Announcer from The Sting

Submitted by Defiant-Document4027 t3_10j4rjg in movies

This is a long shot, because the movie is quite old (1977), and I don't see a lot of discussion on this sub about older movies. But here goes...

Ray Walston has a part in The Sting as J.J. Singleton. But I swear that's his voice as the announcer, during a scene that (I think) occurs at a racetrack, or maybe OTB.

Does anybody know if that's him? I can't find it in the credits

2

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

Psychological-Rub-72 t1_j5k59s5 wrote

Haven't seen it for a long time, but here is a guess.

They never hear the actual announcer at the betting parlor because they delay the broadcast. They then have someone repeat it, and that could be Ray Walston

3

Frankie6Strings t1_j5l7kev wrote

It's older than 1977, but yeah Ray Walston calls a horse race. He's doing it shortly after the race has already been run so they can rip off Robert Shaw.

1

Defiant-Document4027 OP t1_j5lh2jq wrote

>It's older than 1977

You're right! Wikipedia says it was released in 1973, but another source says 1977. What a strange discrepancy

I need to watch the movie again. When it was on last night, I wasn't really paying attention to the screen, but I kept it hearing voices I recognized. Eileen Brennan hit me immediately, followed by Ray Walston

This is only the second time I've watched it. I'm having a hard time getting engaged, but I haven't tried very hard. This great cast, combined with the reputation of the movie, make it deserving of my full attention

Thank you for answering

2

Frankie6Strings t1_j5lq7c2 wrote

It's one of my favorites! I actually just watched it again a couple of days ago. Lots of great names in the cast and I love the piano music.

2

2023OnReddit t1_j67qoxu wrote

> I'm having a hard time getting engaged, but I haven't tried very hard. This great cast, combined with the reputation of the movie, make it deserving of my full attentio

Watch it twice with your full attention.

The first time to appreciate the movie.

The second time to appreciate the movie even more as you pick up the hints you overlooked the first time.

1

ShirtPants10 t1_j5lg3s3 wrote

The announcer in their betting parlor is one of their guys, so may be the character you're remembering. They get the results via a ticker and then their guy reads them over the loudspeaker as if he's calling a live race. So it's not the track announcer you're hearing, it's one of the members of the crew.

1

TheMadLurker17 t1_j64zr4s wrote

Yes, that's him. It's part of the con. He's getting the race results from the Western Union wire then announcing them after the fact.

1