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Clayton “Bud” Collyer: Faster Than Bullets; Beating Clocks

We’ve had many an occasion to mention Clayton “Bud” Collyer (Clayton Heermance, Jr, 1908-1969) and so we thought it fitting to point out his multiple significances on his natal day. I don’t usually do this in list form, but this is a case that lends itself to that cold methodology.

  1. He was the younger brother of movie star June Collyer, the grandson of actor Dan Collyer, and the husband of actress Marion Shockley.
  2. He was the first Superman, ahead of Kirk Alyn, George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, and everyone else. You seldom hear his name mentioned with these others, because Collyer provided only the VOICE. He played the Man of Steel in the original 1940 radio series, as well as the Fleischer Studios animated cartoon of the ’40s, and also on the animated TV show The New Adventures of Superman (1966-69), and other programs. The reason he never played Superman on-camera should be obvious from the above photo– he looked more like Jimmy Olson!
  3. Collyer was also a major television game show host in the early days. He was the original host of both Beat the Clock (1950-61) and To Tell the Truth (1956-68). He also hosted several other game shows on both radio and television
  4. In addition to Superman, Collyer worked extensively in radio both as an actor and as an announcer, on such shows as The Goldbergs, Abie’s Irish Rose, Terry and the Pirates, and many others.
  5. Collyer recorded numerous storybook albums for children (many with religious themes) and taught Sunday school for over over three decades. He was deeply opposed to Communism within the entertainment industry, and supported such controversial efforts along those lines as the publication Red Channels. To state the obvious, his association with Superman was no doubt integral to these pro patria activities.
  6. Collyer had a degree in law from Fordham and worked as a clerk for a time before realizing there was more dough to be made in front of a microphone.

For more on show biz history, please see my book No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous. And please stay tuned for my next book Vaudeville in Your Living Room: A Century of Radio and TV Variety, coming November 2023. And to support Travalanche directly, please check out my Patreon.