Birthday profile

Pete Smith (announcer)

Pete Smith, Australian radio and television announcer

Born
May 29, 1939
Age in 2026
87
Zodiac sign
Gemini
Birth year
1939

About Pete Smith (announcer)

Peter Philip Smith OAM (born 29 May 1939) is an Australian retired radio announcer and television voice-over artist. He is primarily known for his work with GTV-9 in Melbourne as their chief staff announcer, including being the announcer on the nationally screened quiz show Sale of the Century for 21 years. == Life and career == === Early life === Smith was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and educated at Wesley College, Melbourne. During his school years, Smith constructed a makeshift radio station from his parents' house narrowcast over bell wire. Smith and Philip Brady would narrowcast their own show to peoples' homes titled "Broody's Hideout" on Sunday afternoons. Tape recordings of the show were distributed to people as far as the United States. Smith has often joked that "Broody's Hideout" was "the world's first podcast". ==== Radio ==== Upon leaving school, Smith joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a messenger boy before progressing through the ranks to an announcer on the home service and Radio Australia. On radio in the 1960s, Smith worked with radio station 3AK as a "good guy" and on The Greater 3UZ as it was known during the 1970s. Since this time, he has made guest appearances on comedy-based radio programs, notably the works of Tony Martin and Mick Molloy including Martin/Molloy, Get This and Tough Love.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Pete Smith (announcer) was born

Pete Smith (announcer) was born in 1939. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1939

  • #1 song"Over the Rainbow" – Judy Garland
  • Top movieGone with the Wind
  • Best-selling bookThe Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentLou Gehrig delivers his "Luckiest Man" farewell speech
  • Top headlineGermany invades Poland — World War II begins
  • Technology milestoneFirst regular television broadcasts in the US (NBC)
  • Defining fadThe Wizard of Oz mania
  • Notable inventionNylon stockings
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population130.9M

1939 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Pete Smith (announcer)'s birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19392026
Gas$0.19$3.45/gal
Average home$5,200$435,000
Average income$2,900$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population130.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.