A Ray Summers MomentSubmitted by ZehnKatzen on Tue, 04/08/2008 - 5:36pm.
Walking down the street with The Wife™ and seeing the sky reflected in the puddles as the raindrops splash in, I couldn't keep a little Ray Summers voice from starting to narrate the scent ... "What sorts of things do we think about in the spring rain ... ... ... looking at the raindrops splashing in the puddles ... ... " God, I miss that guy. "Ray Summers .. ... ... channel 6." ( topics: General Media )
When KOIN dismissed Ray Summers, we dismissed KOIN News...haven't watched it since, nor have we missed it. I just loved that foggy, creaky, folksy voice. Sounds like a muted Grant McOmie. You know I just now realized ... ever notice how Grant McOmie and Ray Summers have never been photographed together? Hmmmm.... Samuel John Klein, a/k/a ZehnKatzen Ray Summers was one of the last great story-tellers in Portland television. It reminds me of the days when we could actually feel good about what we put on TV. What a way with words, what a way with a reporter track. Really took you in and made you feel like you were experiencing whatever he was doing or observing at the time. Class act. Miss him TONS! I worked with Ray nearly 20 years. His vision and special way with a phrase elevated every newscast lucky to have his material in the rundown. He remains a vivid chapter in NW broadcasting history. We are poorer that he is not on the air. Mark Sanchez I know this not the right place for this but on Sunday I saw the last of a staple of my weekends before I went to work on Sunday. I am sad to see her go. Thanks Nancy for the last eighting years and you can not be replaced at KGW. I told an acquaintance, who is a long-time friend of Ray, about this thread. He told me that he'd recently been to a party that Ray also attended and several of the people there told Ray that they missed him and wondered why they don't replay some of his old shows on Channel 6. He got all embarassed and said that the station has been sold twice since he retired and they probably don't remember him. The other comments here would seem to belie that statement. Jim Hyde Fox12 maybe? Is there ANYBODY over 50 in the market? At the time of Ray Summer’s retirement, a KPAM personality (either Dwight Jaynes or Bob Miller) interviewed Ray Summers. The interviewer told him that he should do voice over work, given his very distinct and recognizable voice. I always thought he’d be perfect for such a thing. But it seemed that from what I can recall of the interview, he was eager to pursue retirement with much vigor. "It is as if he cannot bear to part with things that he has made... Ray Summers at Large" Just a poetically random Ray line that stuck in my head, for some reason. I worked with him for many years and always found Ray to be a kind and gentle soul, a pleasure to travel with, a professional, and a good person. His stories brought viewers into many beautiful and remote parts of the northwest. A real point of difference for KOIN news. Eventually there wasn't time for Ray anymore, the newscasts needed his 90 seconds to tell us even more about sex offenders and drug crimes... A million years ago Ray Summers replaced me at KID TV Idaho Falls when I left to join the Air Force to avoid the draft. Years later Ray became a co worker when I joined KID under the legendary Ted Bryant. A couple of years ago Mark Gardner, who back in the day was a KOIN Photog, sent this link to a story he shot for Ray -- Norm Gunning Post new comment |
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The talk of the Boz's passing and the impact he had on Portland TV made me think of Ray. It's the kind of thoughtful touch that may be lost forever in local TV. Rather than chiming in with opinions after every VO like so many of today's blathering anchors, Ray actually had something to say that made you feel connected to the world you live in. I was kicking around Channel 6 when they were throwing him out into the field as a regular reporter, what a sad waste of a truly great talent.