Dwight Weist

Dwight Weist, Jr. (January 16, 1910 - July 16, 1991) was an actor and announcer in the era of old-time radio.

Early years The son of Mr. and Mrs. Dwight W. Weist, he was born in Palo Alto, California, but was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was a 1931 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, He also worked on WGBI in Scranton, relating instructions about playing bridge.

Weist was called "the man of 1,000 voices," primarily as a result of his work on The March of Time. His obituary in The New York Times explained, "Mr. Weist, who played Adolf Hitler and Franklin D. Roosevelt, among many others, received his nickname because of his ability to imitate a broad range of accents and ages."

Weist also wrote scripts for radio programs, at least two of which were produced: "The Death of Adolph Hitler on The Kate Smith Hour and "Evening Call", produced by the Radio Guild. and Here Come the Yanks, about the National War Fund.

He was the voice of the character Adso (Christian Slater) as an old man, in the 1986 movie "The Name of the Rose".

He also played a role in the 1986 erotic romantic drama film 9½ Weeks. His character was a quiet painter, free artist very far from art business and lost in the NY exhibition of his paintings. Élisabeth (Kim Basinger) tries desperatly to make a connection as she feels lost in her life and closer to him than to anybody else at that moment. Without a word, a lot is said in their eyes contacts and the pushing crowd around making intimacy impossible.

On television, Weist was the announcer on Search for Tomorrow and worked on Walter Cronkite's Sunday News Special and Guy Lombardo's Diamond Jubilee.

Other professional activities In 1956, Weist and Bob Barron began the Weist-Barron School to teach commercial acting in New York City—an institution that has evolved into the Weist-Barron School of Television, as well as Weist-Barron-Ryan Acting Workshops and Weist-Barron-Hill Acting School, with campuses in New York City, Los Angeles and Atlantic City. Weist taught there for 35 years.

Personal life In 1935, Weist married Elizabeth Maxwell, a registered nurse, in Manhattan. While at home, he often worked in his garden. He also had a workshop in New York City in which he worked on toys and other wooden products during time between radio programs. After they divorced, he married Avery Hathaway on April 25, 1956.

Death Weist died July 16, 1991, of a heart attack in Block Island, Rhode Island. He was 81. He was survived by three sisters, four sons, a daughter, and seven grandchildren.