (announcer)

1973-1974 The Snoop Sisters (TV Series) (announcer - 4 episodes)

- A Black Day for Bluebeard (1974) ... (announcer)

- The Devil Made Me Do It! (1974) ... (announcer)

- Fear Is a Free-Throw (1974) ... (announcer)

- Corpse and Robbers (1973) ... (announcer)

 1972-1974 Banacek (TV Series) (announcer - 16 episodes)

- Now You See Me, Now You Don't (1974) ... (announcer)

- Fly Me- If You Can Find Me (1974) ... (announcer)

- Rocket to Oblivion (1974) ... (announcer)

- Horse of a Slightly Different Color (1974) ... (announcer)

- The Vanishing Chalice (1974) ... (announcer)

1973-1974 Faraday and Company (TV Series) (announcer - 4 episodes)

- A Matter of Magic (1974) ... (announcer)

- Fire and Ice (1973) ... (announcer)

- A Wheelbarrow Full of Trouble (1973) ... (announcer)

- Say Hello to a Dead Man (1973) ... (announcer)

 1973-1974 Tenafly (TV Series) (announcer - 4 episodes)

- Man Running (1974) ... (announcer)

- The Window That Wasn't (1973) ... (announcer)

- The Cash and Carry Caper (1973) ... (announcer)

- Joyride to Nowhere (1973) ... (announcer)

 1972-1973 Madigan (TV Series) (announcer - 6 episodes)

- The Park Avenue Beat (1973) ... (announcer)

- The Naples Beat (1973) ... (announcer)

- The Lisbon Beat (1973) ... (announcer)

- The London Beat (1972) ... (announcer)

- The Midtown Beat (1972) ... (announcer)

 1972-1973 Banyon (TV Series) (announcer - 15 episodes)

- Time Lapse (1973) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Just Once (1972) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Murder Game (1972) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Lady Killer (1972) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Sally Overman Is Missing (1972) ... (announcer - uncredited)

1972 Cool Million (TV Series) (announcer - 5 episodes)

- The Million Dollar Misunderstanding (1972) ... (announcer)

- The Abduction of Baynard Barnes (1972) ... (announcer)

- Assault on Gavaloni (1972) ... (announcer)

- Hunt for a Lonely Girl (1972) ... (announcer)

- Mask of Marcella (1972) ... (announcer)

 1970-1971 Dan August (TV Series) (announcer - 26 episodes)

- The Assassin (1971) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Prognosis: Homicide (1971) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Days of Rage (1971) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Meal Ticket (1971) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Manufactured Man (1971) ... (announcer - uncredited)

 

 1965-1969 The F.B.I. (TV Series) (announcer - 7 episodes)

- The Inside Man (1969) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Southwind (1968) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- The Phone Call (1968) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- Crisis Ground (1968) ... (announcer - uncredited)

- A Mouthful of Dust (1965) ... (announcer - uncredited)

 

 1967-1969 Judd for the Defense (TV Series) (announcer - 50 episodes)

- Visitation (1969) ... (announcer)

- Runaway (1969) ... (announcer)

- The View from the Ivy Tower (1969) ... (announcer)

- An Elephant in a Cigar Box (1969) ... (announcer)

- The Holy Ground: The Killers - Part 2 (1969) ... (announcer)