Paul Harvey Biography

The radio show Paul Harvey News and Comment was first broadcast nationally in 1951 and continued into the 21st century, making Harvey one of the longest-lasting and best-known voices on American radio.

Paul Harvey’s program — an idiosyncratic mix of headlines, comments, quips and advertisements, all voiced by Harvey — was syndicated at its peak to more than 1200 radio stations around the country each day. Harvey was famous for his work ethic: he wrote and recorded his shows six days a week from studios in Chicago. His brisk, quirky delivery and signature greeting “Hello, Americans!” were widely (if fondly) parodied.

In 1976, Harvey began a companion radio feature, The Rest of the Story, telling little-known tales from the lives of famous people. He continued working right up until his death at age 90. Harvey was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1990. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2005.