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'Coming up next, meet the voice you hear every night on TV' From the Republican-American Newspaper; Waterbury, CT. Suunday, February 20, 2005 Joe Cipriano has been to the Grammys three times in the past five years. He is on national television daily, both on Fox and CBS. But the 50-year-old Watertown native can still walk the streets in virtual anonymity. That is, until he opens his mouth. The same guy who once worshipped disc jockeys at Waterbury's WWCO 1240 AM radio station -- who hid in a broom closet, feet obscured by standing in buckets anytime the disapproving general manager was around -- now has Danny DeVito and Jennifer Anniston as neighbors. Vanloads of stargazers on tours of celebrities' Beverly Hills homes regularly traverse the Watertown High School graduate's street. "I always feel funny, especially at Christmas time. They all have their noses to the glass and they're all looking at you," said Cipriano, adding he sometimes waves to the vans while fiddling with holiday decorations. "They must think I'm the landscaper or something." Little do the tourists know: like most television-watching Americans, they are probably familiar with Cipriano's work. Cipriano's is the voice that promotes comedies on CBS and Fox television, the one that alerts viewers: "CBS Monday, get a heaping helping of America's best comedies. First, the 'King of Queens' recalls his wedding day..." As a teen, Cipriano (known as Dave then) was so eager to be in broadcasting that he offered to file records, fetch hamburgers and do odd jobs at the WWCO. In return, disc jockeys allowed Cipriano to hang out and observe. "That was my education, really," he said of watching local legends like the late Edward "The Mad Hatter" Magglio Jr. One Sunday, all those weekends spent underfoot of the radio personalities paid off. The program director of 104.1 FM, then a country music station, called looking for someone to fill a slot that evening. Within hours Cipriano selected the radio name Tom Collins, plucked from a newspaper obituary (also the name of a gin-based drink), and took to the air. He was 16. The gig led to six months in the slot and later an evening show on the more popular sister AM station, WWCO. After school, his friends flipped burgers while listening to Cipriano on the radio. By his own admission, Cipriano's voice was still "pretty darn high." But he credits his enthusiasm in compensating for the immature vocal chords. Cipriano made about $1.50 an hour. "The deejays really appreciated the fact that he had a burning desire to do this," said Larry Rifkin, a longtime friend whose father was the station manager that Cipriano hid from. After graduating from high school in 1972, Cipriano worked at both WWCO and WDRC in Hartford. In Waterbury, he remained Tom Collins. In Hartford, he became Dave Donavan. To Cipriano, radio seemed the natural precursor to a career in television. In 1975, a bigger market came calling. Twice. One day at the Waterbury station, where he went by Tom Collins, Cipriano received a call from NBC's WRC in Washington, D.C., telling him that he was one of three finalists for a position. Later, another call came from Washington, this time to Cipriano's Hartford on-air alter-ego, Dave Donavan. Two of the three finalists, it turned out, were one person: Cipriano had sent tapes from both his Connecticut jobs, but somehow managers didn't realize both were his. Suffice it to say, Cipriano got the job. In Washington, Cipriano met his wife, Ann, who worked in television. In between spinning disco records he pursued voice-over work, recording public service announcements and advertisements.
The couple moved to California in 1980 to pursue show biz dreams. Cipriano landed a job at a radio station to help pay the bills while continuing to look for acting and voice-over work. Television proved a tough domain to crack. Cipriano landed a Prego tomato sauce commercial. But the same attributes that won him that job -- dark hair and olive skin -- hindered his prospects elsewhere. Too ethnic, he was told. Another shot at stardom came with a role on the 1989 NBC comedy "Knight and Daye." But the show was canceled after a half-dozen episodes. Ironically, the rejection set Cipriano on a path to success. "I realized my voice has no ethnicity to it," he said of deciding to focus on voice promos. Around the time the on-camera prospects fizzled, another opportunity arrived. A new, edgy network, Fox, sought to attract younger viewers and decided Cipriano's upbeat voice could help. He has been announcing anticipated antics of characters like Bart Simpson and Malcolm in the Middle ever since. Later, the Raymond that everyone loves and a King from Queens became other characters Cipriano apprised viewers of when CBS hired him to promote their comedies. When he isn't lending his pipes -- maintained by a steady intake of lukewarm water -- to the networks, Cipriano records promos from his home studio for television and radio stations across the country. Or he squeezes in games of tennis in his own court. Yes, a career of chatter has done him well. And he's made peace with not being in front of the camera. "You can go anywhere you want. You're not hounded by paparazzi. Yet at the same time, I'm enjoying all the benefits," said Cipriano.
He considers getting viewers excited about a television show or movie as a continuation of the spirit of the days when radio aired shows that had plots and characters. "It was a theater of the mind," said Cipriano, adding of his job: "It kind of carries on that tradition."
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