Maurice James "Mac" McGarry (June 15, 1926 â€" December 12, 2013) was
the longtime host of the television quiz show It's Academic, which
airs in Washington, D.C. on NBC-owned WRC-TV. He hosted the show for
five decades, from October 7, 1961, when it first aired, until June
25, 2011.Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1926, he attended Regis High
School in New York City. McGarry attended college at Fordham
University. McGarry joined NBC in 1950 for station WNBW, located in
the Wardman Park Hotel. There he worked as the announcer for the NBC
radio show American Forum of the Air. During this time, he was also
making his first forays into television covering Harry S. Truman's
presidential inauguration events for NBC-TV and appearing regularly on
NBC's The Big Preview. From that time until the onset of illness in
2011, he hosted numerous talk shows, including In Our Town, the first
weekly television program to be broadcast in color.Some of McGarry's
first assignments included announcing news of the start of the Korean
War and introducing President Truman from the White House. In the
early 1950s, he was involved in early color television experiments.
During the 1970s/80s, he was the announcer for NBC News Updates
originating in Washington, D.C., and over the years also did live
booth announcing work for WRC-TV.
the longtime host of the television quiz show It's Academic, which
airs in Washington, D.C. on NBC-owned WRC-TV. He hosted the show for
five decades, from October 7, 1961, when it first aired, until June
25, 2011.Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1926, he attended Regis High
School in New York City. McGarry attended college at Fordham
University. McGarry joined NBC in 1950 for station WNBW, located in
the Wardman Park Hotel. There he worked as the announcer for the NBC
radio show American Forum of the Air. During this time, he was also
making his first forays into television covering Harry S. Truman's
presidential inauguration events for NBC-TV and appearing regularly on
NBC's The Big Preview. From that time until the onset of illness in
2011, he hosted numerous talk shows, including In Our Town, the first
weekly television program to be broadcast in color.Some of McGarry's
first assignments included announcing news of the start of the Korean
War and introducing President Truman from the White House. In the
early 1950s, he was involved in early color television experiments.
During the 1970s/80s, he was the announcer for NBC News Updates
originating in Washington, D.C., and over the years also did live
booth announcing work for WRC-TV.
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