Jeff Kaye, voice of NFL Films, dies at 75

PHILADELPHIA — If you were going to follow John Facenda on the air, you had to have a great voice.

Maybe nobody could match the legendary Facenda, whose familiar baritone was called the "voice of God" when he broadcast for NFL Films.

But Jeff Kaye brought it off. After Facenda died in 1984, Jeff became the voice of NFL Films, lending his own sonorous baritone to the pro-football features of the Mount Laurel, N.J.-based company.

Maybe not quite God, but close to it.

"I can say to this day, when I look at some of the shows Jeff narrated over the years, I am still fascinated by the way he told a story," said Kevin McLoughlin, director of post-production for NFL Films.

"His voice — so smooth, yet booming — was always a pleasure to listen to. He had some big shoes to fill after John Facenda passed away.

"Jeff narrated hundreds of films for NFL Films over the years, from team highlights, to 'Road to the Super Bowl.' One of best voices of NFL Films."

Jeff Kaye, born Martin Krimski in Baltimore, winner of four Emmy Awards for broadcasting, whose radio career surged in Boston and Buffalo, N.Y., died of cancer Friday at the age of 75. He lived in Binghamton, N.Y.

Jeff's voice was a familiar presence in Philadelphia for some 30 years, yet hardly anybody knew his name. For years, it was his voice that announced the news broadcast on WPVI-TV: "Action News, the Delaware Valley's leading news program."

He also did voice-overs for Phillies games and commercials, advertising products and services ranging from Budweiser to NJ Transit. In Buffalo, Jeff became something of a legend in 1968 when he scripted and produced his own version of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" as program director of WKBW-AM.

The broadcast wasn't as terrifying as Orson Welles' version in 1938, but it still scared the pants off many listeners with its realistic-sounding reporting by actual WKBW staffers of a supposed Martian invasion.

Jeff was a popular boss in Buffalo. Sandy Beach, a former WKBW staffer, said Jeff "had such class, style, and talent. He encouraged us to 'go for it' every time we were on the air. He recognized, hired and nurtured talent."

In the early '80s, Jeff moved to WHEN Radio in Buffalo, before coming to Philadelphia and NFL Films, where he worked with the late Harry Kalas. Jeff almost lost his voice in 1996 when a cancerous tumor was found on his left vocal cord. The growth was successfully removed, and he returned to the air.

His first broadcasting job was in Providence, R.I., after his service in the Air Force, where he was a meteorologist. He retired in 2006.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Suzanne; three daughters, Anne Schoonover, Judith Krimski and Sarah Krimski-Smith; a son, Peter Krimski; and seven grandchildren.

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