(Source: www.bcdb.com)
TV host "Uncle" Tom Gregory, whose 1950's show Cartoon Playtime influenced a young Whoopi Goldberg, has died of complications from heart disease.
Born on July 26, 1927 in Charleston, South Carolina, Gregory enrolled in the Navy, age 17, in 1944. He was commended when he guided the ship he was on, the fuel carrier USS Tolovana, through the treacherous waters around the Ryukyu island chain during a typhoon which incapacitated the captain and first officer.
After World War II ended, Gregory earned his Bachelor's degree in Communications at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, getting a job at WPAT after graduation as an on-air announcer.
In 1955, he switched to WABD (later WNEW-TV) as an announcer and occasional children's host. From 1958 to 1965, he was the very popular "Uncle Tom Gregory," the host of Cartoon Playtime. During the mid-afternoon show, he would screen cartoons from Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.
Gregory was also the guest MC on the Sandy Becker Show, which also featured Warner Bros.' cartoons, and made appearances on other kids' shows such as Captain Kangaroo and The Soupy Sales Show.
In 1965, he became the anchor for Faces and Places in the News, where he coined the now-famous phrase: "It's now 10 pm. Do you know where your kids are?" Faces and Places still uses the catch-phrase to this very day. His voice and delivery was so distinctive that he was nicknamed "The Metromedia Man," after the company that produced the show.
A vicious mugging ended Gregory's on-camera career. After requiring 200 stitches and extensive plastic surgery, he was unable to continue on camera and became a radio announcer for WNEW. He remained with the station until 1986, when Rupert Murdoch bought the station and renamed it WNYW.
Tom Gregory is survived by Patricia, his wife of 57 years, their three children, eight grand-children and one great-grandchild..
