 Ralph Bell, born Ralph Sconomiglio on November 27, 1915, was a successful stage and radio actor best known for his distinctive delivery style. Little is known about his early life. He was either born in New Jersey or New York City, but spent most of his early years in Hackensack before attending the University of Michigan. There he attended the college's drama school while majoring in English. Upon graduation in 1937 he was offered and accepted a job there teaching drama. A year later Ralph Bell moved to New York City and began an acting career of his own. His first known role was a bit part in the 1938 play What a Life which was later adapted for radio as The Aldrich Family. Other stage credits include See My Lawyer in 1939, Banjoise in 1941, Native Son, and The Great Big Doorstep both in 1942. In the late 1940s Bell transitioned to radio where his nasally sing-song voice made him a natural for playing various sinister roles. One of his first high-profiled roles was as a Good for Nothing Spencer and later Nora's lost father Alfred in the radio soap opera This Is Nora Drake in 1947. He also had roles as Joe Petterson in Lorenzo Jones, Charlie Gleason in The Strange Romance of Evelyn Winters, Jack Eastman on Valiant Lady, and various roles on Big Sister, Guiding Light, and The Right to Happiness. From 1951 to 1953 he played Craig's nemesis, Lieutenant Travis Rogers, on Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator, and he had regular appearances on scores of other radio programs including 2000 plus, The Big Story, Cloak and Dagger, Counter Spy, Dimension X, Intersanctum Mysteries, Top Secret, X-1, Theater 5, and You Are There. In the 1970s he also appeared in 123 episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theatre. Bell was one of the 151 names from the entertainment field listed in the 1950 anti-communist booklet Red Channels. This was perhaps because of his participation in Stage for Action, a radically anti-racist, anti-fascist, pro-union activist organization found in the 1940s. How much this damaged his career is debatable, but his participation in television or entertainment in general outside the New York area was limited until the late 1950s. He returned to the stage for a time appearing in The Crucible in 1953, a view from The Bridge, A Memory of Two Mondays in 1955, in The Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and In The Time of Your Life, both in 1969, and Camino Real in 1970. He also wrote scripts for the Loretta Young show and the George Sanders show before beginning to appear on television in small roles and doing voiceovers for commercials. Some of his better-known television appearances include The Andy Griffith Show, The Patty Duke Show, Kate Nally, and Law and Order. He also appeared in a handful of movies including Wolfen in 1981, and Z-Lag in 1983. He also was a longtime member of the Screen Actors Guild and served on the National Board from 1965 until 1994. Ralph Bell was married to actress Pert Kelton until her passing of a heart attack in 1968. In 1970, he married actress Patricia Rowe. Bell died unexpectedly at his home in New York City from a heart attack on August 2, 1998. He was 82. Information for this biography was supplied by Brian Kavanaugh and taken from the Internet Movie Database, the website CBS Radio Mystery Theater, the Variety Magazine Online, and from the website for Radio Spirits. For old-time radio researchers, I'm your announcer, Patrick Andre. Thank you for listening.