Bob Boving
Bob
Boving - All night CKWX Vancouver 1965-69; CJVI Victoria evenings/overnight
1969; CKLG Vancouver 1970; CKVN Vancouver 1970-72; CKDA Victoria 1974; weekends
CHQM Vancouver 1975-76; p.m. drive CFMI-FM Vancouver 1976-84; Saturday Night
Oldies CFMI-FM 1980-84; 1985-2002 main production voice of CBC TV; host of CBC
Radio's The Mystery Project - current;
voiceovers Skyevox Audio Services Toronto
***
Bob
Boving Experience
Over 35
years broadcast experience 20 years radio - 17 years as network voice of CBC TV
- tens of thousands of promos, trailers, billboards, corporate voice over, radio
& TV commercials. Current voice of Detroit Pistons, Miami Hurricanes,
Comcast, Time-Life, Stihl, Best Buy,
***
1988-
TORONTO - When Bob Boving speaks, his silky smooth voice has a ring that
makes you think of the CBC.
It's easily explained.
"At 9:57, I'll be the guy saying, 'Stay tuned for the National and the
Journal,'" says the Toronto resident.
Boving, 39, is one of a legion of Canadian performers who earn an
often-lucrative living by selling their vocal abilities to play up a product's
appeal - whether it's a commercial for a television station, a brand of beer or
a cold remedy.
Once a week, Boving visits a downtown CBC studio to tape up to 80 station
announcement clips. For two years, he has also reminded viewers of what's up on
The Box in the national network's promotional ads.
ALTHOUGH BOVING'S voice is heard more often on the air than Knowlton Nash's,
he has none of the news anchor's fame - which is just fine with the
privacy-conscious performer.
"To the average viewer, the voice is there and if it's pleasant, it
fades into the background," he says.
"What I'm doing now fits into my feelings about private life. I am
visible, yet very invisible."
In any major centre, a dozen such anonymous voices generally rule the
airwaves, says Eric Zivot, who teaches a course for would-be performers in
Toronto.
The best of them belong to a class of performers considered the highest-paid
members of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema Television and Radio Artists, say
alliance spokesmen.
For a single television session, a performer can earn $282.50 for four hours work or $302.50 for radio work under ACTRA's agreement with the advertising industry.
***
From the
files of Jon Pearkins:
Together,
CHQM AM & FM ranked Number Two in Vancouver.
Why?
Because the usual #2, Top 40 CKLG-AM (730), had seen their listenership erode
with the switch of CKVN (1410) to Top 40 from All News on April 1, 1970. Terry
David Mulligan was Program Director for the first year, and he had recruited
top DJs, both unknown and well known, including Hal Weaver, Tim Burge, Bob Boving and J. B. Shane. The station also
played enough album-oriented music to attract some CKLG-FM listeners.