Arch Presby

Who was Arch Presby?

George Archibald "Arch/Archie" Presby was a Canadian-born, American radio and television announcer.

Born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, Presby began his announcing career at CFDC in Vancouver in 1925, and remained with the station at the point where its call letters changed to the current CKWX two years later. Afterwards he moved to the U.S., and between 1928 and 1935 he worked at KOMO in Seattle, Washington and KEX in Portland, Oregon.

In 1935, Presby moved to San Francisco, California, where he became the staff announcer for NBC on the West Coast, and also did local announcing work for its Blue Network flagship station, KGO. He was the announcer for years on the program Bughouse Rhythm, which showcased leading jazz and swing musicians. After the network transferred its West Coast programming operations to their newer Radio City studios in Hollywood, Presby moved there in 1942 and remained in that base of operations for the rest of his career. As NBC did not own a radio station in Los Angeles, he also handled local announcing work for its affiliated station, KFI.